Find the Best Warehousing & Fulfillment for Your Software or Marketplace

Moving Online Orders from Your Web Store to Fulfillment

For online retailers, accurate and efficient order fulfillment is largely contingent upon a solid integration between your Web Store (the customer facing website where consumers order) or marketplace selling channels AND your Warehouse Management systems (the back end warehouse system that manages inventory and orders). Whether fulfillment is performed in house or via an outsourced fulfillment provider, electronically sending over correct order information to the warehouse staff not only eliminates manual order entry error but also helps to streamline warehouse operations. Furthermore, the warehouse must be able to send the shipping tracking information for all orders back to the Web Store software so that customers can receive updates on their orders and track them to their doorsteps.

But with so many e-commerce shopping cart solutions and inventory management systems on the market today, how does an online retailer make sure that they’re using the most effective solutions to integrate these divergent systems? The answer may not be as clear cut as one would think.

Integrating with Your In House Warehouse Management System

Shopping cart software programs, such as Magento, Volusion, Shopify and others, are great for creating powerful websites that capture orders and collect payments from customers. Still other companies opt for using a content management system for their web site, such as WordPress, coupled with a shopping cart plug in to capture and process orders, which also offers a viable option. But what happens once the order is ready to be pulled and shipped? Oftentimes, newer and growing online merchants simply utilize the shopping cart software to print invoices and packing slips and manage the status of orders.

In the case of newer companies with more limited time and budgets, simply using the shopping cart as an order management system can be a short term solution. For example, one route is to utilize an inexpensive content management system, such as WordPress, coupled with a Web Store “plug-in” that adds additional functionality to the website. A great example of this in action is to use WordPress’s popular Foxy Cart along with a plug-in called Order Desk. Developed by SparkWeb Interactive, Order Desk is a centralized, web based platform that organizes orders received from WordPress Web Stores, allowing growing merchants a way to easily process and ship orders. Order Desk also integrates with some third party warehouses to address outsourced warehousing needs, as discussed below.

However, as the business becomes more complex, and as needs change and increase, many merchants graduate to the next level of business – and purchase an inventory management system. These systems help to better manage the flow of inventory from purchase to fulfillment, but they also add a layer of complexity to the overall fulfillment equation. In particular, data must be passed back and forth in order for the shopping cart to communicate with the inventory system – such as sending order information to the inventory system, sending shipping tracking information back to the shopping cart once the order has been processed, and generally managing inventory counts for seamless fulfillment of customer orders.

One solution for solving the challenge of information exchange is to use custom programming in order to electronically pass order information back and forth between shopping cart and inventory management software. On the positive side of the coin, custom programming can solve nearly every integration challenge. However, on the flip side, custom programming can be expensive. Furthermore, it is risky to invest in a custom solution when, at some point in the future, user needs may change or systems may become obsolete.

Thankfully, many of the more popular shopping carts and content management systems offer built-in integration tools or software plug-ins that can bridge the gap – and planning is the key to choose the best path, avoid unnecessary expenses, set the business up for the best future success, and take advantage of software that already exists. For example, shopping cart behemoths such as Shopify, because of their wide use, attract developers who create custom apps that integrate and make the overall fulfillment process easier. Examples of inventory management apps for Shopify include Stitch Labs and Lettuce.

Look Before You Leap Into a Shopping Cart for Your Website

Choosing an online shopping cart solution can be a very tedious process, especially considering that there are hundreds of options out there in the marketplace. And for some companies that ship themselves in very low volume, the choice may not be especially crucial to the success of the company. For other companies, however, the choice of a shopping cart is extremely important. In particular, those online merchants that use the services of an ecommerce fulfillment company should pay very close attention to this critical decision. In this case, the shopping cart selected can mean the difference between success and failure.

Don’t Use a Proprietary Web Store

Some fulfillment companies offer a custom, home grown shopping cart. Their sales pitch often includes how nicely it plays with their warehouse management system, how there is no integration involved, and how cost effective it is to implement. While some of this may very well be true, in reality the shopping cart almost permanently ties you into using their fulfillment services in the future. If the fulfillment company is great, then that isn’t so much of a problem. However, if their performance is less than stellar and a decision is made to move to a different provider, then switching shopping carts can quickly become a nightmare. Not to mention if you ever just simply wanted to bring the storage and distribution process in house. The better course of action is to steer clear of any in house web stores offered by fulfillment shipping companies. In the long run, it will save an enormous headache.

The Bigger Name Shopping Carts Offer a Safe Solution

There are a handful of shopping cart solutions that have gained tremendous popularity. In addition to the fact that they are very well supported and quite affordable, they’re also very popular with fulfillment companies. Because of this, fulfillment providers have already built pre-existing integration with them, making the entire set up process a snap. In many cases, the set up can be completed with only a few clicks of a button. This saves online merchants an enormous amount of time and money. Some examples of popular shopping carts include Magento, Shopify, and Volusion. Take a look at these options to save time, money, and headaches down the road when looking for a shopping cart solution that integrates well with outsourced fulfillment services.

Integrating with an Outsourced Fulfillment House

For some online merchants, fulfillment companies come to the rescue by handling all aspects of the receiving, storage, and order fulfillment and shipping of product. These third party fulfillment houses generally have sophisticated warehouse management systems, oftentimes tailored to their industry so that they can manage inventory for a multitude of customers. A lot of times, 3PL (third party logistics) warehouse management software offers a giant leap forward for small and growing online retailers in terms of inventory and order management as well as overall reporting. But stepping into their more expansive systems isn’t without its challenges.

The most significant of the challenges is the preliminary step of actually integrating the merchants’ online Web Store with the warehouse management system. Many of the top-of-the-line warehouse management systems have very simple integration tools for the more popular Web Stores on the market. So online sellers that use shopping carts such as Volusion, Magento, and Shopify can take a huge sigh of relief. However, what about those companies using a less popular shopping cart? In many cases, integration can present interesting challenges, requiring additional programming time and resulting in a hefty set up fee to utilize a third party fulfillment company.

In order to overcome the challenge of allowing simple and straightforward integration for shopping carts of all shapes and sizes, a handful of software companies have come into existence. These companies have developed software that acts as a bridge between shopping carts and warehouse management systems, resulting in a smoother set up and integration process. One example of this type of software is Drop Stream. By using a cloud-based integration platform, Drop Stream helps to take away the pain for integrating shopping carts with fulfillment centers.

It Pays to Plan Out the Course

No matter your particular situation, one of the most important aspects of shopping cart and inventory management software use and management is to spend adequate time planning for the future. With so many options, shopping carts in particular can seem like a dime a dozen, making the decision seemingly insignificant. However, in order to utilize the best programs for the long term success of the business, thorough thought and consideration should be given to not only which systems suite the needs of the business best, but also which tools to use in order to provide a stable future and avoid unnecessary costs. Up front due diligence can save significant hassles later down the road.

Marketplace Fulfillment Services Play a Part in Your Selling Success

As the number of marketplace selling platforms has increased, so too have companies offering marketplace fulfillment services. These are the businesses whom you can hire to ship your products to customers who have purchased them from your chosen marketplaces. Fulfillment services can stock your inventory, and as soon as the marketplace transmits an order, pick, pack, and ship it.

Since they assume the responsibility of getting the right product to the right customer on time and undamaged, it is crucial that you choose one with quality control processes in place, properly trained employees, and up-to-date technology that addresses your particular shipping needs. Choosing the right marketplace fulfillment service can cement your favorable rating among your customers. Choosing the wrong one can result in your losing them.

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