The integration of brick and motor stores with online sales or vice versa has led to a different supply chain management mechanism, essentially, catering to internet fulfillment. Amazon multi channel fulfillment is one such innovative distribution process that addresses opportunities, challenges and complexities of multi channel fulfillment. It is the quality of an internet channel to offer immense information to a customer around a product thus reduces its search cost, if he is navigating across different channels to look for a preferred product type. For a seller’s perspective multi channel fulfillment reduces supply chain management costs.

Amazon Multichannel fulfillment has a wider impact upon overall business process with respect to having an impact upon various stages of supply chain management as:-

• Impact upon sales is consisted of business processes impacting upon aspects like pricing, order promising and forecasting.

• All the important steps that carries an item to a customer’s address comes under delivery.

• Warehousing primarily related to stocking and inventory management with the help of an auto multi channel fulfillment app in e-logistics let a seller to be always updated about its stock and inventory levels.

• Order management with respect to all the steps after the checkout is also considered under multi-channel fulfillment by Amazon an important fulfillment process.

The information exchange is an essential and imperative part of supply chain integration in an internet driven Amazon Multi Channel fulfillment environment. In an e-fulfillment environment, the delivery of products inclusive into product USP, the supply chain, product promotion, price management as well as business forecasts are included within the steps of multi-channel fulfillment. The overall sales and deliver planning in multi channel fulfillment environment include:-

The role of Amazon multichannel fulfillment is merely just not limited only to faster and accurate delivery of an ordered item but also in designing a product offering as well. The manifestation of an efficient and faster delivery service as part of product design is an important factor for customer satisfaction level. The crux of an entire fulfillment service lies with the matching time window of a customer and of a delivery boy.

• Matching Delivery Window: For attended home delivery, a company and its customer need to agree on a delivery time window. The length of this window and its timing during the day are important aspects of the customer’s perceived service. The same goes for the delivery lead time, i.e. order placement and delivery. At the same time, all of these factors have an immediate impact on the seller’s delivery costs. Striking the right balance between cost and service is challenging, in particular in highly competitive environments, such as the grocery market and apparel market.

• Handling of Customer Returns: Another added advantage offered by multi channel fulfillment service is effective management of returns. In the internet selling mediums the rate of return ranges approximately to 45% of total orders. Cost of return handling to a greater extent also include last mile as well. Multi channel fulfillment with the help of its effective and transparent inventory and order management enables an effective and faster returns too.

• Streamlined Pick-Up Lanes: Multi Channel fulfillment let a seller to have get its traditional sales channel well integrated with an internet channel. It helps a renowned brand to have better and enhanced trust with their loyal customers. Physical store pick-up points are also relevant by the MCF converted into a dedicated pick-up lane.

• Low Capital Investments: An effective pick-up structure developed upon the basis of multi channel fulfillment let a business to have carry-over impact upon in-store sales. The presence of a brick and motor store also helps in managing the return handling as well.

In the internet market pricing plays an important role in designing overall marketing, sales and promotion strategy. Multi channel fulfillment impacts on the basis of efficient and faster delivery helps to set price both for physical products as well as for the delivery. Effective and complete data visibility of even makes impact upon price for business activities like promotions and combo offers. Price management also helps to cater pricing for short-term demand management.

Multi-channel fulfillment is an essential component for an eCommerce store owner, especially, when he is planning to manage transportation and shipping for an order. Contrary to in-store pick up process, home-delivery requires an extensive and detailed operations. An auto multi channel fulfillment app enabled with features like inventory and order management let a seller to have consistent store replenishment for regular in-store pick-up for scalable fulfillment services especially at business peak hours.

Amazon multi-channel fulfillment let a third party seller to have a low cost fulfillment for an order processing. For low volume items like groceries transportation cost is very essential for success of a business. Point-to-point integration between systems especially a shipping solution and eCommerce store.

Multichannel fulfillment as an integral part of overall business planning even before the launching of the eCommerce store lets a seller work exactly to its delivery service design. With entire data exchange process between systems without a flaw and automated transportation routes become more efficient flexible,

In B2C internet commerce depending upon the fluctuations in the market, multi channel fulfillment providing accurate visibility into inventory and order data let a seller to have transportation schedule exactly hit to market requirements.

Conclusion

Auto multi channel fulfillment, therefore, plays an important role along with shipping and delivering also into product offering design. A well defined product design let a seller to have meet out its eCommerce business aspects like delivery service design, transportation planning, price and business forecasting.