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Order Processing and Fulfillment Methods

The document discusses order processing and the factors that determine the specific order fulfillment process for distribution centers. It explains that order processing tracks customer orders with suppliers and produces order fulfillment through documented flowcharts. There is no single order fulfillment process, as each distribution center has unique requirements determined by factors like the nature of products shipped, order characteristics, packaging used, workforce availability, and seasonal demand fluctuations. As a result, each organization requires customized operational procedures for order processing.

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Satish Kumar
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12 views2 pages

Order Processing and Fulfillment Methods

The document discusses order processing and the factors that determine the specific order fulfillment process for distribution centers. It explains that order processing tracks customer orders with suppliers and produces order fulfillment through documented flowcharts. There is no single order fulfillment process, as each distribution center has unique requirements determined by factors like the nature of products shipped, order characteristics, packaging used, workforce availability, and seasonal demand fluctuations. As a result, each organization requires customized operational procedures for order processing.

Uploaded by

Satish Kumar
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Order processing tracks orders from customers with suppliers.

Order processing produces


the end result of order fulfillment. The order process is documented through a flowchart
or process flow diagram. It shows the sequence of action in order processing, products or
services leaving or entering and the decisions that must be made to reach order
fulfillment.

Order processing Order processing is a key element of Order fulfillment. Order


processing operations or facilities are commonly called "distribution centers". "Order
processing" is the term generally used to describe the process or the work flow associated
with the picking, packing and delivery of the packed item(s) to a shipping carrier. The
specific "order fulfillment process" or the operational procedures of distribution centers
are determined by many factors. Each distribution center has its own unique requirements
or priorities. There is no "one size fits all" process that universally provides the most
efficient operation. Some of the factors that determine the specific process flow of a
distribution center are:

 The nature of the shipped product - shipping eggs and shipping shirts can require
differing fulfillment processes
 The nature of the orders - the number of differing items and quantities of each
item in orders
 The nature of the shipping packaging - cases, totes, envelopes, pallets can create
process variations
 Shipping costs - consolidation of orders, shipping pre-sort can change processing
operations
 Availability and cost and productivity of workforce - can create trade-off
decisions in automation and manual processing operations
 Timeliness of shipment windows - when shipments need to be completed based
on carriers can create processing variations
 Availability of capital expenditure dollars - influence on manual verses automated
process decisions and longer term benefits
 Value of product shipped - the ratio of the value of the shipped product and the
order fulfillment cost
 Seasonality variations in outbound volume - amount and duration of seasonal
peaks and valleys of outbound volume
 Predictability of future volume, product and order profiles -
 Predictability of distribution network - whether or not the network itself is going
to change

This list is only a small sample of factors that influence the choice of a distribution
centers operational procedures. Because each factor has varying importance in each
organization the net effect is that each organization has unique processing requirements.

The effect of Globalization has immense impacts on much of the order fulfillment but its
impact is felt most in transportation and distribution.
Order processing methodologies
Single item picking
Pick to order
Batch pick to order
Batch pick and sort to order
Wave Picking
Waveless picking

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