eCommerce order fulfillment are the steps involved in packaging and delivering online product orders to end customers.

In logistics and supply chain management, 3PL (which stands for third-party logistics) is an organisation’s use of third-party businesses to outsource elements of its distribution, warehousing, and fulfillment services. Autofulfil is a 3PL provider in Ireland.

A fulfillment centre is a facility where order fulfillment services occur, including inventory storage, and picking, packing, and shipping orders. A fulfillment centre is different than a standard warehouse, because it does more than simply store items.

Pick and pack is a type of order fulfillment used most often by eCommerce retailers that receive small orders that are shipped around the globe. Rather than preparing and shipping entire cases and pallets of goods, eCommerce retailers rely on workers who pick individual items from master cartons on warehouse shelves and then pack them in boxes or envelopes addressed to specific customers for shipment.

A barcode is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Typically, barcodes represent data with varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines on a sticker or label applied to an item. We require barcodes on all of the items we stock in our inventory so we can automatically scan each item when we pick, pack, and ship it. This ensures order fulfillment accuracy. If you don’t currently have barcodes on your products, your supplier can usually easily add these for you. 

Generally, our customer service team strives to reply to all support requests within one business day, however, we utilise a prioritisation process so that certain high-urgency requests are handled within less than an hour as needed. You’ll never be waiting long for a reply.

Kitting is a process of bundling two or more related products into a new, single-packaged product SKU. Kitting is done prior to orders being received and the new, prepackaged bundles are kept in inventory ready to ship. Kitting generally costs less and is best for product bundles you know you have demand for and will sell, since the individual products are no longer in stock as individual SKUs once they’ve become part of a kit.

Assembly is a post-order process, where products are bundled into a single packaged product after an order is received. Assembly costs a bit more than kitting, however, it provides more inventory flexibility for new product bundles that don’t have much demand yet or future product order combinations using the individual product SKUs in stock.

Kitting and assembly are addressed here for more information.

From special projects to custom packaging, we offer flexible customisation options and can partner with you to provide innovative fulfillment solutions to meet any need. Some of our custom/bespoke fulfillment solutions include:

• Promotional inserts
• Thank you cards
• Gift sets and gift baskets
• Special packaging and wrapping, such as putting items into bags and branded boxes, adding tissue paper, tying ribbons and bows, or any other special packaging required for a special unboxing experience.
• Corporate gifting
• High-touchpoint, hands-on projects
• Product assembly and rework, such as adding stickers and labels for different countries, etc.
• Garment steaming
• And more!

1. Our returns process is custom-tailored to the unique returns policies of each of our clients.
2. We send a packing slip that includes a returns form out with each order we fulfill that can be used by your customers to process returns according to your returns policy.
3. You work with your client to generate a return shipping label, and the product is returned by the customer to our warehouse with the returns form included in the package.
4. All returns we receive that include a returns form are processed within one business day.
5. You may choose to set predetermined criteria for returns inspections, and when we should return your products back into stock, ship them back to you, or dispose of them. We can also share reference photos so you can decide what to do with each return on a case-by-case basis.
6. We can even offer custom services for returns restocking, such as cleaning, steaming, folding, repackaging, etc. if needed to ensure your returned products are sales-ready again.