Same-Day Fulfillment
Same-day fulfillment is picking, packing, and handing an order to a carrier on the same business day it is received, provided the order arrives before the warehouse's cutoff time.
Why it matters for ecommerce brands
Same-day fulfillment is the base for fast delivery promises, so whether your 3PL hits it on every order affects delivery speed as much as the carrier does. Orders received before the cutoff time should ship that business day. For example, if you receive 2,000 orders a day and the 3PL ships only 95% of them on time, 100 orders a day leave a day late, which can break a two-day promise. Check how the SLA is measured and what happens on peak days. Remember that same-day fulfillment is not same-day delivery.
Origin
Webvan tried rapid grocery delivery from 1999, and same-day fulfillment became durable after Amazon launched Prime Now in Manhattan in December 2014 with one-hour delivery.
Common questions
- Is same-day fulfillment the same as same-day delivery?
- No. Same-day fulfillment means the order ships the same day it is placed, while same-day delivery means it arrives the same day. Same-day delivery usually requires local inventory and a local courier.
- What percentage of orders should ship same day?
- Many 3PL SLAs target 99% or more of orders received before cutoff shipping the same business day, sometimes with lower targets during peak. Compare targets only when cutoff times and measurement methods match.
- What affects a warehouse's ability to ship same day?
- Mainly order volume against available labor, inventory being received and in stock, and carrier pickup times. Unannounced promotions or flash sales are a common reason 3PLs miss same-day targets.