Selecting an Irish pick and pack warehouse to fulfill your online orders is no mean feat. It’s an important choice that has big implications for your company in terms of costs, efficiency, and customer experience. So, it’s only natural that you want to look around and get a feel for the place as you’re evaluating which 3PL company in Ireland you want to partner with.
That’s why we’ve put together this virtual tour of Autofulfil’s 100,000 sq ft pick and pack warehouse in Oranmore, Galway to give you a peak behind the curtain and see how Ireland’s top fulfillment centre operates.
Watch this quick video to see our warehouse in action and read on to learn more about each process station in our facility.
Goods-In Area
The fulfillment process starts in our goods-in area, where we receive the inventory you send us. Our team will compare what we receive to the delivery document. We can then report back about any damaged goods or stock discrepancies.
Everything will quickly be checked into our system, so it’s available as in-stock inventory to sell right away. You’ll also be able to view all checked-in inventory via the client portal on the same day it’s received.
To help us stock inventory on the same day, deliveries should be scheduled with our customer service team at least 72 hours before they’re sent. You’ll also need to make sure all products you send have unique SKU barcodes to facilitate accurate fulfillment.
Pick and Pack Warehouse Storage
The next step is assigning your products to a storage location in our pick and pack warehouse, where you’ll find three floors dedicated to storing our clients’ inventory. Products will be stored on a pallet or in a pickable bay, depending on the size of your products and the number of SKUs being held. On average, each bay can typically hold one pallet’s worth of stock. From here, we’ll pick and scan your orders as soon as they’re received. With more than 100,000 square feet of fulfillment centre space, we have the capacity to pick, pack and ship millions of orders per year.
We also offer pallet storage racking for long-term stock and B2B order fulfillment. For the latter, we’re fully equipped for the unique requirements of B2B fulfillment, including manual processing for orders, bulk shipping with pallets, and special packaging and labelling requirements.
Rest assured, all stock we hold is completely secure thanks to our 24/7 security system and cameras. We also have stringent security policies in place to make sure clients’ stock is checked, monitored, and always protected.
Order Picking
Now onto the bread and butter of any 3PL warehouse in Ireland – picking and packing. We have an impressive 99.8% accuracy rate, ensuring your customers get the right items and quantities for each and every order.
How? We have a strict verification process in place, with products scanned and verified through our system. When orders come through, a pick note will be printed with the following details:
- Product description
- Storage location
- Barcode
- Quantity
When products are picked from the pickable bays, the product barcode and packaging barcode are scanned against the barcode from the pick note. If they don’t match, they won’t go through until any issues are resolved. Most importantly, verification is always performed by a secondary team member for quality assurance to prevent customer service issues, unhappy customers, and lost sales.
Kitting and Assembling Area
Next, it’s onto our kitting and assembly area. After all, we do more than just ship. Here, our team can kit and assemble your products into bundles, and create more memorable unboxing experiences for your customers with special touches such as branded product packaging, tissue paper, stickers, bows, etc.
Packing Stations
After picking and assembling orders, the next stage happens in our packing area. This is where we ensure your products arrive to your customers securely and free from damage. Our sustainable packaging is made from full-recyclable and biodegradable paper-based materials sourced using sustainable forest management practices. We can also store and utilise custom-branded packaging supplied by our clients.
Outbound Shipping
Finally, parcels are picked up by our trusted shipping partners to be delivered quickly and safely from our pick and pack warehouse floor to your customer’s door. We have designated areas for each of our courier partners to collect orders each day.
Thanks to close partnerships with both local and global carriers, such as DPD, UPS, FedEx, Fastway, and An Post, you can choose from a range of delivery options such as:
- Next-day delivery throughout Ireland
- 2-4 day delivery across the EU
- Worldwide delivery with 5-15 days lead time
- Premium fast delivery
- Low-cost economy delivery
Once items have been picked up, our system will be updated so you can access tracking and delivery information through the client portal. It can also be synchronised with your eCommerce platform to keep your customers in the loop automatically.
Returns Processing
Returns are a vital part of the eCommerce journey. Fortunately, that’s another area we can help with. All orders we fulfill are sent with a returns form. Customers can then fill that out and return items, which will be processed within one business day upon receiving returned orders.
Our dedicated returns team can tailor processes to your unique returns policy. That includes returns inspections, returning products to stock, shipping back to you, disposal, or even sending photos to you for a case-by-case approach. You can even let us clean, steam, fold, or repackage products to get them ready for selling again.
Go Green with Us
No tour of our Irish pick and pack warehouse is complete without mentioning our commitment to sustainability and the environment. In short, Autofulfil has gone green. We’re fully carbon neutral and all of our packaging is completely recyclable and biodegradable, including:
- Paper tape and paper void fill for packaging
- Shipping boxes produced in line with Forest Stewardship Council certified practices
We run our warehouse off of 100% renewable energy and utilise motion-sensing LED lights to reduce energy consumption. We have also partnered with Trees for the Future to offset the carbon footprint of our fulfillment centre operations and shipping by planting trees and supporting local farmers with land-restoring forest garden development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Interested in Touring with Us In-Person?
A blog post simply doesn’t do our fulfillment centre justice. The size, cleanliness, organisation, and streamlined efficiency are impossible to capture here. So why not join us for a live tour of the top pick and pack warehouse in Ireland to see it for yourself? Contact our team to request a tour today!