The times are indeed changing, both for retail and for business-to-business fulfillment. Wal-Mart is now under pressure and they may not come out on top. Either way, some of their new methods should be noted buy other fulfillment centers.
Here’s five things you can learn from Wal-Mart to stay on top of your fulfillment game:
Wal-Mart has prioritized e-commerce fulfillment, which is why they are focusing so heavily on their new processes. But Amazon, as a total online fulfillment system, is giving them a run for their money. Unless you have a very successful direct fulfillment market that allows you to take advantage of mail, it’s time to take e-commerce as seriously as Wal-Mart does.
To meet larger fulfillment demands, especially for the coming holidays, Wal-Mart has opened new fulfillment centers in both Pennsylvania and Georgia. They’ve also incorporated new technology and increased their staff to perform these tasks. The lesson that you can take away from this is that if you have the demand but lack the staff, you need to acquire them. And if your operations can be scaled back to accommodate a bigger budget, consider that as well.
With the opening of new fulfillment centers, Wal-Mart now guarantees next-day delivery—a big promise to keep. While your company likely isn’t the size of Wal-Mart, you can also commit to delivering to customers within a certain timeframe by using the best logistics solutions you possible.
Both analysts and customers have complained that Wal-Mart’s online store is difficult to navigate. If your web site serves as a means for purchasing, distribution, and fulfillment, examine it to make sure it’s easy for customers to perform all three.
Wal-Mart isn’t foolish; the company wants to stay in touch with current society and its newfound preference for shopping online. Your fulfillment business can’t afford to lose touch with the consumer public either, and needs to constantly consider what they might want in terms of service.
Need solutions to your product fulfillment problems? APS Fulfillment, Inc. has the knowledge and services to make your direct mail and product fulfillment ventures more successful. Contact APS Fulfillment, Inc. by e-mail at info@apsfulfillment.com, visit their web site at www.apsfulfillment.com, or phone at (954) 582-7450.
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