Why Fulfillment Solutions Matter During COVID-19

Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Why Fulfillment Solutions Matter During COVID-19," examines fulfillment solutions elevated role as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, in-store sales were outpacing online store sales. However, consumers have spoken with the mouse and transitioned buying power to online outlets. 



Make no mistake. The behavior change is solely due to the virus. Rakuten Intelligence® recently provided a report highlighting sales between March 12 - 15, and within that time frame, BOPIS (buy-online-pickup-in-store) sales increased by a whopping 82.8%! As for fulfillment, this behavior will likely continue, although there are alternatives, and to be sure, there are downsides. However, BOPIS as a fulfillment solution will continue to pick up steam across the board, and along with it, a wide array of challenges ripe for those who can provide fulfillment solutions that address those challenges.

Our Quote of the Day: "The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment."  - Earl Nightingale

Various Fulfillment Solutions

Fulfillment solutions range across a multitude of requirements, from high-volume to bulk label printing to advanced picking and packing. In a nutshell, fulfillment can cover any order, for any item or group of items for B2B, B2C, or D2C.

Fulfillment providers deliver the brand to a specific destination. Your customers' retail purchases, mailings, legal documents, transactional documents, health reports, and much more are fulfillment opportunities. In fact, most industries, including automotive, education, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, nonprofit, political, real estate, retail, telecommunications, and utilities, all use fulfillment solutions to deliver goods and services to their customers.  Depending on your requirements and the collateral to be fulfilled, there are a number of organizations that can fulfill your requirements from mid-size, local shops to enterprise-level fulfillment centers.

In the age of the COVID-19, more and more businesses are looking for fulfillment solutions. Delivering customer orders in a seamless, trackable environment, from simple direct mail campaigns to catalogs, books, gifts, and other types of products, are now the solutions that customers crave.

Commercial printing organizations that combine integrated business solutions under one roof are now more in demand than in previous years. Some of these organizations also have the capability for customers to engage via their online portals, by which all functions can indulge data, print, mail, and email services and solutions.

Customer Portal Solutions

Customer fulfillment solutions use a custom portal, and can include:

• Fully automated, requiring little or no manual intervention
• The creation of and implementation of fully integrated, cross-channel marketing strategies for measurable results
• Each instance can be customized, and print jobs can be configured
• Complete with admin module for job and user placement
• Appropriate and timely engagement of direct channels such as email, web2print, direct mail, printed materials, etcetera
• An automated, systemic process for response marketing based upon predetermined value systems

As a new world order for business emerges, there is an opportunity for brands that require a fulfillment partner. Solutions include direct mail, digital marketing, and cross-channel marketing considerations. By selecting a one-stop-print shop, considerations can include scalability, data management, personalization, lettershop, and fulfillment for B2B and B2C.


Lettershop and Fulfillment

In the print world, Lettershop is often combined with fulfillment, with commercial print organizations heading the list of providers that can deliver a host of solutions that require personalized customer contact. In addition to mail and package delivery, the services that are available include:

• Address Labeling
• Collating
• Customized Addressing
• Cutting
• Folding
• Gluing
• Intelligent Inserting
• Kit Assembly
• Label Affixing
• Logistics
• Match Mail
• Metering
• Offline and Inline Tabbing
• Sealing
• Shrink Wrap
• Stamping

In the search for a fulfillment partner, commercial print organizations that check these boxes and more are bonafide partners who can help you deliver your brand to your customers.

The question now becomes, which commercial printer has an in-house USPS certified postal clerk, that can deliver on time, economically, and exactly how you intended.

The Net-Net

As we move through the constant and unknown variables due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to experience flux across the board. This means that new opportunities and challenges will arise. Those who can adapt, adjust, and possibly, reinvent will be able to ride out this storm. In the meantime, we are living in the age of remote fulfillment, and for now, that is the new normal. Stay safe, and thanks for reading, "Why Fulfillment Solutions Matter During COVID-19!"

Let's have a conversation about integrated business solutions and how they can help grow your business, change behavior, and improve the customer experience. 

Let us show you how to improve your document processes to optimize your workflow, reduce your costs, and maximize your organization's printing, letter shop, and mailing capabilities. 



Dove Direct does have an official USPS certified bureau located within our offices that will save you time and money. We can even create a demo file for you. For more information, call Carla Eubanks at 404-629-0122 or email Carla at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 



Dove Direct, your Atlanta based print and mail solutions provider, offers organizations end-to-end data, printing, and mailing solutions: Data Management, Variable Digital Printing, LetterShop and Fulfillment, Fully Automated MLOCR Presort Bureau, Marketing and Production Management Support and Secure Data Life Cycle Management.


If you don't want to wait, you can reach Dove Direct today by calling 404-629-0122 or use the Contact Form for Dove Direct.