Class,
Distribution facilities, handle, and process inventory depending on the requirements of the
supply chain. To get a good balance in supply and demand four primary functions are carried
out:
accumulation, sortation, allocation, and assortment (Coyle, Langley, Novack, & Gibson,
2017, p. 374). Order fulfillment consists of activities involved in filling and shipping orders to
customers (Coyle, Langley, Novack, & Gibson, 2017, p. 60). The process of order fulfillment can
be viewed as the period of time between the starting point when the customer places the order,
and the order is received. All the in-between steps to get from order to received by the
customer (order transmittal, processing, preparation, manufacturing, packaging, transport, and
delivery), can be set as the lead time of a product. A known lead time helps again in the
planning. Strategy models are required in order fulfillment but must consider the nature and
type of product (Coyle, Langley, Novack, & Gibson, 2017, p. 128). The proper network model
must be chosen with the direct assistance of the manager in charge of the process.
