Challenges for the order fulfillment process of online retailers due to the COVID-19 pandemic (PDF)

Essay from the year 2020 in the subject Business economics - Supply, Production, Logistics, grade: 2,0, Cologne Business School Köln, language: English, abstract: This paper aims to identify the challenges for the fulfillment process of online retailers due to the COVID 19 pandemic. No other topic dominates the current public perception more than COVID-19. National, federal and local authorities require their citizens to stay at home and avoid social contact during the pandemic. The result is an e-commerce boom, with online retail orders increasing for example in the US by 146% in comparison to the previous year. However, customers experience that many well-known benefits, such as a seemingly endless selection of affordable products or shipping in two days, are no longer guaranteed. The reason lies in the process of order fulfillment. This process encompasses all the activities a company undertakes from the moment an order is received until the items are delivered, including all customer services. It comprises back-office activities such as packaging, delivery, accounting, inventory management, and shipping as well as front-office activities such as advertising and order acceptance.