Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Fulfillment centers in today’s world are essentially the most dominant sectors of the whole supply chain. These buildings act as the central hubs for where products and parcels and shipped out and in of one’s company, so it’s important that all critical decisions be monitored and observed at this stage in the process. Many fulfillment centers are adapting their offerings to include more of a localized, direct-to-consumer customer service appeal. The marvel of two-day, next-day, and even same-day delivery was accelerated during the peak of COVID-19, due to customers’ heightened expectations growing increasingly more common and popularized. With this demand placed at the top of the totem pole, this type of swift delivery could only occur when the nearest fulfillment center was to step in and get involved in the process. This instance is commonly known as ‘last-mile delivery.’ That’s where Micro-Fulfillment comes into the picture…
Micro-Fulfillment is a strategy that retailers, large and small, have been using to make the fulfillment process a simpler one, for everyone involved. From receiving incoming online orders to locating and packing the items up and to even shipping them out all in the matter of hours, this has become a very critical opportunity for retailers to hop aboard. Micro-fulfillment centers are most successful in cities where they can benefit from substantially reducing the distance the parcel needs to travel to get to its end-user; from this perspective, last-mile delivery is ultimately cheaper and quicker.
Read More on TEConnect Portal: A Guide to Future-Proofing the Supply Chain
During the peak of COVID-19, international lockdowns prevented many supply chains from continuous operations, in order to protect employees and products coming in and out. Many consumers were taking advantage of online shopping initiatives and other formats such as Curbside Pickup, lockers, and even same-day distanced delivery options. Due to this finding, Last Mile-Delivery and Micro-fulfillment centers were the essential fix for these scenarios. Micro-Fulfillment centers are a simple and compact last-mile delivery solution that can be quickly deployed anymore, where the space is owned and inhabited.
Every stage of the logistics process of delivering goods is crucial from the time the item is ordered to when it leaves the docking bay, to especially as it’s received by the end-user/consumer. Through the usage of micro-fulfillment centers, organizations are able to acquire precise order tracking, a sense of security and insurance to cover their tracks if an item is lost in the process, fast delivery times, custom configurations and specializations on the last leg, a sense of convenience, and happiness all around because the consumers’ expectations are being met, and organizations are able to rest easy knowing the process is working swiftly and efficiently.
Read More on TEConnect Portal: Warehouse 4.0 – Accelerating the Innovation
Our TEConnect Podcast crew, comprised of Content Manager, John Martin and Global Marketing Manager, Dean Reverman sat down to chat with StayLinked’s Justin Griffith back in April of this year to dive deeper into how warehouses and supply chains as a whole can benefit from advanced technology solutions. 
The supply chain has come a long way in the past year and some change, but there are so many more paths that warehouse managers can go down to improve operations and aide their employees. The trio talks the importance of adopting new systems alongside innovative ideologies versus the benefit of hanging onto legacy devices and systems throughout the warehouse workspace, and so much more. If you’re interested in listening to more of this discussion, you can do so here and, in the meantime, be sure you’re subscribed to our podcast so you can keep updated on published episodes. There might be something you’ll get hooked on!
