Fulfillment and Warehousing
What is a fulfillment and warehousing service?
A fulfillment company provides warehouse space to store inventory along with the personnel to manage inventory and orders.Distribution Fulfillment and Warehousing Does It All For You
- Accepts your new inventory arrival
- Stores and warehouses your inventory
- Receives your incoming orders
- Manages order and distribution fulfillment and shipping
- Handles inventory management
- Manages returns
- Provides you with data metrics and analytics
Spectra’s 9-Step Fulfillment and Warehousing Process
Step #1: We accept the arrival of a customer’s inventory into our warehouse.
You will forward your product directly to Spectra’s warehouse to be inventoried and stored.Step #2: The inventory is assigned space within the warehouse.
We provide you space in our warehouse based on your inventory needs.- Costs of warehouse space are not fixed but are scaled.
- We include personnel, fulfillment, and the technology to manage the warehouse, regardless of seasonal demands.
- Operational usage, on average, consists of 40,000 square feet within the warehouse. 20,000 square feet of space is flexible.
- Storage space is scaled based on demand data the inventory management system generates.
Step #3: Orders are forwarded to a fulfillment and warehousing service by you.
As soon as you forward your order to us, we get the wheels turning to process and fulfill it. Our robust order management system provides us with real-time, reliable information to keep the process flowing efficiently and smoothly.- Incoming orders alert inventory and order management systems.
- The fulfillment team relies on pertinent data relayed from the order management system for information to accurately fulfill an order.
- We provide you order-unique tailored solutions rather than a generic procedure.
- Labor and costs of our fulfillment services are scalable based on your needs.
Step #4: Your customer receives a notification of their order.
Your customer receives a notification once their order is fulfilled and shipped along with tracking information. Customers prefer an “Amazon-like” fulfillment experience, which we strive to provide each time.Step #5: The fulfillment and warehousing personnel picks, packs, and kits the order.
Our fulfillment team picks, packs, and ships your orders in a rigorous manner to ensure accuracy. Spectra uses the “piece picking” method to provide faster service with the best quality control.- The fulfillment team picks and packs orders in 24 hours or less.
- Orders placed by 2:00 p.m. (EST) get shipped that same day.
- Kitting is available and is fully customizable.
- Quality control is maintained through every phase of fulfillment.
- Attention to aesthetics in packaging is important to us.
Step #6: The fulfillment and warehousing service ships the order.
- The inventory management system is updated.
- The shipment method is determined.
- Spectra reaches 182 million in the U.S. with a 2-day ground service. 27 million in the U.S. is reachable in just one day. Our average delivery time in the U.S. is about 2.47 days. We are located halfway between New York City and Miami. This makes us a prime location for quick shipping.
Step #7: Your inventory is reconciled.
It’s vital that an inventory management system continually goes through updates. Spectra’s system routinely updates numerous times within 24 hours. We can account for every product regardless of what stage of fulfillment it is in.Step #8: Delivery confirmation is received and forwarded to you.
Once your order is delivered, you will be notified. The inventory management system updates once again.Step #9: Any returns are managed by our returns management team.
How Spectra’s Fulfillment and Warehousing Services Benefit You
- Saves you a significant amount of money because you get it all under one roof with one solution; warehouse, personnel, supplies, and technology.
- Shipping is provided to you at a reduced cost.
- Your overall business flourishes because you are not entangled with fulfillment matters.
- You have peace of mind knowing your inventory, orders, and data are managed efficiently and professionally.
- You have access to Spectra’s other services, such as printing and direct mail.
- We are HIPAA compliant.
FAQs
So what are fulfillment strategies exactly?
Customer fulfillment, also known as order fulfillment, requires business strategies in order to do what is needed; getting products and services delivered to customers in a timely and accurate manner. There are many strategies that 3PLs come up with and they have to be custom tailored to each of the businesses that they partner with. These strategies are primarily needed to ensure that scaling is always in the front of everyone’s mind.
What are fulfillment activities?
Order fulfillment has a lot of different components, but it refers to all the steps that happen behind the scenes after an order is received and how it gets to the hands of the customer. This involves warehousing to receive goods before picking and packing the product when an order is placed, then it is shipped as an email is sent to the customer letting them know it is out for delivery.
What does fulfillment include?
When you partner with a 3PL, there will be some costs that require explanation. These costs involve storing inventory, processing orders, and everything involved in shipping among some other things like technology installation, returns management, kitting, etc. Without a 3PL, there are still in-house costs. This includes the cost of labor, infrastructure costs, and materials.
What does a fulfillment agent refer to?
A fulfillment agent simply refers to the party involved in the processing of receiving, packaging, and shipping orders to customers. The term is mostly used in the Ecommerce space even though any company involved in selling products directly to customers is dealing with fulfillment. Fulfillment agents are the key to a brand’s success.
Does the cost of partnering with a 3PL include shipping?
Yes! While there are a variety of different costs when partnering with a 3PL, shipping is included among other things. 3PLs like Spectra take on the time, effort, and cost of managing warehouses with advanced systems and technology in place to manage everything to do with shipping and fulfillment. This isn’t something that you will need to worry about anymore.
What does Ecommerce fulfillment mean?
Similar to the question about fulfillment activities, Ecommerce fulfillment refers to the entire process that goes on behind the scenes after an order is placed online and how it gets to the hands of the customer. The part of the supply chain that your 3PL plays in this process is key, involving receiving and storing inventory, managing orders, picking and packing, shipping, and returns management
What does the term kitting mean?
This is a great question and we get it a lot. Kitting is actually an inventory technique where individual but related products are packaged together as a bundle before being shipped. This is very useful because rather than having multiple different manufacturers involved, everything can be put into one package, saving both time and money.
What does “perfect order fulfillment” mean?
The Supply Chain Council has a special definition for order fulfillment. It is described as the discrete measurement of orders delivered accurately at the right time in the ideal condition to the correct customer along with the correct invoice. When any of these conditions aren’t met, the order is not “perfect”.
What does warehouse cycle time mean?
Warehouse cycle time refers to the time involved in processing received inventory, which includes accounting for it, sorting it by category, and storing it. The better the 3PL, the faster this is done in an accurate and efficient manner. It’s something very difficult to optimize in-house and sincerely requires professionals. The exact formula is the total time spent on sorting received stock divided by the total number of received items.
What is the difference between a fulfillment center and a warehouse?
A warehouse is a much broader term, and a business working in-house could even consider their garage their warehouse. It’s simply a place to store goods. However, a fulfillment center is more specific. It’s the place specifically built in order to receive, pick, pack, kit, ship, and manage returns in.
Spectra’s Charleston Fulfillment Center
Get in touch with us today to find out more about how Spectra’s Fulfillment Services Center and Warehouse in Charleston can help.
