Order processing begins when the customer places an order with you, our fulfillment client, and is considered completed when the customer receives the product or service, timely and accurately. For some companies this product fulfillment process may cost a lot of money and time. At Global Response 3PL, we strive to facilitate this.
Depending on the type of product or service that is ordered and the complexity of the order, the approach used in order processing will vary from one company to the next. This is also true with the types of goods or services that are being ordered. Order processing can be instantaneous in some cases depending on how sophisticated the system is. A good example of this would be ordering an e-book download online.
Anytime that order processing is applied to the sale and delivery of physical goods, the approach becomes a bit more complex. In this case, the customer places their order online, by phone, or by a written request such as a purchase order. In any case, the order is routed directly to the merchant. Once the order is received, it will be routed to a distribution and fulfillment center where the quantity and type of product are gathered and prepped for shipment.
In order to facilitate this process more cost-effectively, larger companies employ a distribution center that enables customers to receive their purchase as quickly as possible. The money and time saved by employing a Fulfillment partner can be invested toward designing and developing sales strategies to build long-term relationships with existing customers, while attaining new ones.