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Last update Saturday April 15, 2000 The BUZZ We've identified 'customer experience' as the central dot-com quality issue. Customer experience is lots of things – usability for one, and we've produced a White Paper exploring some of usability's strategic considerations. Fulfillment is another – the back end process that deliver goods (and services, although it's usually product-oriented) to your customers. So what's the buzz in fulfillment? Where better to look than on the agendas of up-coming conferences. Industry conferences highlight what's hot (and ignore what's not). They identify the itches industry people will pay to scratch. The International Quality and Productivity Centre (with 'official conference publication' Operations and Fulfillment Magazine) has a two-day conference on e-fulfillment scheduled for May 22 and 23 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Here's a sample of what's on the agenda: As well as how to use reciprocal measurements and the impact of supply chain partnerships on customer experience, participants will learn from director of logistics Mohan Komanduri how Fogdog Sports implements the five fundamentals of an effective supply chain alliance: - consumer focus - consistent data representation - the ability and flexibility to change at internet speed - effective communication - personal relationships Chipshot.com has successfully blended a number of strategic partnerships with in-house functions resulting in unique, dynamic and customer-centric solutions. "Internet retailers are all struggling to strike the right balance between keeping fulfillment operations in-house versus using third-party providers (either distributors or vendor-direct programs). Virtual warehousing is every e-tailers dream – no inventory exposure until customers place an order. So what fulfillment option is right for you?" Participants will hear Director of World Wide Procurement and Operations Gordon Smythe explain how Chipshot.com uses its own warehouse, drop ships and outsources to a fulfillment centre to provide the best services and distribution of its products. Fingerhut, 'one of the most well known companies' in the back end field has provided a division within the company (Fingerhut Business Services, Inc) to provide expanded back end logistics to handle processes for third parties, while letting their clients focus on the front end and brand image. Conferees will "learn overall architecture and processing concepts for fulfillment, specific examples of FBSI client's fulfillment needs and processes designed to solve these needs, and things to look for in an outsourcing vendor," with Senior VP Sales and Marketing Jeff Wiles. "The inventory-less model is the least common way of running a Bricks and Mortar or pure-play internet business. While eliminating inventory costs and the drive to increase stock turn, this approach has its own problems – real-time communication with the supply chain becomes the most important part of the fulfillment process, providing continuous visibility into the status of each order. Garden.com fulfills 90% of its orders using a virtual warehouse, drop-shipping from over 70 suppliers that function as one fulfillment centre. Learn how Garden.com has implemented 'high touch' fulfillment, focusing on the ability to deliver customized packages to individual customers through gift messaging, customer-specific delivery dates and other features." We're not trying to sell this conference, simply making the point that fulfillment, that area out the back that didn't used to get much respect – the capability that is now critical to your success – is a rapidly growing area with an emerging series of best practices. Managing it well is a key component in your customer's experience, and customer experience is everything. In a couple of evening and post-conference workshops, the organisers will deliver 'information you can use' on supply chain strategies: "Small e-businesses have challenged traditional business models and are winning – at least for now," the 'Next Generation …' after-dinner workshop promised. "Like their traditional counterparts, however, they are quickly learning that even a dot-com label doesn't protect them from even faster or more innovative competitors. In the first few generations of e-business, fulfillment was an afterthought. The next generation will rely on new and innovative supply-chain models which promise greater customer-driven customization, speed of delivery, intangible value, and one-to-one connectedness, including mass customization, yield management and reverse logistics processes." Does that make sense to you? If it doesn't, and fulfillment is something your dot-com does, then maybe you need to get up to speed? Just a suggestion. And in a Sunday pre-conference workshop, Ernie Schell (www.schell.com), author of the Guide to Catalogue Management Software and president of Marketing Systems Analysis, Inc., will explain that finding the right system to manage e-commerce fulfillment isn't easy. "Traditional supply chain, distribution and warehousing management systems are not designed for high-volume, single order, pick and pack, while systems designed for catalogue fulfillment (which are champions at high-volume pick and pack) may not serve all the needs of fast-paced e-commerce operations," his blurb says. "And even if they do, integration with the e-commerce front end is far from plug n play. Methods for handling orders, business rules for managing customer service and feedback, and even the basics of data integrity (is this a legitimate address? UPS or PO Box?) all need to be carefully addressed. This workshop looks at: defining e-fulfillment needs; focusing on the customer, redefining 'supply chain' for e-fulfillment; management of special fulfillment challenges; back orders and split shipments; systematic management of gift messaging, gift wrapping and package slips; B2B versus B2C – how to handle the differences; coordinating multiple fulfillment centres; reporting, accounting for what data to whom, on what basis and in what format; the top ten fulfillment systems; and integrating your enterprise – fulfillment systems as part of your total e-commerce systems plan.