Omnichannel fulfillment might sound like a buzzword, but it’s becoming increasingly essential for ecommerce to improve customer satisfaction and meet the demands of the modern retail industry.
In an omnichannel world, successful order fulfillment is no longer just delivering an order on time to the right place; it’s ensuring seamless fulfillment within the channel of the customer’s choosing.
In a successful omnichannel fulfillment model, online and offline selling channels are completely integrated to form a unified source of inventory and order management. Whenever an order is placed – whether that’s via a brick and mortar store, an ecommerce platform, or a third-party marketplace – it gets fulfilled using whichever location ensures the fastest delivery timeframe to the end customer.
Let’s dive into the world of omnichannel fulfillment, and how ecommerce brands can understand and outsource omnichannel fulfillment to improve supply chain management and customer satisfaction in one fell swoop.
Omnichannel fulfillment defined
To explain the definition of omnichannel fulfillment, we need to start with what an omnichannel fulfillment strategy is NOT: Using multiple selling channels to sell to customers.
Although there’s a big overlap between omnichannel fulfillment and multichannel fulfillment, omnichannel fulfillment goes a step further; it breaks down the silos between those multiple channels to pioneer a unified approach to order processing, inventory visibility, returns management, and more.
For example, if a customer places an order online for home delivery via a DTC store for a sweatshirt, an omnichannel fulfillment strategy will leverage real-time inventory visibility to identify which sales channel and inventory assortment can fulfill that order the fastest. It could be one of your warehouse locations – or it could be a physical store that’s located 5 miles from the delivery address.
So, where fulfilling and shipping that order out of a fulfillment center might take 3 days, one of your brick and mortar stores using store-based fulfillment to pick up that item and ship it could ensure delivery in less than a day. That’s the power of an omnichannel retail fulfillment strategy.
Why omnichannel fulfillment matters to ecommerce brands
Until very recently, brands and retailers have been able to think of their fulfillment operations as being composed of separate sales channels – a Shopify store, Amazon listings, a brick and mortar store, and so on. In a multichannel fulfillment set-up, these selling channels remain siloed and don’t interact with each other in any meaningful way; promotions, inventory, warehouse management, loyalty programs, order fulfillment, and return policies, are all tied back to the one channel.
But where brands see separate sales channels, consumers see a unified brand. Physical stores and online sales channels all form part of the modern shopping experience, where consumers bounce between different facets of a brand as they see fit. Browsing on social media, purchasing in-store, making a return via an online portal, and then dropping the merchandise off at an alternative return location – this forms the essence of the omnichannel experience.
To meet customer expectations for seamless interactions between channels, brands cannot add friction to the customer experience by sealing customers off from the touchpoints that offer the most convenience. In-store returns, Buy Online, Pick-Up In-Store, and Ship-to-Store all represent the table stakes in the modern ecommerce experience – and fast, responsive omnichannel fulfillment forms the centerpiece of this philosophy.
What does omnichannel fulfillment look like in practice?
In addition to standard order fulfillment for online orders via fulfillment centers, omnichannel retail fulfillment enables a range of powerful fulfillment workflows:
Storefronts fulfilling online orders
With store-based fulfillment implemented into an omnichannel model, brick and mortar stores can function as micro-fulfillment facilities, fulfilling both store-placed and online orders and shipping them directly to customers’ homes or offering in-store pickup.
Warehouses fulfilling orders for storefronts
A warehouse that is positioned to serve multiple brick and mortar retailers can restock inventory levels and fulfill orders much faster than a traditional distribution center can. This ensures that stores don’t miss out on sales and helps to reinforce the in-store customer experience.
Storefronts fulfilling orders for other storefronts
When store inventory can be swapped between locations, this creates better opportunities to manage inventory and keep levels optimal. For example, if one store has excess inventory levels of a certain SKU, this can be repurposed to fulfill orders for another store that has a shortage. This ensures that a brand can meet customer demand and manage store locations more effectively.
Warehouses fulfilling orders for home delivery
Traditional order fulfillment from centralized warehouses involves picking, packing, and shipping orders directly to customers’ homes. This is a common practice in e-commerce.
Warehouses fulfilling orders for alternative pick-up locations
In addition to offering order pick-up in retail locations, omnichannel retail, can efficiently fulfill orders for other locations lockers and third-party retail partners like big-box stores or pharmacies, offering customers more flexibility and convenience in how they want to receive their orders.
Customers returning orders to stores
Customers who are placing online orders may struggle to make the right selection when it comes to variations like size and color. Giving them the option to return orders to physical stores makes it convenient for customers to return goods and even find a replacement product, while retailers can process returns quickly and get them back on the shelf for speedy resale.
The benefits of omnichannel fulfillment
Multiple channels working in tandem
Put simply, omnichannel fulfillment processes allow multiple sales channels to reinforce each other, rather than multiple channels being in opposition and adding friction to the customer experience.
For example, if a customer is prevented from returning an item in-store because it was purchased online, this is a massive inconvenience and creates a negative post-purchase experience that discourages future sales. Omnichannel fulfillment strategies build shopping experiences that are unique to every customer and their preferences, meaning higher customer satisfaction and repeat purchase rates.
Unified inventory management
Using inventory counts to fulfill orders across your entire supply chain and fulfillment operation creates better inventory efficiency and reduces the odds of excess inventory developing that ties up previous capital. In the reverse, being able to replenish inventory in any channel that needs it allows you to maximize sales opportunities and ensure timely delivery – a guaranteed way to increase sales.
Consistent customer experiences across sales channels
Today’s consumer expectations are for a unified brand experience across alternative sales channels and marketing channels, whether that’s the storefront, social media, or an online storefront. Being able to give shoppers a consistent experience that transfers from channel to channel helps to maximize touchpoints that build trust and loyalty.
For example, the omnichannel fulfillment process enables customers to choose not only how they prefer to shop, but also how they want to receive orders – and how to return or exchange them if needed. Providing a consistent framework in terms of customer support, communication, and branding regardless of fulfillment methods or distribution channels ensures that customers feel valued.
Why brands outsource omnichannel fulfillment
Breaking down the silos between sales channels
Creating a unified inventory and order management system is a significant undertaking for businesses, especially if they are continually adding new sales channels. that requires access to advanced technology and predictive analytics to identify the optimum inventory levels for different locations and automated order routing of customer orders to the fulfillment location with the fastest fulfillment and delivery timeframe. A tech-forward fulfillment company that is capable of full inventory visibility and managing orders across multiple channels and offers the right fulfillment infrastructure to ensure responsive omnichannel fulfillment.
Accessing multiple fulfillment locations
Using multiple fulfillment centers is essential to developing an omnichannel order fulfillment process that is capable of rapid shipping and delivery capabilities. Partnering with a fulfillment provider who can place your inventory in strategic locations close to key distribution centers and customer hubs helps with lowering fulfillment costs and meeting consumer expectations for rapid delivery.
Free up resources for better growth opportunities
In-house ecommerce fulfillment on its own is a massive undertaking for a business to manage independently. Add in the complexities of omnichannel order fulfillment – unified inventory management and order management, multiple fulfillment locations, and customer communication across channels – and it’s clear how an omnichannel strategy can overwhelm rapidly growing businesses.
Omnichannel fulfillment with ShippingTree
Selling on multiple platforms, marketplaces, and retail stores? ShippingTree can fulfill all your orders with ease—no matter the channel.
Integrate with your existing technology. Whether you’re selling on Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, or your own site, our open API and advanced tech enable seamless integration and order flow. We’ll handle fulfillment for all orders regardless of which sales channel they’re made on.
Never worry about retail compliance. With retail experts to lead the charge and a seamless EDI integration, ShippingTree ensures speed and accuracy for every retail order. Transfer orders automatically via EDI, manual entry, or integration with the ShippingTree app. View all B2B order details from one user-friendly interface.
Unified inventory management. We built the ShippingTree app with ecommerce brands in mind. Unlock instant, real-time visibility into all products, where they are within the order fulfillment process, and where they’re going. Get a quick inventory snapshot, or dive deeper into a particular SKU to see how many orders it’s included in.
Flexible picking, packing, and shipping. With the help of our fulfillment experts, tailor your fulfillment strategy to your unique business needs. Want to develop custom retail kits? Simply start a project and bundle or kit products into a set—our team will take care of the rest. Have special fulfillment marketing inserts for small parcel orders? Our team can handle that too.
Get closer to your customers. ShippingTree’s strategically located warehouses in Los Angeles, Columbus, and Dallas enable faster deliveries and a more resilient supply chain. Backed by intuitive technology, ShippingTree offers full visibility into your operations across warehouses. Develop a multinode fulfillment strategy to meet customer expectations for speedy delivery no matter where they are.
Looking to optimize your omnichannel fulfillment? Get started with ShippingTree today.
