Do backrooms in e-commerce run like traditional physical distribution centers? Are they similarly equipped?

The answers are both "yes" and "no" to both questions. The two kinds of fulfillment are alike, but different.

Even more important, which specific strategies and technologies make e-fulfillment easier and successful? Or at the very least, enable it to be a survivor after the dot-com upheaval of the last two years?

In many ways, e-fulfillment doesn't differ drastically from traditional physical distribution. Both kinds of business use the same types of materials handling systems. Conveyors, carousels, carton flow rack, radio frequency terminals, bar codes, sortation systems and warehouse management systems play major roles in both types of operations.

However, requirements for faster order processing and real-time customer service, however, are two key characteristics that do set e-fulfillment houses off from traditional fulfillment, and especially so from less-than-world-class distribution centers.

Moreover, processes differ in some ways. Far fewer unit loads are outbound and staged on the shipping dock in e-fulfillment. Greater numbers of order transactions occur. Far more delivery vans are on the docks to take away parcel-sized orders, replacing trailers and less-than-truckload vehicles.

Rather than fill bulk orders with pallet loads and full cartons, the e-fulfillment center picks mostly individual items, or "eaches," for small orders made up of one or just a few stock keeping units (SKUs). Orders tend to be selected in batches or waves, and often in a forward pick area or module, with replenishment from reserve storage. Sortation of some type usually follows or is integrated into the pick function. Prior to packout, value-added services, such as insertion of personalized gift cards or gift wrapping, often occur. Dealing with higher percentages of returned merchandise is often necessary in e-commerce.

All of this leads us to what e-fulfillment centers are doing to make these and other practices as efficient as need be to meet demanding customer requirements. The next six sections cover many of these hot spots in e-fulfillment today.