12 Order Fulfillment Along the Supply Chain

Merge-in-transit Logistics model in which components for a product may come from two (or more) different physical locations and are shipped directly to the customer’s location.
Order fulfillment All the operations a company undertakes from the time it receives an order to the time the items are delivered to the custom- ers, including all related customer services.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) Tag technology in which RFID (electronic) tags are attached to or embedded in objects (included people) and employ wireless radio waves to communicate with RFID readers so that the objects can be identified, located, or can transmit data.
Reverse logistics The movement of returns from customers to vendors.
Store-level distribution resource planning (DRP) A collaborative approach that utilizes a retailer’s POS data to produce a model that yields a bottoms-up, time-phased forecast of consumer sales, shipments, receipts and inventories at all stores or channels and DCs for all items usually over a 12-month period.
Third-party logistics suppliers (3PL) External, rather than in-house, providers of logistics services.
Visibility The knowledge about where materials and parts are at any given time, which helps in solving problems such as delay, combining shipments, and more.
Warehouse management system (WMS) A software system that helps in managing warehouses.

References

Ackerman, A. and A. Padilla. “Black & Decker HHI Puts CPFR to Action.” 2009. consumergoods.edgl.com/ case-studies/Black---Decker-HHI-Puts-CPFR-to- Action51135 (access April 2014).

Banker, S. “Nordstrom Profits from Improved Multichannel Capabilities.” February 2011. logistics- viewpoints.com/2011/02/07/nordstrom-profits-