In the fast-paced world of ecommerce, each day between when an order is purchased and when it arrives on the customer’s doorstep is critical. If it takes a brand too long to fulfill and send an order, that can negatively impact a brand’s reputation.
There are many steps that take place in between order purchase and order delivery. Products need to be fulfilled, packaged, labeled, shipped, and an order goes through many hands before it gets to the customer. This entire process is called the order cycle, and it’s an important metric for ecommerce brands to track.
In between each of these steps, there is a chance that the product will sit unattended; this is known as dwell time. In the context of ecommerce, brands who want to get ahead of the market need to track and improve dwell times to ensure they are meeting customer expectations and delivering their products as fast as possible.
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What Defines Dwell Time in Ecommerce Fulfillment?
Dwell time in logistics and fulfillment refers to the period that inventory or assets (such as trucks, containers, or packages) remain stationary or idle at a particular point in the supply chain, such as a warehouse, port, or distribution center. Essentially, it’s the amount of time that goods or equipment are not actively moving toward their destination or being processed.
Here are the places within ecommerce fulfillment and logistics that your brand should be tracking dwell time:
- Time between order placement and order fulfillment
- Time it takes to fulfill and package an order
- Time between label created and shipment tracking
- Time between shipment tracking and shipment movement
Below is more detail about each of these places within ecommerce fulfillment, and what can be done to improve dwell time within each context.
Fulfilment Dwell Time
If you are a brand seeing multiple days in between when a customer places an order and when that order is boxed up and ready to be shipped, you potentially have some unhappy customers.
Fulfillment dwell time lands in between order placement and when all units are in a package ready to be labeled for shipping.
Often within the warehouse there will be a lag between when an order is placed and when it is picked off the line and put into a box.
Potential causes for long fulfillment dwell time include:
- Understaffed warehouse
- Inefficient warehouse processes
- Undertrained warehouse staff
- Unorganized inventory stocking or picking methods
- Stockouts due to poor forecasting, issues with reordering, or manufacturing delays
Your warehouse or fulfillment team should be monitoring the dwell time here to help you ensure you’re communicating accurate delivery times to your customers.
Shipment Tracking Dwell Time
After an order is processed and fulfilled, the last thing that happens is creating and applying a shipping label. Packages are then sorted into batches for pickup by a shipping carrier.
If you see “label created” on a tracking number for multiple days in a row, it can be unsettling not knowing if the package is still at the warehouse or in the hands of the carrier. This is a common occurrence of dwell time where packages might be sitting in a warehouse waiting to get picked up by a shipping carrier, or with the carrier in a distribution center waiting to get picked up by a truck. It can be frustrating for both the brand and customer.
Often shipping dwell time is not something a brand has much control over. It’s often in the hands of the carrier. Even a 3PL or fulfillment provider won’t have much control over the dwell time between label created and shipping movement.
To help limit customer frustration you can ask your 3PL to do the following:
- Complete a thorough check of all distribution lines and docks at the end of each day, looking for any packages that may be left behind.
- Review all shipments left on the dock each morning.
- Track and report any anomalies when sorting and palletizing products for shipping.
- Don’t send “order shipped” information until after the carrier has the packaged.
If you continue to see this issue, you can take your complaint to your carrier. If you see “label created” and no shipping movement for more than a few days, you may need to submit a claim with your carrier for a lost package.
Shipping Dwell Time
Sometimes packages have multiple stops along their route to the customer. You and your customer may see this when looking at tracking information: Order shipped, On its way, Out for delivery, Delivered. While it’s nice to be notified of each step of the way, sometimes it can lead to customer frustration when it seems there isn’t much movement.
Longer shipping dwell time can happen particularly when your package is shipped via LTL, ground, or with a service that utilizes multiple carriers. This means your package will have many stops withing the “On its way” portion of its journey.
To combat longer dwell times in transportation brands can do the following:
- Choose single carrier services
- Opt for expedited shipping options only
- Work with carriers who have more detailed tracking to share
There are many shipping metrics that are important to track to ensure your shipping carrier is working for you.
Bottom Line: Why Improving Dwell Time Matters
The more time it takes to process and ship orders, ultimately the more costly the operation. When tracking dwell time be sure to have an ideal performance indicator in mind. Your fulfillment provider should be able to help make improvements.
If you can work to improve, or lower days of dwell time, you’ll reap the following benefits:
- Cost efficiency: long dwell times lead to increased costs in terms of storage, demurrage fees, and underutilized assets.
- Increased service levels: prolonged dwell time affects delivery speed, impacting customer satisfaction in industries like e-commerce and retail.
- Improved overall efficiency: reducing dwell time can streamline the entire supply chain, enhancing speed and responsiveness.
Optimizing dwell time is essential for maintaining an efficient and cost-effective logistics and fulfillment operation. It’s a great way to scale and grow your ecommerce brand.
This post was written by Maureen Walsh, Marketing Manager at DCL Logistics. A writer and blogging specialist for over 15 years, she helps create quality resources for ecommerce brands looking to optimize their business.
Tags: KPIs & Metrics, Omnichannel Fulfillment, warehouse management
