Order Fulfillment
Boasting over 65 years of unrivaled industry knowledge, Thill Inc. stands proudly as a beacon in the world of Order Fulfillment. Our robust experience is shaped by partnerships with startups, mid-tier web marketers, and seasoned direct-to-consumer brands alike. At Thill, we view order fulfillment as an art form, an intricate dance that extends beyond merely boxing an item and attaching a shipping label. Instead, we are maestros, conducting a symphony of receiving, inventory management & storage, order processing, packing, and shipping.
As a third-party fulfillment service, we represent an array of clients including eCommerce marketers, direct response marketers, and subscription box sellers. Our capabilities stretch to accommodate small, mid-tier, and large direct-to-consumer (D2C) orders, as well as business-to-business (B2B) orders. Our specialty, however, lies in eCommerce order fulfillment, adroitly managing online orders that ship directly to your customers at home.
Our prodigious Thill team employs precise processes and cutting-edge technology to ensure accuracy and efficiency in each step of the order fulfillment journey. This starts with receiving, where we accept, inspect, and confirm inventory and barcodes. We uphold a meticulous approach to inventory management & storage, maximizing speed and accuracy through optimized bulk and primary pick locations. Our commitment to technology supports seamless order processing via software that integrates with leading eCommerce shopping carts.
The prowess of our packing team ensures every item is scanned, verified, and added to a custom package slip before the sealing of the box. Our shipping station manages label generation, shipment verification, and status updates, providing a transparent and communicative experience for our sellers and end customers. Even the often-overlooked area of returns management holds importance in our operation, as we recognize its critical role in the success of your business.
At Thill, we understand that no two clients or campaigns are alike. That’s why we leverage our expertise, agility, and technological resources to tailor an order fulfillment strategy ideally suited to your unique needs. With our veteran staff, tactical layout, state-of-the-art technology, and efficient processes, we simplify order fulfillment without compromising on proficiency. This keeps your customers satisfied and encourages their repeat business.
Let your next chapter of success be penned by Thill. We invite you to experience the peace of mind that comes with entrusting your order fulfillment to a team that combines decades of expertise, a fervor for the art of fulfillment, and an unwavering commitment to staying at the forefront of technology. Choose Thill as your order fulfillment partner today, and together, let’s raise the bar on customer satisfaction.
Thill Inc. is a renowned eCommerce Fulfillment Company, recognized as an industry leader for its expertise and innovation. We take pride in going beyond the basics of order fulfillment, viewing it as an art form – hence our tagline, “The Art of Fulfillment!” Our team understands that order fulfillment is more than just packing and shipping. It encompasses a comprehensive process that includes receiving, inventory management, order processing, packing (kitting), and shipping to the end customer.
As a fulfillment service provider, we work collaboratively with startups, mid-tier web marketers, and well-established direct-to-consumer brands. We believe in a personalized approach, understanding that each client has unique needs and requirements. By working together as a team, we strive for shared success and aim to deliver tailored solutions that align with your specific goals.
Our success stems from our deep industry knowledge and state-of-the-art facilities and software platforms. We stay at the forefront of industry developments to ensure we provide the most innovative and efficient services to our clients. With Thill Inc., you can trust in our professionalism, expertise, and commitment to meeting your individualized fulfillment needs.
Let us be your trusted partner in achieving fulfillment excellence.
To help you better understand exactly what eCommerce order fulfillment is, let’s break down the core steps involved in the order fulfillment process. As we discussed above, they are;
- Receiving
- Inventory Management &
- Storage
- Order Processing
- Packing (kitting)
- Shipping
Let’s take it from the beginning so you can understand what we do and why.
Receiving
It doesn’t matter if you outsource your order fulfillment to a company like Thill or you are doing it yourself out of your place of business, receiving inventory from your suppliers or manufacturers is going to be the first step in the process to getting orders to your customers.
Here are the typical things that merchants or their fulfillment providers do once inventory starts arriving at their warehouse or place of business:
- Start by accepting the shipper load & count (quantity indicated on the packing list or bill of lading), then utilize weight scale technology to confirm those numbers. This technology will expedite the process as it is far more efficient than hand counts.
- Visually inspect a sample of the inventory and keep an eye out for any damaged packages as the shipment arrives. Consider sampling 2 to 5 percent of each shipment.
- Using your order management software (OMS) in conjunction with your warehouse management software (WMS), you want to add SKUs to keep track of the locations, counts and number of sales each item has. When using a top rated 3PL like Thill, they typically provide the OMS & WMS as part of their service offering, plus they enter all of this information on your behalf.
- Confirm that all inventory is correctly bar coded and that the bar codes are readable using RF technology. Generate, apply bar code labels or SKUs if the goods being received do not already have them.
Inventory Management & Storage
Once inventory has been received, counted, inspected, labeled, and added to your order management software (OMS), the next step in the process is getting them stored correctly.
Inventory management & storage is often overlooked, however, it is one of the most important aspects of maximizing the speed and accuracy of your order fulfillment operations.
While there’s several ways inventory management & storage can be done, we utilize both bulk and primary pick locations within our distribution centers. Bulk inventory locations simply hold just that, your bulk inventory on pallets and provide an economical way to store product. While primary pick locations help assure ease of packing (kitting), improve accuracy, and allow for the efficient filling of orders
As orders are fulfilled, only a portion of inventory will be in primary pick locations. Throughout the fulfillment process, your warehouse management software (WMS) should provide guidance as to the inventory needed to fulfill orders that day. This is typically done based on move tickets or jobs. The overstock or extra product residing in another area of the warehouse commonly called “Bulk Storage.” All of Thill’s distribution centers around the county provide for a standardized pallets size of 40X48X60.
Slotting of inventory is also highly important and again controlled by your warehouse management software (WMS). The WMS should continuously identify and help review what SKU’s are selling the most. A strong warehouse management system like ours can assist with this review, looking at pick velocity and combinations of picks. With this ever changing data, we re-slot our warehouses on a regular basis to ensure that we are fulfilling orders in the most efficient way possible.
Shipping
Once an order has been auto-checked, packed and boxed, it’s then moved on to the shipping station for label generation, printing and application of the carrier label to get it ready to be shipped to the customer’s residence.
The shipping station is responsible for weighing the package and verifying shipment dimensions. While some online sellers have a small amount of products that only require basic delivery from just one carrier, other sellers have orders that come in all kinds of different sizes with a multitude of SKU’s. They also may require the ability to use multiple carriers with a magnitude of services. It is extremely important that your order management software can rate shop between carriers real-time and analysis transit times. For these sellers, shipping can be complex. For customers that will be shipping internationally and domestically, it’s important to meet all the special requirements for shipping and meeting the expectations of your customers.
The shipping station is also responsible for generating status updates. Individual sellers like yourself are going to want to know when orders have shipped out, what carrier was used, and the associated tracking numbers for each customer. This also allows the end customer to track their packages throughout the delivery process to ensure they are well informed and happy. Utilizing Thill for your order fulfillment allows for all of the shipping complexities at your fingertips.
Returns Processing
While most people don’t want to talk about returns, it’s an important part of the order fulfillment process. You can’t talk about order fulfillment without talking about returns, we call this returns management. After all, what is order fulfillment without returns, right? At some point, you’ll have to deal with returns, you’ll want to be prepared to be efficient at it.
As it pertains to the online buying process, having the ability to effortlessly return a purchased product is important. For those of you that are selling online, your ability to effectively handle such returns is critical to your fulfillment operations, and to their overall success of your business.
Online sellers should establish both an internal and external returns policy. An external policy should be listed on the seller’s website and make clear to customers how and where to send returns, while an internal policy should make clear to your staff or fulfilment provider how returns will be handled once they arrive back at the warehouse.
Before You Go
Every client and campaign is different. Thill has the skill, flexibility and technology to customize an order fulfillment strategy that fits your needs. So, whether you have one SKU or 90,000, we make it easy. Our veteran staff, tactical layout, state of the art technology and efficient processes means Thill can make order fulfillment simple but proficient, keeping your customers happy and coming back for more!
