Order Fulfillment: Dark Stores For A Digital World

Order Fulfillment: Dark Stores For A Digital World

The technologically advanced world has made digital organization a reality. The advent of the cloud
technology and its computing powers has been put to use to automate, optimize and control the operation
of an enterprise which has the flexibility to adapt easily to the ever changing global environment. The
conventional business processes however efficient, still lack the end-to-end control and visibility required
to mange a highly complex network of multi enterprise. The increasing costs and the lead-time required to
implement the changes gives a negative impact in this highly aggressive competitive market.

However, the lifestyle of the people and technological development has seen a growth in the e-commerce
industry. With the growth of online stores and digital organization, the process of order fulfillment has
become critical to supply chain management and is an important aspect of the business process.

Order fulfillment refers to activities, which take place from the moment the buyer places the order till
it has been delivered in full. The speed of order fulfillment response is a strategic key to success in today's
business world. Most organizations have leveraged the cloud-based technology to mange the business
processes, relationships and order fulfillment services to stay ahead of their competitors.

The cloud based order fulfilment process automates and controls end-to end- flow of the fulfillment
process while integrating all the participating members of the value network. Besides monitoring the
SLA's agreed upon and the KPI's defined in the process, this also ensures that appropriate actions are
taken in case of failure to meet the agreements. From receipt to delivery, through validation, picking,
processing, packaging dispatch and transport the order fulfillment process is a total package with
complete visibility and control, and goes much beyond the traditional order management software or the
order management system.

A number of modules make up the entire order fulfillment process. This includes Business Intelligence
Portal, Process Monitor, Admin Manager, Order Manager, Network Optimization Engine, Integration
Gateway and Web Interfaces to name a few. Besides these, the Master data Management an essential
element of Order fulfillment, synchronizes the key information required in the end-to-end process. The
benefits of using order fulfillment process are seen in reduced administrative cost, lead times, and
improved control and customer satisfaction.

Also read on - Business travel expenses, eGovernment

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