Various statistics have shown that the e-commerce sector has been contributing significantly to the Indonesian economy over the years, most significantly in the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), regarded as the essential backbone of the Indonesian economy. SMEs are said to account for 60% of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Many of them are now digitizing their business by joining the e-Commerce sector. For any business, including SMEs, achieving efficiency is paramount. By improving efficiency, a business can reduce its cost and enhance its competitiveness. If you are in the e-Commerce, one way to accomplish this is through streamlining the order fulfillment process as it doesn’t just save you time and effort. It saves you money.
Businesses should streamline their order fulfillment process. A streamlined process helps to minimize costs, lower the possibility of errors and improve customer satisfaction. Businesses can take various steps to streamline the order fulfillment process using both technology, capital resources and human resources. This does not require a large investment, but a tailored strategy that is suited to your business and goals.
A streamlined order fulfillment process includes transparency, a continuously improved process, leveraging available order fulfillment infrastructure. At present, there is not a complete order fulfillment process that is driven entirely by technology. Given current processes involve human intervention, ensuring a sustainable and stable order fulfillment process will reassure customers that their products will arrive on time without error.
Here are a few ways to streamline order fulfillment process for your business.
Keep customers informed. Customers like to be informed about their order. They expect the product will arrive on time without error. Customers do not appreciate orders not being fulfilled because products are not available or because of a technological glitch. It is important to give customers control over their order with regular updates, tracking facilities and the ability to return the product if they are not satisfied with it. These simple measures can build exceptional satisfaction in customers and lead to greater business growth.
Monitor supply chain. A business’s supply chain is the backbone for a successful operation. All suppliers must be monitored on a regular basis to ensure the continuity of stock. Transportation services need to be reviewed to ensure products are arriving on time without defect and that any efficiencies are being achieved. Whether products are being delivered directly to the customer from the supplier or via a fulfillment center, the end-to-end process must be monitored to identify any issues which can affect sales.
Implement smarter systems. Technology exists to streamline the order fulfillment process. Fulfillment centers, also known as Third Party Logistics (3PL) companies use technology to retrieve products quicker without error and ship them to the end-user in the quickest time possible. Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), customer portals and integrated resourcing tools mean businesses can track the end-to-end order fulfillment process and have complete and real-time visibility. This helps to resolve incidents faster and allows issues to be solved sooner rather than later.
Leverage fulfillment service providers. Fulfilment centers give businesses the option to outsource fundamental aspects of the order fulfillment process. Fulfilling orders is a tedious and costly exercise. Rather than spending time on order fulfillment, businesses can outsource this function to a reputable and experienced provider. This gives the business more time to work on strategy, product innovation and customer satisfaction improvement.
Finding the right fulfillment center
If you are looking for a fulfillment center to streamline your delivery logistics, look no further than 8Commerce. We allow businesses to expand their reach by providing third-party logistics, warehousing and order fulfilment for omni-channel e-Commerce stores throughout Indonesia with technological capabilities that provide real-time data and capable staff that can process orders accurately in a short period of time.
Click here to learn how you can leverage our capability to scale up your online business rapidly.