Imagine an online store that needs no warehouse of its own at all: the goods sit in Nova Poshta warehouses, where they are received from the supplier, picked, packed and handed over for delivery. In December 2016 ANIART launched a service that opens up access to Nova Poshta fulfilment. Alongside it we built a workspace for the online store manager — so that all of these operations can be run remotely.
Why fulfilment is changing the e-commerce market
Many online stores do not hold the full range of goods they sell. Items are sold that the seller does not physically have in stock — and every such order turns into a chain of manual steps.
What happens today:
- The order. The customer places it on the store's website.
- A call to the supplier. The online store manager phones the supplier and arranges for the goods to be shipped.
- Waiting. The goods travel from the supplier for several days.
- Repacking and dispatch. The manager repacks the goods and sends them on to the customer.
What fulfilment is
As a business service, fulfilment is in greatest demand precisely among online stores, and is often outsourced to fulfilment centres.
Orders from the online store are passed to a fulfilment centre, which also provides goods storage services; there they are assembled, packed and handed over to the delivery service.From Nova Poshta company materials
What fulfilment takes off your hands
- You need not have a warehouse — everything is stored in Nova Poshta warehouses.
- Goods are received into the virtual warehouse from suppliers without your involvement.
- Orders are picked and sent to your customers without your involvement.
- Accompanying documentation is prepared for you.
- Orders are packed and labelled without your involvement.
- Orders are handed over for delivery to your customers without your involvement.
| Operation | Without fulfilment | With fulfilment |
|---|---|---|
| Storing the goods | Your own warehouse or an arrangement with the supplier | Nova Poshta warehouses |
| Receiving from the supplier | The store manager | Without your involvement |
| Picking and packing | The store manager | Without your involvement |
| Documents | Prepared by the store | Prepared on the service side |
| Handover for delivery | The store manager | Without your involvement |
The service for accessing Nova Poshta fulfilment warehouses
Every operation with the virtual warehouses can be carried out remotely. All you need is an internet connection.
Product catalogue
Building the catalogue: barcodes, weight, dimensions, value.
Receiving plans
Creating plans for receiving goods into the virtual warehouse.
Customer orders
Creating orders for your customers straight from the manager's workspace.
Order statuses
Getting information on the current status of every order.
Integration with the store
Create requests to your supplier and manage the warehouse directly from an order received on the website.
Stock levels
Information on current stock levels broken down by warehouse — for all catalogue items or for specific ones.
The forms the application comes in
- A standalone web service, available from any browser.
- A module for the corporate portal, if the store already works in one.
In the second stage of the system's development, a mechanism for integrating the online store with the fulfilment service will be introduced. Mock-ups of the application for mobile devices have already been created as well.
Applying for free access
Everyone who registers and applies to use the service before 30 November 2016 receives free access. To apply you need an e-mail address, to which we will send test access, along with your name and phone number — in case something is quicker to discuss by voice.
Clients who have purchased a CRM system from ANIART are given the remote workspace free of charge.Service launch terms
In place of a conclusion
Fulfilment takes everything unrelated to selling off the online store's hands: storage, receiving, picking, packing, documents and handover for delivery. What is left for the store is its range, its prices and its customers. And the manager's workspace we built makes it possible to run the virtual warehouse from the very same window in which the manager sees the orders.
Materials from the Nova Poshta company were used in preparing this article; full information about the fulfilment service is available there.
