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If you have never worked in a company that makes products or ships goods from its warehouse to other customers, you may not understand the correlation between order fulfillment and transport and logistics.
Many people mistakenly believe the process of order fulfillment is over once the goods are ready for shipment to the customer, but in reality the order fulfillment process is not over until the customer has the goods in his hand. Order fulfillment and transport and logistics work in correlation to each other in order to make the process of freight shipping move smoothly and efficiently.
In order for a company to achieve the highest level of success it is important for all areas to work together in the order fulfillment process. The fulfillment process begins when the customer places an order. This may be either for raw goods to be produced into finished goods or for an order of goods the company has in stock in a warehouse–it may also relate to products that must be ordered from a wholesaler.
When the order is ready for shipment, it is still in the order fulfillment stage and will remain so until it arrives in the customer’s warehouse. Transport and logistics are part of the process of order fulfillment just as they are part of the entire logistics management operation.
The process of transport and logistics doesn’t change even if a company contracts with a shipping company. It is still part of the order fulfillment process even if someone other than the company itself delivers the goods to the customer. Transport and logistics functions do not define that the company from which the customer orders must deliver the goods; it only defines it is the responsibility of the company delivering the order to arrange delivery whether it is with a transport company or through its own freight shipping department.
Once a customer places an order it becomes part of the order fulfillment process, and once the order is packaged and ready to ship it enters the transport and logistics process. From here it will eventually be shipped and delivered to the customer by either in house shipping or by a shipping company. Taking the time to assure the customers receive their orders in a timely fashion will also guarantee the company will have return customers who will also provide feedback to others in their areas of expertise.
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