The peak season is a make-or-break time for eCommerce businesses, especially in today’s challenging retail landscape. With high inflation, increased interest rates, and a drop in consumer spending, retailers must find ways to maximise every sale while ensuring a seamless and efficient order fulfillment process.  

For many, the solution lies in automating and digitising their operations, and ERP solutions like MYOB Acumatica play a key role in achieving this. In this guide, we’ll explore ways to streamline your order fulfillment process, with a particular focus on automation and operational efficiency, helping you prepare for the busiest shopping season of the year.

Why Efficient Order Fulfilment Matters More Than Ever

In 2023, Australians spent a record-breaking $63.8 billion online, accounting for 18% of all retail sales, with more than 7.5 million households participating in online shopping. This represents significant growth from previous years, indicating the increasing reliance on eCommerce.  

Additionally, during major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, online sales saw dramatic increases of 88% and 70% respectively since 2019. This underscores the need for eCommerce businesses to optimise their fulfillment processes to manage these peak periods efficiently.

This data highlights how important it is for retailers to be prepared for the surge in orders, ensuring they can meet demand while maintaining customer satisfaction through efficient order fulfillment processes. 

Here’s how you can streamline your fulfillment process and be prepared for peak season:

1. Prepare Your Inventory 

Inventory management is the backbone of efficient order fulfillment. Knowing what stock you have, where it is, and being able to show customers this information in real time is crucial. Poor inventory visibility leads to overselling, stockouts, and customer dissatisfaction. 

• Best Practice: Implement a robust inventory management system that integrates with your eCommerce platform and other business systems. Real-time inventory tracking ensures that your stock levels are updated automatically as transactions occur throughout the day. 
   
• How MYOB Acumatica Helps: MYOB Acumatica provides real-time inventory visibility and updates, ensuring you always know what’s in stock and where, allowing you to meet customer expectations throughout the buying journey. 

2. Automate Routine Processes 

Automation is key to improving speed and accuracy in order fulfillment. By automating tasks like order processing, customer notifications, and label printing, you not only save time but also reduce the risk of human error. This leaves your team free to focus on higher-priority tasks. 

• Best Practice: Automate tasks such as order tracking, stock updates, and shipping label generation to streamline processes and minimise manual intervention. 
   
• How MYOB Acumatica Helps: With MYOB Acumatica, you can automate various stages of the fulfillment process, from order management to dispatch, improving efficiency and freeing up resources for other essential areas of your business. 

3. Enable Staff to Pick by Location 

In large warehouses and stores, pick tasks can be optimised to reduce travel time. By grouping orders based on location, you can significantly speed up the picking process and improve efficiency.

• Best Practice: Implement automated or manual location-based picking methods to optimise travel time for staff, especially during high-demand periods. 
   
• How MYOB Acumatica Helps: MYOB Acumatica allows for customisation in pick-run optimisation, helping you streamline the picking process, whether you’re using a large warehouse or a smaller store format. 

4. Don’t Track Every Pick, Just the Exceptions 

For businesses that don’t have dedicated pickers, speed matters. Instead of tracking every pick, focus on identifying and tracking exceptions—such as short picks. This pulls inventory off the sales floor quickly, reducing the risk of overselling and improving stock accuracy. 

• Best Practice: Use exception tracking to identify and address issues without slowing down the fulfillment process. 

5. Have Dedicated Packers

Sales staff excel at picking, but packing demands a different set of skills. Having dedicated packers can significantly improve speed and reduce the likelihood of shipping errors. 

• Best Practice: Train and designate specific staff members to handle the packing process to ensure orders are packed securely and efficiently. 

6. Connect Essential Platforms

Integrating your eCommerce platform with inventory, CRM, and accounting systems is crucial for keeping your fulfillment process running smoothly. Real-time data transfer ensures that your entire tech stack is working together, providing the most accurate information and reducing the chance of errors. 

• How MYOB Acumatica Helps: MYOB Acumatica integrates seamlessly with various platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, providing a unified view of your operations. This connectivity ensures that data flows smoothly between systems, enhancing visibility and accuracy. 

7. Consider Dedicated Inventory and Staff for Store Fulfilment

In some cases, setting up certain stores as fulfilment hubs can help businesses meet peak season demand. These stores can have dedicated staff and inventory specifically for online orders, allowing for faster fulfillment and reduced delivery times. 

• Best Practice: Designate stores as fulfillment hubs, with dedicated inventory and staff to handle online orders separately from in-store sales. 

8. Optimise Replenishment Strategies Using Data 

Analysing fulfillment data, such as short picks and inventory levels, can help fine-tune your replenishment strategies. This helps ensure that you’re ordering the right amount of stock at the right time, minimising the chances of stockouts or overstocking. 

• Best Practice: Use data-driven insights to optimise your replenishment strategies, ensuring stock levels are managed efficiently. 

Conclusion

Managing order fulfillment during peak season can be a daunting task, but by implementing these strategies and leveraging ERP systems like MYOB Acumatica, you can significantly streamline your operations.  
 
Automation, real-time data, and integration between essential platforms will help you improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance the customer experience. Prepare your business now for the upcoming holiday rush to process every order seamlessly and on time.

Ready to streamline your order fulfillment process and enhance efficiency this peak season? Book a demo with AlphaBiz Solutions today and discover how MYOB Acumatica can transform your business operations.