Establishing Packaging Stations For Omnichannel Businesses

The trend of fulfilling orders from retail stores is on the rise due to retailers shifting to e-commerce. This ship-from-store model is also known as the omnichannel business model, and it necessitates the establishment of packaging stations.

Logistic components of e-commerce order processing are usually the most challenging. That is because large distribution centers have to deal with a lot of products every hour. They have to receive, stock, and dispatch products the entire time. These distribution centers are responsible for shipping products to end consumers.

In such a scenario, the omnichannel model can be quite beneficial due to its efficiency. This model involves product fulfillment from a brick-and-mortar store closest to the consumer. The in-store personnel process and ship the order to the consumer.

Why is omnichannel effective?

With companies facing a significant amount of pressure to manufacture and source using US-based resources, costs of rent and goods tend to be higher. At the same time, consumers want everything they order shipped almost immediately.

The omnichannel model helps address these issues quite significantly. With retail stores fulfilling orders, large distribution centers can save on space, rent costs, and other taxes. It helps brands offer free shipping, increased cart sizes, and other services to keep their customers happy and loyal.

This fulfillment model also helps large warehouses avoid the need to create systems to fulfill large quantities and volumes of orders. Although omnichannel can solve several fulfillment problems in the e-commerce industry, the implementation of this model should be done carefully to drive positive results.

Creating an omnichannel strategy

It becomes crucial for a company to develop an implementation and management strategy when integrating ship-from-store processing. First and foremost, the company has to implement an e-commerce order processing system to allocate the necessary storage space to the process. Things to consider in this regard include the in-store inventory and distance between the store and consumer address.

The in-store staff, after receiving the orders, should gather products and prepare them for shipping.

The necessity of the packaging station

Not packaging the product properly can result in a loss to both the consumer and the company. In case of product damage, the company has to replace the order, which requires utilization of the entire supply chain for the replacement product. The consumer will not receive what he or she has been expecting. Even if there is no damage, not packaging products correctly can result in higher costs at the time of shipping.

A packaging station is a fully stocked area housing every resource required for the in-store packaging of e-commerce orders. These resources include materials and equipment required for product packaging.

Some packaging suppliers provide companies with a custom-designed packaging station that comes equipped with every material required for product packaging. Many vendors offer evaluations of your SKUs to make sure that your packaging stations are not overstocked.

If you want to be successful with your omnichannel approach, you must have the proper understanding of how to package products effectively. If you are not sure about how to package your products in the best way possible, you can discuss your requirements with a packaging vendor and ask for recommendations.