7 Common eCommerce Fulfillment Problems and How to Fix Them

Your ability to give an excellent customer experience primarily depends on how well you navigate various fulfillment issues by the time of order and delivery. For instance, it’s becoming more and more common for the food and beverage business to move online instead of traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Now, trying to contend with these issues can be challenging. Fortunately, most fulfillment issues often come with clear solutions. 

1. Slow Transit Times

One of the most significant order fulfillment problems isn’t warehouse related. Many carriers these days have encountered slow transit times over the years. While we are way past COVID-related backups, these issues remain, causing shippers to experience slower processing and transit times. 

Because you need more control over how these carriers meet their delivery requirements, you can opt to switch carriers instead in case the performance suffers. Another alternative would be adding fulfillment centers in your area to decrease transit time. 

That’s because shorter distances lead to quicker delivery times and lower parcel costs. It also helps to work with a trusted fulfillment provider with a network of fulfillment warehouses nationwide. 

2. Poor Warehouse and Inventory Management

One of the most crucial aspects of your success is ensuring that your customers receive their orders on time. However, you might encounter issues like poor warehouse and inventory management. This can lead to shipment delays, frustrating many of your customers, and eventually hurt your reputation. 

Your warehouse and inventory management can be poor and thus affect the fulfillment process. Sometimes, employees aren’t trained enough to pack their orders properly, leading to errors and further delays. Aside from that, the warehouse might be disorganized, making it difficult for your employees to look for the products they need to fulfill orders. Eventually, this can affect the entire fulfillment process. 

If you’re in food and beverage fulfillment, clean warehousing, accurate inventory management, and other shipping logistics often lead to a successful shipment. 

Thus, investing in good small business order fulfillment and warehouse and inventory management is key. This will ensure that all your orders are fulfilled correctly and in the right way. This will also keep the warehouse organized so employees can easily find the products. If you’re unsure where to start, an e-commerce fulfillment service can help you manage your inventory. 

3. Usage of Complex Software

You might be in a well-built online platform with excellent product offerings. However, implementing complex software that could affect your business’s day-to-day activities can significantly slow down your business process instead of improving it. 

So, when it comes to using software with the e-commerce fulfillment process, you first need to note down the goals and objectives you want to achieve. Every software often comes with various features, and thus, you need to opt for software whose features match your business requirements and you can integrate seamlessly into your business. 

4. Products Arriving Damaged

You’ll disappoint customers if they open an order they’ve been anxiously waiting for only for it to arrive damaged. They’ll be less likely to order from you again unless you do an excellent job fixing the situation from them. 

Replacing damaged goods, especially food and beverage, can be expensive, especially if it happens constantly. Not only will you have to send the customer a free replacement, but you have to cover the shipping costs, too. 

Thus, it would help if you made it right with your customers. Make sure that you always give them the benefit of the doubt. If you couldn’t prove whether or not the item was damaged in transit or by the customers themselves, you have no choice but to trust their words. 

You can replace the product immediately, send an apology, or even give them a discount the next time they buy to ensure that the poor packaging itself hasn’t caused you to lose them as customers. 

However, if you want to fix the issue, you need to do your part to improve your packaging. Ensure that you use durable containers, especially if your products are fragile. Many containers may also be stacked on your package and jostled around, so ensure that these can withstand the weight. 

5. Paying Too Much for Shipping

Many businesses need help to charge customers for shipping and get the best rates from their partners. However, by outsourcing e-commerce fulfillment, you can get better shipping rates because you pool your resources with other clients for the best volume discounts. 

So, knowing how much you need to charge your customers takes trial and error. Many customers will always look for the best deals that can provide them with free shipping. 

So, if you can give them this deal, even with a threshold like free shipping for orders above $100, you’ll likely get better results. 

6. Manual Tracking of Packages

In today’s digital age, there’s no longer a need to track your inventory items or customer purchases manually. The right tools and tech solutions will automate the whole process. 

This lets you know when the inventory gets into your warehouse, how much you currently have when orders are packed and shipped, and how you can provide customers with their tracking data. All of this will be via an automated system. 

7. Lack of Branding Opportunities

There are millions of e-commerce businesses out there that want to sell products online. Thus, if you want to stand out from the rest of the page, delivering your food and beverage products in generic packaging won’t help you. 

Meanwhile, e-commerce fulfillment helps you engage with brands that can provide personalization and care about the connection you make with your customers. When you get a custom-tailored box on your doorstep, it’s fun and exciting at the same time. Providing your customers with a pleasant experience will also make them want to come back again and again. 

Moreover, showcasing your brand and making your packaging stand out against a sea of boring brown boxes will help you amplify your reach in the long run! 

Conclusion

At first glance, order fulfillment might look uncomplicated. But anyone involved in e-commerce knows that it can be challenging. But it’s a crucial part of your business and customer experience; thus, you must invest your time and resources in the technology and processes to provide the best possible results.