Fulfillment & Warehousing
Maintain Your Supply of Materials with Us
Rather than going through the hassle of buying, printing, storing, and resending materials to your employees and customers, let our fulfillment department complete the job for you. We’ll take your pieces from start to finish, all while creating a project you’ll be proud to put your name on.
Many of our clients set up online portals to enable their team members to personalize and order approved corporate materials. Ask your sales representative about this online ordering product.
Many people tend to confuse warehouses and fulfillment centers. Although they are often used in tandem and share some similar features, they have altogether different purposes. They both offer storage for different business products, but their services vary depending on the organization’s industry.
A warehouse is a storage facility for goods and products, while the process of storing goods that will be sold or distributed later is warehousing.
Warehouses are mainly used by businesses that need one location to store seasonal products until the product goes back in demand. Though fulfillment centers can perform the same functions as a warehouse, a warehouse can’t act as a fulfillment center.
Differences Between a Warehouse and Fulfillment Center
A fulfillment center is similar to a warehouse because it stores products for a firm or business. However, a fulfillment center stores products for a short while before it is shipped out while a warehouse stores them for a long time.
Fulfillment Centers and Distribution Centers
Both fulfillment and distribution centers specialize in housing products from sellers. However, the difference is that distribution centers focus primarily on businesses, and they never depend on locations and don’t ship in retailers.
Steps in Order Fulfillment
Order fulfillment involves goods being received and processed before making delivery orders to customers. The process begins when a customer makes an order, and it ends when the order is delivered. Notably, the product can be returned if the customer isn’t satisfied.
The order fulfillment steps include receiving inventory shipments. The inventory is then stored, an order is processed, and then it’s shipped to the customer. The final step is processing returns.
Types of Order Fulfillment
There are four types of order fulfillment:
- In-house: The in-house order fulfillment involves a business using its employees to handle fulfillment processes.
- Outsourced: The outsourced order fulfillment is when an order fulfillment firm does part of the order fulfillment processes, like shipping and storage.
- Dropshipping: Dropshipping is like outsourcing, but the difference is the retailer does not store products. The product is bought from a third-party supplier.
- Hybrid: Hybrid fulfillment is when a firm offers all of the above types of order fulfillment in one location.
Potential Challenges of Order Fulfillment
The order fulfillment process is not as easy as it sounds. Some of the challenges it faces include:
- Inadequate stocks that result in customers opting for other options.
- Overstocking of commodities that are not in demand results in losses.
- Difficulties in the shipping process, which can cause products to arrive late or damaged.
Benefits of Order Fulfillment
- Products can be purchased in bulk.
- Fast delivery.
- Saves the retailer on storage expenses.
At Print Tech of Western Pennsylvania, you can trust our fulfillment department to take good care of your products and materials and ensure they arrive in perfect condition. We are proud to offer excellent fulfillment and warehousing services in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. Fill out the form below to get a free quote!