rakuten fulfillment

Are retailers overestimating the ability of stores to efficiently pick and pack online orders? What are the obvious and less obvious challenges retailers face using stores as fulfillment centers? Would be interesting to find out if the increase in online sales from in-store pickup impacted in-store sales.

Our logistics experts will work with you to determine the optimal fulfillment center locations closest to your customers to decrease transit times. This allows you to save time and money on each and every package shipped.

And in fact, a look at the Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 database reinforces that 74.4% of retailers have some sort of free shipping. Just 20.4% had unconditional free shipping for all orders, while 45.1% had free shipping when shoppers reached a dollar threshold. Lastly, 14.5% had another pre-requisite which often includes being part of a loyalty program.

Third party fulfillment services also allow merchants to divide inventory among multiple fulfillment centers. This allows them to earn higher margins. They can also provide free shipping.

Working around shoppers to find items is also arduous. In some cases, associates get caught fulfilling orders instead of helping customers. Designated pickers also answer questions from shoppers, a mandatory delay preventing quick online order turnarounds. To address traffic distraction, Macy’s associates pull the bulk of online orders before the store opens, according to the Wall Street Journal. Retailers also need to set up sophisticated packaging and shipment departments in their stores.

RSL's order fulfillment services already offer customers a variety of shipping methods that provide both cost savings, as well as a way to expedite delivery to clients. The company's Xparcel Expedited offers 2–5-day transit shipping, while Xparcel Ground provides a 3–8-day transit time for deliveries. In fact, recent statistics confirm that RSL clients using Xparcel Ground have saved as much as 29% in delivery costs.

A leader in the 3PL industry, RSL currently offers cost-saving order fulfillment, including pick/pack and ship, kitting, returns, and freight services. In today's competitive eCommerce business vertical, shipping can add significant costs to doing business. That's why RSL's Xparcel Priority is designed to offer eCommerce retailers a method of both lowering their shipping costs—and increasing the speed—of delivering products to customers.

Market America | SHOP.COM uses an ERP or enterprise resource planning accounting system that pushes orders through to their warehouse management system. Without the proper ERP tool, supply chain management systems can be bogged down with paperwork that slows the time customers will receive their orders. A good ERP accounting system plays a huge role in getting the same-day order fulfillment rate that is expected by today’s e-commerce customers. Further, this system ensures that all orders are relayed correctly to the warehouse so customers are always getting the products they order with little room for human error.