How the order fulfilment process works
Order fulfilment runs from checking the order to delivery: allocate stock, pick, pack, label, dispatch and keep the customer informed. Whoever ships, the admin and the customer stay yours.
Tools our VAs use for this
The order fulfilment process is everything that happens between a customer placing an order and receiving it: receiving and checking the order, allocating stock, picking, packing, labelling, dispatching and delivering, with the customer kept informed at each step. You can run it yourself, hand the warehouse side to a fulfilment company or drop-ship from a supplier. If you want one dedicated person to work the admin side of your order fulfilment process every day, that is the service we run alongside returns. Our order processing and returns service covers that daily admin.
On this page
What order fulfilment is
Order fulfilment is the physical and administrative work of getting a paid order to the customer. It starts when the order lands in your system and ends when the parcel is delivered.
Fulfilment versus order processing
The two overlap. Order processing is the admin that turns an order into a job: checking it, taking payment, confirming stock and sending confirmations. Fulfilment includes that and the physical side of picking, packing and shipping. Our guide to order processing automation covers the processing steps and what you can automate. If the admin side takes too much time, outsourced e-commerce support is one way to share it.
What "awaiting fulfilment" and other statuses mean
Each platform defines its own order statuses, so check your platform's help pages for the exact wording. In general terms, the stages most stores use are:
| Status, in general terms | What it usually means | What the customer should hear |
|---|---|---|
| Pending or awaiting payment | The order is placed but payment has not cleared | Nothing yet, or a payment reminder |
| Processing | Payment is taken and the order is being checked | Order confirmation |
| Awaiting fulfilment, or unfulfilled | The order is confirmed and waiting to be picked and packed | Nothing new, unless there is a delay |
| Partially fulfilled | Some items have been sent, others have not | Which items are on the way and when the rest follow |
| Fulfilled, shipped or dispatched | The parcel has left you and is with the carrier | Dispatch email with tracking |
| Delivered | The carrier has recorded delivery | Delivery confirmation, a review request later |
"Fulfilled" usually means the parcel has left you. It does not mean it has been delivered. That gap is behind many "where is my order?" emails, so a dispatch email with tracking matters.
The steps from order to delivery
Step 1: Receive and check the order
The order arrives from your website or marketplace. Check the address, the payment and anything unusual, such as a mismatched address or special delivery instructions.
Step 2: Allocate stock
Confirm the item is in stock and reserve it, so the same unit is not sold twice across channels. If it is out of stock, tell the customer straight away and offer a date, a substitute or a refund. Our inventory management page covers the stock side.
Step 3: Pick the items
Find the item on the shelf from a picking list. Clear shelf locations and batched picking lists save the most time.
Step 4: Pack the order
Choose the packaging, protect fragile items, add the packing slip and check the item against the order before sealing. This is where wrong-item errors are caught or missed.
Step 5: Label and dispatch
Print the shipping label, book the collection or drop-off, and mark the order as shipped in your platform so the customer gets tracking.
Step 6: Deliver and follow up
Watch for failed deliveries and delays and tell the customer before they ask. Returns run the process in reverse, covered in our guide to ecommerce returns management.
How long fulfilment takes
There is no official typical time; it depends on your stock, your cut-off time for same-day dispatch and your carrier's service. What you can control is the time between order and dispatch. Set a target, publish a dispatch cut-off on your site and measure against it.
Fulfilment methods
- In-house: you store, pick, pack and ship yourself. Most control, and the work grows with every order.
- A fulfilment company (3PL): you send stock to a warehouse that picks, packs and ships for you. You keep the customer service, stock planning and exceptions.
- Dropshipping: the supplier ships directly to your customer. You keep the order admin and the customer relationship, without the stock.
- Marketplace fulfilment: some marketplaces offer to store and ship your stock for orders on their platform. For Amazon, see our guide to Amazon FBA prep.
- Multichannel or omnichannel: one stock pool serving your website, marketplaces and any shop, which makes stock allocation the step to get right.
Whichever you choose, the order admin and the customer stay with you. For Amazon sellers, how to start Amazon FBA in the UK sets out the launch route.
Fulfilment technology and automation
What can be automated
- Importing orders from every channel into one list
- Updating stock across channels after each sale
- Printing picking lists, packing slips and labels in batches
- Sending order, dispatch and delivery emails with tracking
- Flagging orders that need a check, such as an address mismatch
Platform tools and plugins
Ecommerce platforms, including Shopify and WooCommerce, offer built-in fulfilment features and apps or plugins for labels, carriers and stock. Start with what your platform already does before adding a separate system. Our Shopify VA page covers platform-specific order handling.
What still needs a person
Automation runs the routine orders. A person handles the exceptions: the out-of-stock item, the rejected address, the late change, the lost parcel. Plan who handles them.
How to calculate fulfilment cost per order
Fulfilment cost per order is your packaging, postage, labour, storage and software costs for a period, divided by the number of orders shipped in that period. There is no reliable benchmark to compare against, so work out your own. The formula:
Fulfilment cost per order = (packaging + postage + labour + storage + software) for a period ÷ orders shipped in that period
Cost components
Count packaging, postage, labour (your own time included), a share of storage and the software you use for labels, shipping and stock.
Worked example
The numbers below are an example, invented to show the method. They are not a benchmark.
| Example cost for one month | Example amount |
|---|---|
| Packaging | £300 |
| Postage | £1,800 |
| Labour (60 hours, at an example hourly cost) | £900 |
| Storage share | £400 |
| Software | £100 |
| Total | £3,500 |
With 700 orders shipped that month, the example cost per order is £3,500 ÷ 700 = £5.00. Run the same sum each month and watch which line moves.
UK law on delivery times
GOV.UK's guidance on online and distance selling for businesses lists, among a seller's duties, delivering the goods within 30 days, unless you have agreed otherwise with the customer. The page also lists exceptions to these rules, including goods and services worth £42 or less. That is a legal ceiling, not a target. If you state a delivery time on your site, that is the promise the customer holds you to. This is general information, not legal advice; check the GOV.UK page for the full list of duties.
How to improve fulfilment and reduce errors
- Check before sealing. Match the item against the packing slip on every order.
- Batch the work. Pick and pack in set rounds before your cut-off.
- Keep stock counts right. Update after every sale, return and stock-take.
- Tell the customer at each touchpoint. Confirmation, dispatch with tracking, any delay before they ask.
- Log every error. Wrong item, wrong address, damaged in transit: the log shows what to fix.
Choosing a fulfilment partner
If you move to a 3PL, ask which channels they connect to, how they handle returns, what their cut-off is, how they report errors and what stays with you.
Outsourcing fulfilment admin to a virtual assistant
At Ant Assist, one dedicated VA, never shared, works your order queue during UK business hours, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, from 20 hours a week up to a full 40-hour VA. They check new orders, keep stock in step across channels, chase suppliers and carriers, update order statuses, answer "where is my order?" emails and pass anything outside your rules to you. If you use a fulfilment company, the VA works with them on your side.
Every VA is recruited, managed and supervised in our own office in Cairo, working full time: not freelancers, not AI, and UK-managed. Access runs through password managers, with NDAs and data-processing agreements, and you can revoke it at any time. If the fit is wrong, we replace the VA without restart cost. For help with the rest of the store as well as orders, see online store support.
The introductory rate is £5 per hour for the first 6 months on the Entry tier (3 months on Mid, 1 month on Expert). After that, ecommerce Entry is £6.50 per hour full time (£1,040 a month for 160 hours) or £6.80 per hour part time (£544 a month for 80 hours). Put the labour line from your cost-per-order sum into the calculator to compare. For other jobs worth handing over, see ecommerce tasks to delegate.
Order fulfilment FAQs
Didn't find your answer? Browse more common questions in the Help Center.
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