Every business depends on getting orders out the door accurately and on time. It sounds simple, but it’s not. If you’ve ever spent hours tracking down a missing shipment, re-shipping a wrong product, or juggling backorders, you know how fragile fulfillment can be.
Even companies with great teams and solid processes can run into recurring challenges. These issues slow productivity, frustrate customers, and eat into profits. And the problems don’t discriminate. Small and midsized businesses face them just as often as large enterprises.
At Stellar One, we’ve worked with growing businesses across industries who face these same pain points daily. From manufacturers to distributors, we’ve seen firsthand how order fulfillment issues often stem from disconnected systems and manual workarounds rather than team performance. The common fulfillment issues we’ll address in this article include:
- Order Fulfillment Problem Problem #1: Inaccurate Inventory Counts
- Order Fulfillment Problem #2: Picking and Packing Errors
- Order Fulfillment Problem #3: Poor Visibility and Communication
- Order Fulfillment Problem #4: Warehouse Layout Inefficiencies
- Order Fulfillment Problem #5: Disconnected Systems
The good news? Every fulfillment challenge has a cause, and more importantly, a solution. You need to understand what’s really going wrong and address it at the root. By doing so, you can turn fulfillment from a daily struggle into a competitive advantage.
Order Fulfillment Problem Problem #1: Inaccurate Inventory Counts
Nothing throws off fulfillment faster than bad inventory data. When your system says you have 42 units but the shelf holds 18, every downstream process, from picking to invoicing, will break down.
You can reduce discrepancies by putting small, high-leverage habits in place. For instance, try:
- Inventory counting high-value or fast-moving items each week
- Scanning item barcodes at every touchpoint (receiving, put-away, picking, packing, shipping)
- Setting low-stock alerts for at-risk SKUs
As your volume grows, maintaining one source of truth will matter more than anything. Remember that an ERP platform will keep sales, purchasing, and fulfillment in sync so that teams aren’t working from different numbers.
Tip: Looking for a simple benchmark to rally around? Many organizations track a “perfect order” metric, which means orders that are complete, on time, damage-free, and correctly documented. APQC outlines this widely used definition and measurement approach for perfect order performance. It can help you connect day-to-day accuracy efforts with outcomes leadership cares about.
Order Fulfillment Problem #2: Picking and Packing Errors
Even when inventory is accurate, human error can derail accuracy during picking and packing. The most common culprits? Look-alike packaging, rushed order processing during peak windows, and unclear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Make accuracy the default, not the exception, with a few strategic moves:
- Add barcode verification to confirm the right SKU and quantity during the pick, pack, and ship processes.
- Use two-person checks for high-value or bulk orders where the risk is higher than the cost of a second set of eyes.
- Track where errors occur so you can target training where it’ll have the greatest impact.
When your order, inventory, and shipping data live together, your system can flag mismatches before parcels leave the building. Still hopping between spreadsheets? Consider whether it’s time to connect fulfillment with finance and sales through ERP automation. Doing so will allow errors to surface before any customer complaints arise.
Order Fulfillment Problem #3: Poor Visibility and Communication
Visibility covers what’s in stock, but it’s also about seeing every step from order entry through delivery. When those touchpoints aren’t connected, communication gaps appear. Sales might promise next-day delivery, but the warehouse hasn’t even received the pick list. Customer service can’t provide an update because the tracking number lives in someone’s inbox.
Close the loop by:
- Giving every team live, read-only access to the same order status, including approvals, picking, packing, and carrier handoff.
- Automating notifications for confirmations, delays, and shipments so customers aren’t left guessing.
- Standardizing internal Operational Level Agreements (OLAs) (such as, “orders approved by 2 p.m. pick same day”) and measuring adherence.
Academic research continues to show how fulfillment touchpoints shape the customer experience. Order-related updates can be tied directly to perceived quality and loyalty outcomes.
If communication breakdowns are common in your fulfillment process, technology might be the fix. An implementation roadmap can help you phase integrations, starting with the handoffs that create the most confusion.
Order Fulfillment Problem #4: Warehouse Layout Inefficiencies
Even perfect data can’t redeem a poor physical setup. If employees spend half their time walking back and forth or searching mislabeled bins, throughput and accuracy will both suffer.
Here are a few practical wins that will pay off quickly:
- Place fast-moving SKUs closest to packing stations, and group commonly bundled items together.
- Reduce picker travel with zone picking or batch picking during peak times.
- Label aisles, bins, and shelves clearly, and audit signage quarterly.
- Review your layout whenever order mix or volume shifts. What worked at 100 orders per day won’t usually scale to 1,000 orders per day.
Industry guidance suggests that smarter layouts and pick paths translate to real, measurable gains in throughput and error reduction.
If you’re not ready for an advanced Warehouse Management System, start by timing routes and logging bottlenecks manually. You can automate once you know where the friction lives. For many teams, the first step is simply understanding how data and warehouse flow intersect. Addressing data silos is foundational.
Order Fulfillment Problem #5: Disconnected Systems
One of the most universally frustrating fulfillment issues stems from using too many disconnected tools. Inventory lives in one system, sales in another, shipping somewhere else. That fragmentation creates blind spots and unnecessary rework. An order might be updated in one place but not another, leading to incorrect shipments or duplicate invoices.
Unifying your stack will remove handoffs that invite human error. It’ll create a single operational picture so that every department has access to the data. Many businesses see order accuracy improve naturally once they merge onto a connected platform. They’re no longer copying, pasting, or reconciling across tools.
If you’re unsure whether you’ve outgrown the your current systems, look for these signs:
- Recurring re-shipments
- Frequent stockouts despite “healthy” inventory
- Long internal email chains to answer simple “where is it?” questions
When any of the above show up, it might be time to consider whether your current tools are holding you back, and whether it’s time to compare a unified platform with your legacy approach.
How Can You Find, Identify, and Fix Your Order Fulfillment Issues?
The biggest fulfillment problems are rarely new. Inaccurate inventory, communication breakdowns, and process inefficiencies all trace back to disconnected information and unclear ownership. Once they start showing up, they’re likely to recur.
If you’re seeing that recurrence, you should tighten control over inventory, clarify communication, and connect your systems. Once you’ve done so, you can build a fulfillment process that’s reliable, scalable, and customer-focused.
Fulfillment accuracy is the last impression you make before a customer decides whether to return. And as the old saying goes, people tend to share bad experiences far more widely than good ones. Every wrong order, missed update, or late shipment quietly damages trust. Consistency, backed by clear processes and connected data, is how you earn trust back — or avoid losing it in the first place. Start by learning how to improve order fulfillment accuracy.
At Stellar One, we help growing companies simplify operations by aligning people, process, and technology. With the right plan and platform, your team can stop fighting fires and start shipping with confidence. If your business is growing but your fulfillment processes can’t keep up, take five minutes to see if you’re ready for a single system of record.
