eCommerce Fulfillment: Pick at the DC or In-Store?

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Once you have a clear understanding of what your customers’ shopping experience should be like, you must define the order management process and system functionalities required to implement an efficient, error-free operation.

Every industry has specific needs but the following elements typically need to be defined for most businesses:

Where will we fulfill web orders? At the distribution center? In our stores? A combination of both? Picking orders at the DC has clear advantages but doing it in stores shouldn’t be dismissed altogether:

Why Pick at the DC?	Why Pick In-Store?
Leverage your current labor Reduces downtime and existing staff is easier to train and supervise Simpler inventory positioning A central location is easier to manage Quality control Improved consistency in packing contributes to customer satisfaction Reduce impact on retail space & labor Picking in store means more product going through the back of the store and occupying valuable space better used for customers walking through the front door Shelf life If your product is date sensitive, centralized distribution gets it to your customers faster	Minimize the impact on the DC layout Avoid making significant changes to your facility Variety/inventory Products in the apparel and fashion industry have short lifecycles; a DC may not hold every size/color, especially towards the end of a collection, but a specific store might still have those great purple loafers in size 12 The business warrants it e.g., food delivery in remote locations

Why Pick at the DC?

Why Pick In-Store?

Leverage your current labor
Reduces downtime and existing staff is easier to train and supervise

Simpler inventory positioning
A central location is easier to manage

Quality control
Improved consistency in packing contributes to customer satisfaction

Reduce impact on retail space & labor
Picking in store means more product going through the back of the store and occupying valuable space better used for customers walking through the front door

Shelf life
If your product is date sensitive, centralized distribution gets it to your customers faster

Minimize the impact on the DC layout
Avoid making significant changes to your facility

Variety/inventory
Products in the apparel and fashion industry have short lifecycles; a DC may not hold every size/color, especially towards the end of a collection, but a specific store might still have those great purple loafers in size 12

The business warrants it
e.g., food delivery in remote locations

Interested to learn more? Download LIDD’s eBook How to Integrate E-Commerce Distribution into Your Existing Operations.