Order fulfilment process structuring

We chart the full order journey for a group that sells through more than one channel or fulfils from more than one site, from the moment an order is placed to delivery and the return window that follows. Every step carries its owner, its system of record, the time allowed and the data that passes to the next step.

The group holds an order process it can check, brief to providers and change deliberately.

• An end-to-end order process map with owner, system and time standard at each step.
• A channel promise matrix of cut-off times, delivery windows and fees by channel and market.
• An exception handling guide for address errors, stock-outs, payment holds and partial shipments.
• A data handoff specification for what moves between platform, warehouse and carrier.
• A service level schedule for each provider's contract.

• Order cycle time from placement to dispatch is reported by channel, so a slow channel shows itself.
• Orders ship within the promised cut-off, and you see the share that do.
• Orders that sit in exception status past a working day are counted, so a stall between platform and warehouse shows up.
• Customers ask for order status less, and the contacts about status are counted against order volume.
• Every step has an owner.

Where each channel was built separately, the same product is picked, packed and promised differently depending on where it was sold. Cut-off times differ, address errors travel unchecked, and nobody owns the order between the platform and the courier.

• The same order type has three different delivery promises across channels.
• Orders stall between the sales platform and the warehouse, and no one sees where.
• Customer service must call the warehouse to learn the status of an order.
• Cut-off times are known to staff and not written anywhere.
• Changing a provider would require rebuilding the process from memory.

Chief operating officers and chief executives of brands and retailers that have added channels, marketplaces or warehouses faster than they have documented how an order should flow, and groups preparing to bring in a provider.

Qasim Abbas set the capital logic for a last-mile fleet of about 1,000 vehicles at BaladiMart, where a process step costs money every time it runs. Each step of your order process is written with that cost in view.

We trace real orders through each channel and write the standard against what they show, on the sales platforms, order management and warehouse systems the group already runs. See how fees work.

Can the same process cover several providers?

Yes. One standard is written, and each provider is held to it, which makes their performance comparable.

How do you handle marketplace rules?

The channel promise matrix records each marketplace's requirements next to your own, so conflicts are visible before they cost you a ranking.

Name the orders that cause the most trouble. At a private briefing with the Managing Partner we choose where the chart begins.