How Packing for Vacation Can Help Your Order Fulfillment Process.
by Chelsea Camper | Last Updated December 30, 2015While the process of packing for vacation can help you better your order fulfillment process, actually going on vacation probably won’t (sorry!). There are many similarities between packing for vacation and order fulfillment and when you use some of the steps in vacation-packing for order-packing, it can help your order fulfillment.
By taking the same steps you use to pack for vacation in your order fulfillment, you can make sure you customers get exactly what they want in a timely fashion.
Often times when you hear the term “packing list” 
you think of all the things you need to pack for your vacation (brush, toothbrush, shampoo, clothes, chargers, etc.), but there are also “packing lists” in order fulfillment. The “packing list” for order fulfillment can also be called a “pick ticket.” The packing list is just one of several ways vacation-packing is just like order-packing. Take a look!
Packing List
Vacation:
You wouldn’t want to leave your vacation packing up to chance would you? What if, by chance, you left something important! You’d then have to go out and buy whatever you had left when you reach your final vacation destination.
Unless you have a super-hero like memory, you’re going to need to write down everything you think you’ll need…and then continue to add and subtract to that as you go about packing your suitcase and realize your suitcase isn’t quite as big as you remember. That packing list will help make sure you don’t leave anything behind so that when you get to your vacation spot you can relax instead of running around to find the closest super market to buy a phone charger because you left yours at home.
Order Fulfillment:
Just like you wouldn’t leave your vacation packing up to chance, you shouldn’t leave your customers orders up for chance.
Packing lists can be generated when a customer orders items from your company. A packing list is comprised of detailed information about the quantity, size, color, model, etc. of each item the customer requested. Each item on the packing list must be picked from the shelf and placed inside the package. This all must be done quickly to get the package out to the customer as soon as possible, but it must also be done accurately so that no item is missed and no item is incorrectly filled.
Enclosed Items
Vacation:
All of the items included in your suitcase come from the packing list you created earlier. These items include: Cloths, toiletries, chargers, laptop, phone, book, etc. It’s important to write everything down on your packing list so that you don’t forget anything.
You want to pack them carefully so that nothing squishes the shampoo that then pops open and gets all over your clothes (of course targeting that favorite shirt you had planned to wear to a special event). As you go down your packing list you start checking things off once, twice, maybe even three times to be on the super safe side.
Order Fulfillment:
Like your vacation-packing, items that will be enclosed in the container for a customer order are the ones that are on the packing list. All the information for the products that the customer ordered (model, size, color, etc.) is listed on the packing list so that your pickers and packers know what they need to pull and pack.
Like your luggage, you’ll want to make sure that the items are carefully packed so that they do not get damaged. Make sure to check, double check, or even triple check if you need to in order to make sure that every item is correct and in the package. If an item is incorrect or missing, you could have an angry customer on your hands!
The Container
Vacation:
Most people will use a suitcase when packing for vacation, but sometimes a duffle bag or backpack will suffice for shorter trips. The suitcase will protect your items from getting damaged and (usually) from getting wet. Duffle bags and backpacks work well for shorter trips since you have less to pack and less to carry around.
The size of your suitcase will depend on how far you’re going and for how long. If you’re going on a long trip you’ll use a large suitcase (or two) to pack enough clothes and toiletries to get you through your trip. However, if you’re going on a weekend road trip with a couple of old friends, a duffle bag packed with a couple chargers and your favorite jeans will do the trick.
Order Fulfillment:
The container for order fulfillment is usually a thick cardboard box. For larger companies the boxes will be painted and stylized to reflect the company’s brand. Most small to medium sized business will use a standard brown cardboard box, which works just fine as long as the walls of the box are thick enough to protect the items within.
Similar to how the length of your trip will impact the size and type of your suitcase, the size and type of items you’re sending out should impact the size of cardboard box you use. Sending out small jewelry items or cards? You don’t need a box big enough for your 5 year old to play in. Using a box that’s too big for your items will let them fly around the box in transit, possibly damaging or even destroying the small, fragile items. Similarly, you don’t want to be trying to stuff large items into small boxes.
Container Security
Vacation:
Keeping your suitcase zipped up tight keeps everything in your suitcase from spilling out all over the floor. Some duffle bags or backpacks may use Velcro, but Velcro isn’t quite as sturdy as zippers are. With right pressure the Velcro can easily pop open and all of your vacation items will be strewn across the floor.
Most suitcases, duffle bags, and backpacks that have zippers have a double zipper for their main compartment. To make sure that no one but you can open your suitcase you a get a small zipper lock to keep it closed unless unlocked with a key or combination.
Order Fulfillment:
Tape does for packages as zippers do for suitcases: Holds the contents in. By taping the top and bottom of the boxes you can help insure that all of the packed items stay inside the package. It will also help keep foreign items from creeping into the package (like bugs, dirt, and other debris).
To keep the items securely in the package, it’ll need to be taped up. Clear packaging tape is usually best. It is somewhat resistant to water but easy to cut with a pair of scissors or a box knife. It’ll also let your customers be able to see where they’ll need to cut the tape in order to open the package.
Tags/Labels
Vacation:
For small vacations where you’ll be carrying your backpack around with you, a tag or label probably won’t be necessary. However, if you’re traveling across a few state lines it would be a good idea to mark your suitcase with the appropriate contact information in case it gets lost.
Putting every single detail about who you are on the tag or label might not be a good idea, but your name and cell phone number would be great to have somewhere on the outside of your suitcase. Just make sure that if you put your cell phone number on your luggage that you actually answer your phone! If you get a new number, make sure you update your luggage tags so that you can retrieve it when it gets lost.
Order Fulfillment:
Since you generally won’t be carrying all of your packages around with you to deliver them to your customers (unless you’re a flower shop or something else of the like), you’ll need to label them with shipping information so that your carrier can successfully deliver the package to your customer. Using a shipping label sheet will allow you to print your shipping label and packing list on the same sheet, which reduces your print time and helps to increase order accuracy.
There are several questions that can arise when printing out your shipping labels:
- What happens if the shipping label gets wrinkled? Depending on the severity of the damage, you may have to reprint it.
- Can I print the shipping label on color paper? No. Color paper reduces the contrast between the black bars of the barcode and the background. If necessary light colors may be used, but plain white is preferred.
- Can I tape over the barcode? No, it can interfere with the ability of the barcode to be scanned.
Transportation
Vacation:
There is an abundance of ways your luggage can be transported for vacation. Just to name a few: Plane, train, car, boat, subway, etc. If your suitcase doesn’t have any tags or labels on it with contact information and it gets lost, it could be lost forever. Make sure you take the time to clearly mark that it’s your suitcase with some way of contacting you included.
Those who frequently travel by air probably have a good idea about which airlines are least likely to lose your bags and which are the most likely. Even if you don’t frequently fly, it’s still probably a good idea to check up on the baggage-lost rates of each airline before you make your final flight plans. If you’re traveling in your best friend’s car, make sure they?ve included your luggage and didn’t accidently skip a bag when you were leaving the hotel!
Order Fulfillment:
The link between your warehouse and the customer is usually a shipping carrier. It could be a major carrier like FedEx, UPS, or USPS, or it could be a less known carrier such as R+L Carriers. Each carrier will have a specific shipping barcode that you will need to print out and affix to your package. You can easily affix a shipping label to a package without tape by using a shipping label sheet.
As you would check airlines for lost baggage rates, it’s a good idea to look into the delivery success, speed, and over all accuracy of each carrier before you dedicate your business to them. By picking a shipping carrier with poor package handling and delivery success you’re putting your packages and customers at risk.
In what other ways do you think vacation packing can help your order fulfillment?
Image: thephotographymuse
