Most ecommerce companies have more than one sales channel, distributing products to both B2C and B2B customers. Your B2C customers demand that their orders are shipped quickly with 100% accuracy. Your B2B customers expect the same, without accepting so much product that it takes up valuable storage space.
To serve both channels, you may think that you need to separate your products and work with different third-party logistics (3PL) providers to handle storage and fulfillment of each. Fortunately, there are many 3PLs that can handle all your sales channels simultaneously. This is called omnichannel fulfillment.
What is Omnichannel Fulfillment?
Meaning “all channels”, omnichannel fulfillment is a strategy that handles all inventory, going to many different places, from one location or supplier (like a 3PL). With omnichannel fulfillment, your 3PL manages your entire inventory, optimizing their operations for picking, packing and shipping to whatever channel next orders your product. Your products are pulled from the same inventory pool, which can be distributed among your 3PLs fulfillment centers, and prepared for shipping.
“It’s hard to find 3PLs that have a deep expertise in dealing with Amazon, and all of the dot.coms, as well as dealing with brick-and-mortar. We feel like we really have a partner because DCL has that deep experience. To me that’s the more complex part of being a 3PL; shipping pallets into distribution centers for brick-and-mortar retail is a lot easier. The difference is, DCL has a reputation for being very technology forward, helping companies drive from an omnichannel perspective for their business, not just traditional brick-and-mortar.”
The Role of WMS
Omnichannel fulfillment can be a relatively simple process to set up thanks to sophisticated warehouse management software (WMS). This software is the cornerstone of the modern 3PL warehouse and allows for your entire inventory to be managed by one centralized system, regardless of how many sales channels your product ships to. It also allows for seamless integration (typically via EDI, which stands for electronic data interchange) between your systems and your 3PL’s systems, and between your 3PL’s system and your customers’ systems. Its capabilities include:
Inventory management: The WMS will record and manage your products according to key characteristics like warehouse location, available quantity, pallet ID, serial number, lot number, and expiration date.
Order status: As orders are received, their shipment status and parcel tracking information can be viewed in real-time.
Label generation: ecommerce orders will trigger the creation and printing of shipping labels, while retailer orders will trigger labels that comply with individual retailer specifications.
These capabilities can be a game-changer, but also come with a hefty upfront price tag – often as much as six figures. By partnering with a 3PL that already has a WMS, you can take full advantage of these features without footing the bill.
B2C Fulfillment
Your 3PL’s WMS will integrate with your chosen ecommerce platform (e.g., Amazon, Magento, Shopify, Big Commerce). As orders come in, the WMS will provide order details and item locations, prepare shipping labels, and schedule shipment with the 3PL’s shipping partners. Products will then be packed, labels affixed, and final QA will be performed.
Most 3PLs will ship same-day for orders received by mid-day or slightly later. However, the exact timing can be worked out between you and your 3PL during contract negotiations. In addition to the cost savings associated with using your 3PL’s WMS, you can also save money through your 3PL’s carrier relationships. Your 3PL will likely handle ecommerce fulfillment for a variety of different clients. This allows it to negotiate better rates wit
B2B Fulfillment
As with B2C fulfillment, orders from retailers and other B2B customers will feed into your 3PL’s WMS. From there, your 3PL will coordinate the outbound shipment, either with its internal transportation arm or with an external provider. Because of the time it takes to coordinate the outbound distribution most 3PL’s will request that B2B orders be submitted by the end of the business day prior to shipment. Of course, supply chains don’t always operate according to plan and many 3PLs will honor same-day shipping whenever possible.
JIT Delivery
In addition to B2C and B2B, there is another form of fulfillment that some 3PLs will handle for manufacturers, called just-in-time delivery (JIT). With JIT delivery, your 3PL will store component parts and kits needed for assembly and then deliver those items to the manufacturer at set intervals, sometimes several times per day. The parts only appear onsite when they are needed. The new orders trigger them to be sent to assembly, which frees up the manufacturer’s space to focus on production without eating up valuable floor space with component inventory.
FAQ: Partnering with a 3PL for Omnichannel Fulfillment
Q: What is omnichannel fulfillment and how does a 3PL enable it?
A: Omnichannel fulfillment means managing all of your inventory — destined for B2C customers, retail partners, Amazon, and any other channel — from a single shared inventory pool through one fulfillment partner. A 3PL enables this by using a warehouse management system (WMS) that integrates with all your sales channels simultaneously, routing each order through the appropriate fulfillment workflow (DTC shipping, retail pallet builds, etc.) without requiring separate inventory or separate fulfillment operations per channel.
Q: What role does a WMS play in omnichannel fulfillment?
A: The WMS is the operational backbone of omnichannel fulfillment. It tracks inventory by location, quantity, pallet ID, lot number, and expiration date across all fulfillment centers in real time. It integrates with your ecommerce platforms and retail partners via EDI, receives orders from all channels, generates the correct shipping labels for each channel (consumer shipping labels for DTC, retailer-compliant labels for B2B), and provides real-time order status and tracking. Enterprise-grade WMS systems can cost six figures to build — partnering with a 3PL that already has one eliminates that capital expense.
Q: How does a 3PL handle B2C and B2B fulfillment differently from the same inventory pool?
A: B2C orders (DTC ecommerce) are typically fulfilled same-day for orders received by mid-day, with individual parcels packed and shipped directly to consumers via the 3PL’s carrier network. B2B orders (retail, wholesale) require more coordination — pallet builds, retailer-specific labeling, EDI confirmations, and freight carrier scheduling — and most 3PLs request these orders be submitted by end of business the day prior to shipment. Both order types draw from the same inventory pool, with the WMS routing each to the correct fulfillment workflow automatically.
Q: What is just-in-time (JIT) delivery and which businesses benefit from it?
A: JIT delivery is a fulfillment model where a 3PL stores component parts or kits and delivers them to a manufacturer at precise intervals — sometimes multiple times per day — so parts only arrive on the production floor when they’re needed. This frees up valuable manufacturing floor space that would otherwise be consumed by component inventory. It’s most beneficial for hardware and consumer electronics manufacturers with complex assembly operations, where carrying excess component inventory on-site is both costly and logistically disruptive.
Q: Do I need separate 3PL partners for B2C and B2B fulfillment?
A: Not if you choose the right 3PL. Many brands assume they need separate providers for DTC and retail channels, but a 3PL with genuine omnichannel capabilities — deep expertise in both ecommerce fulfillment and retail routing guide compliance — can handle both from the same inventory. The key is asking specifically about their B2B experience: do they have existing EDI connections with your target retailers, and have they successfully fulfilled for brands selling across both DTC and brick-and-mortar simultaneously? Not all 3PLs are equally capable on both sides.
Why DCL Is Built for Omnichannel
DCL is one of the few mid-market 3PLs with genuine depth on both sides of omnichannel — DTC ecommerce and retail B2B. DCL’s eFactory WMS handles B2C orders (same-day fulfillment for orders received by mid-day) and B2B retail orders (routing guide compliance, EDI connections, pallet builds for major retailers) from the same shared inventory pool. For brands that need JIT delivery for manufacturing operations, DCL handles component kitting and scheduled delivery as well. The result is a single fulfillment partner that manages your entire channel mix — eliminating the operational complexity of managing separate 3PLs for DTC and retail. Talk to DCL about omnichannel fulfillment →
Bottom Line
If you have a growing product company, and are overwhelmed by the number of sales channels you deliver to, an omnichannel strategy is a great option. By partnering with an experienced 3PL you will have access to multiple fulfillment centers and relationships with major shipping carriers. Your 3PL can help get your products, whether B2B or B2C, into your customers hands faster and at a lower cost than fulfilling them yourself.
If you are looking for omnichannel fulfillment we would love to hear from you. Send us a note to connect about how we can help your company grow. You can read DCL’s list of services to learn more, or check out the many companies we work with to ensure great logistics support.
Tags: Omnichannel Fulfillment
