No Pitfalls in this Complete Fulfillment Contract!

Complete Fulfillment Contracts

If you are considering a switch in your complete fulfillment company, here are some points to consider and hints to aid the process.

FIRST, IDENTIFY POTENTIAL COMPLETE FULFILLMENT COMPANIES THAT ARE EQUIPPED TO HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS PROCESSES AND ARE LOCATED IN OPTIMAL GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS.  PREPARE A THOROUGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROVIDING A HIGH LEVEL OF DETAIL TO BETTER EVALUATE RESPONSES AND USE IN LATER IMPLEMENTATION. EVALUATE ALL OF THE ESTIMATES YOU GET AND MAKE YOUR SELECTION FOR A COMPLETE FULFILLMENT SERVICES PARTNERSHIP.     

For any new e-commerce complete fulfillment contract, there are many process steps that must take place between new client announcement and program go-live.   But regardless of the product being fulfilled or the complexity of its operational processes, the basic steps that a fulfillment services company should follow for program implementation should always be the same. 

The standard process in place at most complete fulfillment companies involves just eight, high-level steps between new client announcement and go-live. 

First we prepare a service agreement and contract.  Then an employee is assigned to your account who will have warehouse experience along with strong customer service skills.  All product and shipping processes are reviewed and questions addressed upfront.
Here they communicate with you all requirements of the client such as material logistics, inventory levels, specific data and reporting needs.  Then the IT requirements are set up and there is a close collaboration of the two employees and technology.  Then the warehouse is prepped to receive, store and manage all client inventory for the account.
The complete fulfillment company should then require customer service team members to review and verify all account information with the client.  At this time they test the entire process with client, execute some sample orders – including exceptions processing such as returns and backorders.

While these eight process steps clearly involve weeks or months of careful planning and execution, boiling the process into such simple steps is beneficial for several reasons.  First of all, splitting the process into simple and tangible steps will ensure that all steps are followed in a clear-cut linear sequence with minimal risk of something critical being missed.  Secondly, maintaining a consistent set of setup processes drives quality as continuous improvements can only be implemented for a standard set of documented processes.  And finally, as team members repeat these setup processes, their experience will increase as they learn the questions to ask and the pitfalls to avoid – which will ultimately benefit the fulfillment services company and future clients alike. 

After the contract phase has been completed, shift to implementation and be prepared to involve a cross-functional team of operational, financial, and sales experts in the planning process.  During the crucial months while transitioning from one complete fulfillment company to another, be ready to send a lot of data to your new complete fulfillment partner.  Be prepared to supply: Demand history and sales forecast by customer and location ,Sales order information, such as average number of items per order, etc. and Information about inventory requirements, material pallet quantities, size requirements.

All of these steps will help you find the correct complete fulfillment needs for your company.

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