Often referred to as Distribution Centers (DCs), fulfillment centers are spaces where retailers, manufacturers, and other organizations store their inventories before distributing them to their customers. They form the last stage of product distribution to end customers, making them extremely vital in the overall customer experience.
In addition to receiving and storage, fulfillment centers help e-commerce merchants and manufacturers by handling all the picking, packaging, fulfillment, and shipping of orders to end customers. This helps alleviate the pain and pressure of performing these tedious tasks in-house.
Common services offered by fulfillment centers include:
- Receiving products from suppliers and manufacturers
- Inventorying and warehousing products in their physical warehouse
- Picking, packing, and shipping orders to customers
- Kitting and light assembly services to support the fulfillment function
- Handling and processing customer returns
- Managing inventory and order information online via reporting
- And in some cases, like OSW, offer superior customer care support services
