Today, with advancements in technology and e-commerce, customers demand a convenient, faster, yet simpler shopping experience. Customers like the privilege to order: what they want, when they want, on what device they want, and how they want a product to be delivered. For a simple brick-and-mortar business, it is indeed difficult to meet such demands. To meet this demand, 3PL companies in India are opting for omni-channel fulfillment solutions.
Omni-channel fulfillment refers to integrated operations that allow a product to flow across different channels of distribution. It means that customers can receive their orders from any channel they select for a seamless shopping experience. Omni-channel also includes reverse logistics in which the customer wants to return a product.
- Order online → pick up at the store
- Order online → have it delivered to the desired location
- Order in-store → have it delivered at the desired location
- Order at the warehouse → have it delivered at the desired location
- Order online → return at the store
- Order online → return at the warehouse
- Order online → return at the store
Customers can decide between the following options of receiving and returning their products.
But how does a company manage to make the shopping experience of consumers so incredibly convenient? To understand that, let us find out how these shipment options look on the business end.
Here are the different types of omnichannel fulfillment processes:
- Warehouse Fulfillment:
Warehouse fulfillment refers to the shipping process where a particular eCommerce company owns a warehouse facility. The products are shipped to the customers directly from the warehouse, without a retailer.
- Store Fulfillment:
Store fulfillment consists of two types:
- Ship from the store:
This process converts the store itself into a functioning warehouse. The products are shipped directly from the store and delivered to the customer.
- Ship to store:
When a consumer places an order online, the deliverables are leveraged by the eCommerce businesses to the store. This process enables in-store pick-ups to the customers.
- 3PL Fulfillment:
It refers to the process where omni-channel fulfillment is outsourced to a third-party logistics company. A 3PL company acts as a bridge between the business and the customer to provide impeccable service to both the business and the consumer.
When a company opts for warehouse fulfillment, it signs up for issues with space and inventory management. This is not only costly but also a risky business as the warehouse operations consume time and manpower. On the other hand, store shipments have an unorganized operating system that does not provide real-time visibility to its consumers.
On the brighter side, third-party logistics is an excellent option that ensures smooth inventory management, shipping, and post-delivery experience. Getting into the depth of omni-channel requires a company to invest a lot of time and money to provide seamless service to its customers. For most small and medium scale companies, this option is not feasible. Hence, outsourcing the omni-channel distribution to third-party logistics in India is an ideal solution.
When 3PL logistics companies in India provide omni-channel fulfillment service, they get a wide-angled view of consumer behavior to provide insights to businesses. They provide efficient shipment, warehousing logistics, delivery, and post-delivery services to customers so that businesses get to pay more attention to their product and their target consumers.
Third-party logistics in India provide other significant advantages through omni-channel distribution that are as follows:
- Reduce inventory costs:
Contrary to warehouse services provided by the business itself, 3PL companies in India reduce half of the cost spent on facility maintenance, land area, staffing, and operations.
- Accurate and real-time updates:
The activities of all processes right from warehousing to shipment to delivery and customer feedback are noted by third-party logistics companies to provide transparency to the consumer and the business.
- Increased customer satisfaction:
As mentioned above, when customers receive quick and seamless services, it increases customer loyalty and satisfaction, which results in increased future purchases.
AAJ Supply Chain Management
