How to Measure Order Fulfillment Success (2024)

How to Measure Order Fulfillment Success (1)

Outsourcing inventory and operational responsibilities to a fulfillment partner can be a very scary business decision for retailers. Customer satisfaction must not be put at risk since it is a fundamental driver of retail growth. To keep customers coming back, retailers need to know that their orders will be shipped on time, undamaged, accurately, and at a fair price.

KPIs, which stand for key performance indicators, are the best measures to hold your fulfillment partner accountable. There are many different KPIs businesses use to measure operational success, but some are more important than others. Here are five of the most popular KPIs to consider in the fulfillment world:

  1. Cost per Order: This measures the efficiency of a fulfillment operation. This tells you how much it costs you to fulfill, pick, pack, and ship a single customer order on average. This metric is heavily influenced by the productivity of the labor force.
  2. Fulfillment Accuracy Rate: This measures the effectiveness of a fulfillment operation. This is found by simply dividing the number of accurately filled orders by the total number of orders shipped.
  3. Inventory Turnover: This measures how many times a year your organization is able to sell its entire inventory. To calculate inventory turnover, use the following formula: cost of goods sold ÷ average inventory. Inventory turnover is an important indicator of the quality and demand of the inventory you carry, and if you have good buying practices. Generally speaking, a higher turnover rate is better, while a lower turnover rate suggests inefficiency and difficulty turning stock into revenue.
  4. Inventory Accuracy: This compares the accuracy of your inventory by taking a count of items in stock and comparing them to what’s recorded in your order management system. This KPI requires you to perform cycle counts of inventory.
  5. Rate of Return: TheRate of Return KPImeasures the rate at which shipped items are returned to you. The key to this metric is providing a breakdown for the reasons why items are returned so you can identify trends and reduce your rate of return ratio by addressing issues at their source.

For better order handling, evaluate fulfillment metrics. These metrics, which include Cost per Order, Fulfillment Accuracy Rate, Inventory Turnover, Inventory Accuracy, and Rate of Return, determine how well we’re doing at getting orders to customers efficiently and correctly.

How to Measure Order Fulfillment Success (2024)

FAQs

How do you measure order fulfillment? ›

Top 10 Order Fulfillment Metrics and KPIs to Measure Performance
  • Order Picking Accuracy.
  • Total Order Cycle Time.
  • Order Fill Rate.
  • Perfect Order Rate.
  • Shipping Cost Per Order.
  • On-Time Shipping.
  • Rate of Return.
  • Orders Picked Per Hour.

How do you evaluate fulfillment? ›

Here are some common and useful metrics.
  1. On-time shipping percentage.
  2. Total order cycle time.
  3. Internal order cycle time.
  4. Perfect order percentage.
  5. Order picking accuracy.
  6. Rate of return.
  7. Fulfillment accuracy rate.
  8. Percentage of orders received damage free.
Jan 14, 2021

How do you calculate perfect order fulfillment rate? ›

The company uses its specific performance metrics in the perfect order fulfillment formula to discover its order fulfillment standard:Perfect order fulfillment = (on-time delivery performance metric x accuracy performance metric x correct customers performance metric) x 100Perfect order fulfillment = 95% x 99% x 99% x ...

What is the perfect order fulfillment a measure of? ›

Put simply, the perfect order metric is a measure of whether or not your current workflows are meeting customer expectations. Companies that boast some of the highest perfect order rates carry less inventory, experience shorter cash-to-cash cycle times, and have significantly fewer stockouts than their competitors.

What is KPI in fulfillment? ›

Many companies track key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge their performance in order fulfillment (and other business areas) over time. In this guide, we will discuss the five most important ecommerce fulfillment KPIs that your business should be tracking, and explain how a 3PL can help you improve in those areas.

What is the KPI of order processing? ›

Order processing KPIs are performance metrics that measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the order processing system.

How to measure performance in filling orders? ›

Order Fill Rate is calculated by dividing the orders delivered on the first attempt by the total orders shipped, and then multiplying the resulting number by 100. This order management performance metric helps you track the percentage of successfully delivered orders on the first attempt.

What is the formula for order fulfillment? ›

You can calculate fill rate by counting the number of orders that you were able to fulfill at one time. Then divide the number by the total number of orders you received and multiply the sum by 100.

What is the formula for fulfillment? ›

The formula is as easy as J + H = F. EnJOYment of the present moment + Happiness as a byproduct of our actions = Fulfillment!

What is a good order fulfillment rate? ›

A good fill rate percentage is as close to 100% as possible.

The average company's fill rate is between 85-95%, which means some products may be out of stock, or there was more demand than anticipated. Striving for a 97-99% fill rate should be among the goals of any warehousing team.

What is the formula for fulfillment rate? ›

Fill Rate = (Orders Shipped / Total Orders Placed) x 100

For example, let's say you shipped 225 orders for the previous month, but you determined that 260 orders were actually placed. Using the fill rate formula, you'd have a fill rate of almost 87% for the month.

What is order fulfillment accuracy? ›

Order accuracy is the percentage of your orders that are fulfilled and shipped without errors. A high order accuracy rate means that your customers almost always receive the exact items they order in the proper condition.

How do you measure fulfillment? ›

For better order handling, evaluate fulfillment metrics. These metrics, which include Cost per Order, Fulfillment Accuracy Rate, Inventory Turnover, Inventory Accuracy, and Rate of Return, determine how well we're doing at getting orders to customers efficiently and correctly.

What is order fulfillment efficiency? ›

An efficient order fulfillment process is essential to keep pace with today's supply chain and logistics climate. At its core, to improve order fulfillment efficiency is to simultaneously streamline operations, reduce the time from order receipt to delivery, and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

How do you optimize order fulfillment? ›

10 ways to improve fulfillment operations for your business
  1. Invest in fulfillment software to provide better visibility. ...
  2. Be strategic with your warehouse layout. ...
  3. Identify your shipping capacity. ...
  4. Pinpoint areas in the fulfillment process that take too much time. ...
  5. Consider your shipping options. ...
  6. Address returns management.
May 22, 2024

How do you calculate fulfillment? ›

Fulfillment Cost Calculator

Total warehouse cost divided by total order lines. Total warehouse cost divided by annual boxes shipped (to determine total cost per box instead of per order) Total warehouse cost divided by annual net sales in dollars multiplied by 100 (to determine cost as a percentage of net sales)

How is fulfillment rate calculated? ›

Fill Rate = (Orders Shipped / Total Orders Placed) x 100

For example, let's say you shipped 225 orders for the previous month, but you determined that 260 orders were actually placed. Using the fill rate formula, you'd have a fill rate of almost 87% for the month.

What is the formula for customer order fulfillment? ›

To calculate the order fulfillment rate, divide the number of "delivered" orders in the previous 90 days by the total number of orders and then multiply by 100%. Expressed mathematically, it is: Order Fulfillment rate (%) = (Number of orders fulfilled / Total number of orders received) x 100.

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