Fulfilment: The unexpected key to successful e-commerce
Fulfilment operations should not only be fast and efficient in the DC -- they should increase speed and efficiency of the downstream distribution process. For example, e-commerce fulfilment operations should be able to palletize orders with delivery truck routes in mind, and orders should "picked to plan-o-gram" of destination stores -- without additional capital expense, labour content or cycle time.
Growing at more than 25 percent per year, e-commerce gives consumers much of what they want: broad assortment and convenient shopping any time from anywhere. To successfully compete with the bricks, all e-commerce has to do is stock the "long tail," ensure order accuracy, ensure nearly instant gratification with overnight shipping and keep shipping costs down.
