Ecommerce fulfillment is the part of your ecommerce shop where you finally fulfill, pack, and deliver or ship the products that your customers have purchased from you.

For a lot of ecommerce businesses, the ecommerce fulfillment part is a challenge to accomplish, especially as a beginner to the industry.

You should make sure that you avoid the common mistakes that people make when it comes to ecommerce fulfillment because this is an important part of the sales process. This is the part where you deliver on your promise to your customers so you want it to go as smoothly as possible.

There are plenty of ways that your ecommerce fulfillment can go wrong so you should remain vigilant, especially if you’re new to the ecommerce business.

Sometimes, the sellers do this themselves but most of the time, they hire a service to do it for them. No matter what, though, you may find that you’re still prone to mistakes.

Thus, knowing these mistakes beforehand can make you more aware of them and can help you find ways to avoid them. On that note below are some of the common mistakes people make for ecommerce fulfillment: 

1. Poor inventory management

One of the worst areas to neglect as an ecommerce business is your inventory management.

Since you’re selling your goods online, inventory management is a huge part of managing your business. If you neglect this, then not only are you going to be unable to sell to more people but you may also end up not fulfilling your promises and having to cancel an order.

Make sure that you keep a track of your supply and reflect that in the store. Just because there are customers willing to buy your products even if you don’t have it in stock doesn’t mean you should take advantage of that. Only sell what you have on hand.

2. Ignoring dropshipping

In ecommerce fulfillment, one of the things that you should definitely consider is dropshipping.

Dropshipping is when you, the seller, aren’t the one who is keeping the supply. Instead, you have a different service provider whom you send the shipping details too. They are the ones who are going to be doing the shipping for you.

Dropshipping is a very successful option that a lot of online sellers do so that they can focus less on the shipping part of their work and more on the marketing and actual selling part of online selling.

3. Product information errors

When your customer receives their package, they want to be able to see that what they thought they purchased is actually what came through the door.

How many times did you yourself buy something online only to be disappointed by the product once you’ve received it? It happens to a lot of us and often it’s because we don’t read the product information correctly.

Thus, as an online seller, you have to make sure that you write correct product information. Make it as clear as possible and make sure that you are accurately describing the product you’re selling.

4. Damaged products

One thing that you want to avoid is getting a refund from a customer because they received a damaged product. Not only is that going to be a logistical challenge to arrange, it means that you lost out on a product that could have been sold.

This is one of the most common mistakes sellers make when it comes to ecommerce fulfillment. The best way you can prevent your products from getting damaged while it’s being shipped is by making sure that it is packaged correctly.

If your products still end up getting damaged despite the fact that you package it properly, then something more may be amiss.

5. Improper communication

In ecommerce fulfillment, quicker deliveries or shipping is something that your customers appreciate. Thus, if you want to do this then you must ensure that you and your warehouse or shipping service provider has excellent communication. Even a simple miscommunication can lead to a loss of a good reputation for you.

As long as you keep optimizing your communication channels with your shipping facility, you should be fine. Keep changing and keep tweaking it until you find the sweet spot that makes your ecommerce fulfillment go a lot faster and more efficient.

6. Poor customer service

Social media management is one great way to provide great customer service. There are plenty of means that make it easier for you to have excellent customer service so there’s hardly any excuse to give your customer a poor experience with you.

Customer service can be the difference between a lost customer and a new loyal customer. Respond to any inquiries and questions as soon as possible. You can even use AI to give faster customer support in your ecommerce business.

Conclusion

Ecommerce fulfillment requires a lot more work than you would think initially. Plus, it’s work that is underappreciated and not noticeable until something goes wrong.

From poor customer service to bad inventory management, all of these are common issues in ecommerce fulfillment that you should be vigilant of. Thus, you should make sure that you are doing right by your customers by making this process efficient.

Although mistakes are common and inevitable, as long as you know how to avoid them, then you should be better off than not knowing what mistakes to avoid.

You want to be able to close off a sale on a positive note, so avoid making the above mentioned mistakes as much as possible.