Fulfilling Customer Orders

:: Introduction ::

Once a customer purchases a product from your website, you need to ensure delivery in a timely and efficient manner. For some items such as music and software, customers can download the product directly to their computer. However, as more businesses look to sell physical products via the web, there is also a need for delivery to customers' doorsteps.

The solution is an effective fulfilment service capable of handling all of the stages from processing the order to delivery.

For products requiring physical delivery, a large portion of the cost of selling online can be attributed to fulfilling the customer's order. The effectiveness of your fulfilment process can therefore have a major impact upon the profitability of your operation.

This guide describes the various options for delivering both physical and digital products to your customers and provides guidance on how to ensure that you meet their expectations.

:: Physical delivery of goods ::

Ensuring that customer orders are delivered quickly and efficiently is integral to any e-commerce service. Delivering what you promised relies on seamless interaction between your business processes and the actual fulfilment service that you use.

For those products requiring a physical delivery, the issues associated with conventional logistics need to be addressed alongside the technology needed to manage the process. Distribution channels

The distribution channels available for the delivery of these goods include sending the goods directly from:

* your own business to your customer
* a local warehouse to your customer
* national distribution centres to your customers
* digital distribution

For businesses selling small numbers of small items, using the post or couriers is likely to provide a satisfactory solution. Larger businesses will need to choose between doing it themselves or outsourcing. See the page in this guide on outsourcing the delivery of your goods. Linking processes and tracking goods

Linking processes and tracking orders are important in allowing you to predict delivery times earlier on, so you can keep customers updated on where their goods are and improve your service.

This can be achieved through a single, shared database as long as your staff are trained to keep it up to date at all stages of the process. If you outsource your delivery requirements, many companies now offer delivery tracking as part of their service, which you can use to advise customers.

More sophisticated techniques for doing this include:

* Enterprise resource planning software, which integrates product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories and tracking orders into one system.
* Radio frequency identification (RFID), which involves tagging objects so that they can be tracked. RFID tags can be read by equipment that is out of line of sight, at a range of up to 90 feet.

Handling customer returns

Not all customers will be happy with the quality of products purchased via the Internet and there will undoubtedly be a certain percentage of defective or damaged products, irrespective of the quality or type of product being sold.

The fulfilment process must therefore include the capability for handling the returns. This should include giving the customer the option to have a replacement item supplied or their money refunded. Agreed procedures should be in place to facilitate either option. See our guide on customer protection.

It is important that your business records the reasons and frequency with which individuals or companies return goods. If your business runs a customer relationship management system then this is the best place to do it.

For details on Website Design City and how we can help create your perfect online shop, using specialised ecommerce software, please visit our 'Ecommerce Page' or conatct us for more details.

This guide has been taken from Business Link; for more information, please visit: Business Link