Image by Nick Saltmarsh via Flickr
Pick and pack fulfillment is one of the most popular techniques used in the last leg of supply chain management. This final stage of the supply chain focuses on the distribution of goods and services. It begins when a large or bulk shipment of products is received by the distribution center.
It is the job of the distribution center to store and ship products. The method they rely on to accomplish this objective is called pick and pack. Companies who have contacts with the pick and pack warehouse will send shipments of goods to the warehouse to be stored on site. One orders are received for those items, also through the fulfillment center, employees will pick those items from the appropriate storage spaces, pack them securely, and send them off to customers.
Now, the cost savings of pick and pack can only be realized if the system keeps close track of current inventories. Since storage space is the primary consideration, the system must alert employees of all shortages. At this point, the warehouse manager will request that bulk shipments be broken down and prepared for shipment.
Businesses of all sizes can save money using pick and pack fulfillment. Pick and pack is extremely popular with large club and retail stores because they can get huge amounts of storage space and order items in massive quantities which will result in steep price discounts. Large companies also benefit from working with a pick and pack warehouse because the super efficient and easy to track ordering system used by the fulfillment center allows large businesses to track customer orders much more easily than if the orders were being sent by the company directly. Customers expect the company to be able to find their order and call up the details of that order at a moment’s notice and with the innovative digital tracking programs used by fulfillment warehouses they can find any order quickly and answer customer questions in a timely manner.
Small businesses that use pick and pack fulfillment can turn a home business into a solid income because they are essentially outsourcing all of their supply chain management to a company that is set up to do nothing but get products out to customers as quickly as possible. Any small business owner knows that paying a small per item fee in exchange for the fast and efficient order fulfillment that comes from contracting with a fulfillment company is a huge bargain.
