Multichannel Order Fulfillment in 2025: How to Get it Right?

$1,382 billion USD — that’s what Statista estimates ecommerce market revenue will reach in 2025. U.S. Department of Commerce puts retail and food service sales for December 2024 somewhere around $729.2 billion USD, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes. If you put two and two together, 2025 is already shaping up to be a wild one.

With giants like Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and eBay setting the pace, it's becoming more and more clear that the depth of your multichannel fulfillment strategy will determine success in 2025. We're witnessing the evolution of trends like mobile-first shopping and hyper-local delivery, all demanding a unified approach to getting products to customers, wherever they are. The coming months will see this trend mature and take center stage, reshaping how businesses think about fulfillment.

Why Multichannel Fulfillment Matters

With business models continuously shifting, multichannel fulfillment is going to be your biggest and safest bet in 2025.

At its core, it’s about being everywhere your customers are and making sure you can deliver to them seamlessly, no matter where they shop. Multichannel means you’re selling on multiple platforms — your website, Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Instagram, you name it.

Imagine you’re a sneaker brand. You sell directly on your website, but you’re also on Amazon, and you’ve got a pop-up store in a mall. A customer orders a pair of limited-edition kicks on your website, but then realizes they’d rather pick them up at the mall. With multichannel fulfillment, your inventory system knows exactly where those sneakers are, whether they’re in your warehouse, at the mall, or already on a truck. The customer gets the item they want, the brand makes the sale, and everyone's happy.

Now, that's just one scenario.  Think about the variations:  buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), buy in-store, ship to home, returns handled at any location — the possibilities are endless. In 2025, customers will expect this level of flexibility. And if you can’t keep up, they’ll find someone who can.

Ecommerce Fulfillment Models by Channel

If we keep third-party logistics providers out of the picture for the time being, there are four major players when it comes to multichannel order fulfillment — Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), Shopify Fulfillment Network, and eBay Simple Delivery. Let’s take a look at how they square up against each other.

Amazon (FBA and FBM)

Amazon order fulfillment offers two methods for sellers: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM).

• Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): Sellers send their inventory to Amazon order fulfillment centers, where they handle storage, picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. FBA is more hands-off and offers access to benefits like Prime eligibility and better chances of winning the Buy Box. However, FBA comes with higher fees, including storage and fulfillment charges.
• Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM): Everything happens in-house. Sellers do multi-channel inventory management, shipping, and customer service, either directly or through 3PLs. While FBM lacks automatic Prime eligibility and requires more effort, it offers lower fees and greater control over operations.

Your Burning Questions: Answered

Q: How can I send inventory to Amazon FCs?

The workflow to send inventory to Amazon fulfillment centers is the same for Amazon MCF and FBA. From the seller central homepage, you can manage your inventory and send to Amazon for replenishment. You can either send inventory to Amazon FCs as case-pack templates that include units with the same SKU. The other option is to send individual units if you have a mixed list of SKUs for replenishment. This FBA Inbound workflow can be totally automated via fulfillment operations automation.

Q: Do I have to use Amazon partnered carriers for Small Parcel and LTL?

No, you don’t have to use Amazon-partnered carriers, but they are often more cost-effective and integrated with Amazon’s systems. You can use your own carrier for Small Parcel and Less Than Truckload (LTL) shipments, but take extra care to use the required labels and comply with Amazon’s prep and packaging requirements. Amazon recommends the use of a partnered LTL or FTL carrier if your total shipment weighs more than 150 lb.

Q: What are Packing Groups and Placement Options in the FBA workflow?

As a seller, you'll have to choose from different packing groups to determine how the SKUs will be grouped for inbound shipments. Similar SKUs can be packed together, while products that can't be packed together will require a different packing option.

Placement options allow you to decide how inventory is distributed across different Amazon fulfillment centers. You can opt for minimal splits (fewer locations with higher fees), partial shipment splits (fewer locations with per item fees), or Amazon-optimized shipment splits (multiple locations with no additional fees).

‍Q: What is the FBA Placement Fee?

The FBA placement fee is akin to a service fee that the seller has to pay when you choose minimal, partial, or Amazon-optimized shipment splits. This fee varies based on item quantities, sizes, and the number of destinations selected in your shipping plan.

‍Q: Can I do both FBA and FBM for the same inventory?

Yes, you can use both FBA and FBM for the same product under one Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN). However, remember that you have to assign a unique SKU for the FBA listing and a different SKU for the FBM listing. With this hybrid approach, you can use FBA for fast-moving items and pivot to FBM as a backup or for slower-moving products.

Future Outlook

Amazon is likely to continue pushing the envelope in order fulfillment. With Amazon investing heavily in machine learning algorithms to predict product demand and improve inventory placement, sellers should brace for higher FBA fees, especially for long-term storage. Expect a push to expand same-day delivery service penetration across more U.S. metro areas.

Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS)

Walmart fulfillment services (WFS) is Walmart's answer to Amazon FBA, allowing sellers to leverage their warehousing and logistics network. While still playing catch-up to Amazon's dominance, Walmart Marketplace has seen significant growth in recent years. Digital Commerce 360 reports Walmart Marketplace and Fulfillment Services in the U.S. grew an estimated 42% year over year, making it a viable second or third sales channel for many ecommerce businesses.

Your Burning Questions: Answered

Q: Does using WFS boost sales like Amazon FBA does?

A: Not necessarily. While WFS can certainly improve your sales on Walmart Marketplace, it's unlikely to have the same dramatic impact as Amazon order fulfillment. Walmart's "Fulfilled by Walmart" badge isn't as prominent as Amazon Prime, and the buy box algorithm is different.  Lowest price often wins, regardless of fulfillment method.

Q: Can I fulfill Walmart orders using Amazon FBA?

A: It's technically possible, but risky.  Walmart order fulfillment explicitly prohibits using Amazon packaging or branding for WFS orders. Even if you try to use "blank box" shipping, Walmart can often detect that the order originated from Amazon, which can lead to account suspension. It's best to avoid this practice.

Q: What types of products are eligible for WFS?

A: These are the exact product requirements, directly from Walmart:

• Maximum product weight is 500 lb.
• Maximum product dimensions of 120" x 105" x 93", including packaging.
• No temperature-regulated products.
• Items must ship to Walmart fulfillment centers from within the US or clear customs through the seller before arriving at Walmart fulfillment centers.
• Items must be acceptable in the WFS program. See WFS Prohibited Products and Marketplace Prohibited Products Policy for details.

Q: Is Walmart Marketplace worth it for Amazon sellers?

A: Absolutely. Walmart’s marketplace is growing fast, and it’s less saturated than Amazon. While WFS may not give you the same sales boost as FBA, it’s a great way to tap into Walmart’s customer base and diversify your revenue streams.

Future Outlook

Expect Walmart to continue investing in its fulfillment network, expanding its warehouse footprint, and improving its technology stack. Fulfillment automation software and robotics will likely play a bigger role in WFS operations, with Walmart introducing new features and services to attract more sellers to the WFS program. And finally, Walmart might follow in Amazon’s footsteps and expand its same-day delivery options to include more U.S. metro areas.

Shopify

The Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN) is Shopify’s order fulfillment solution, handled primarily by Flexport ever since the sale of Shopify Logistics in May 2023. SFN is tightly integrated into the Shopify ecosystem, allowing sellers to manage inventory and track orders directly from their Shopify admin panel. It also supports Shopify Promise, a badge similar to Prime and Fulfilled by Walmart.

While the Shopify Fulfillment Network seamlessly integrates with Shopify stores for fast, reliable order fulfillment, it’s just one piece of the puzzle for many sellers. Others opt for third-party logistics providers (3PLs) or even handle fulfillment in-house.

Your Burning Questions: Answered

Q: Is Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN) reliable?

A: Again, it’s a mixed bag. Some sellers report smooth experiences, while others face challenges like delayed inventory scanning, incorrect shipments, and poor customer support. If you’re considering SFN, start with a small test shipment before scaling up.

Q: How does SFN compare to Amazon FBA?

A: SFN focuses on Shopify merchants and offers benefits like custom-branded packaging and seamless integration with the Shopify platform. However, it lacks the global scale of Amazon FBA and is limited to U.S.-based fulfillment.

Q: What should I look for in a 3PL for my Shopify store?

A: Here’s a quick checklist:

• Number of Distribution Centers (DCs): Start with one DC if you’re small but consider multiple locations as you grow.
• Shipping Volume: Ensure the 3PL can handle your monthly order volume.
• Multi-Channel Inventory Management Tools: Look for a 3PL that provides real-time inventory tracking and integrates with Shopify.
• Pricing Transparency: Avoid hidden fees by asking for a detailed breakdown of costs.
• Customer Support: Test their responsiveness before committing.

Future Outlook

Even after offloading their logistics operations to Flexport, Shopify’s order fulfillment offerings have continued to evolve. Shopify is merging its online and offline retail experiences, allowing sellers to sync SFN with Shopify POS for a seamless omnichannel experience. This means inventory from your physical store and SFN warehouses can be managed in one place. On top of that, with increased pressure from competitors like Amazon, Shopify is also likely to expand their physical footprint by adding more fulfillment centers across the U.S.

eBay

eBay has introduced Simple Delivery to simplify ecommerce shipping for sellers — currently, it’s available only to private UK sellers on eBay.co.uk. Eligible listings automatically display the Simple Delivery option during the listing process. Once the item sells, sellers receive a prepaid delivery label and QR code for easy drop-off at designated locations (e.g., Evri or Royal Mail).

With us so far? Here’s where it gets interesting if you are a seller.

With Simple Delivery, sellers are protected against loss or damage once the item is scanned into the carrier’s network until delivery. There are no transaction fees on postage and late deliveries caused by carriers won’t impact seller performance metrics if items are posted within stated handling times. Sellers who use eBay order fulfillment can also request platform admins to remove negative feedback related to delivery issues.

Your Burning Questions: Answered

Q: How can I manage returns with Simple Delivery?

A: While Simple Delivery handles outgoing shipments, it’s completely on the seller to streamline ecommerce returns and refunds. Sellers should clearly communicate return policies in their listings and provide buyers with instructions for returning items. The eBay seller central allows =buyers to obtain return labels directly from eBay if the seller accepts the return request. Depending on the seller’s return policy, either the buyer or the seller will have to bear the charges.

Q: Which 3PLs are reliable and cost-effective for eBay sellers?

A: Many eBay sellers rely on 3PLs that offer discounted shipping rates through carriers like USPS, UPS, or FedEx. Typically, small domestic orders cost around $6–10 USD, including shipping and handling. However, keep an eye out for hidden fees — some providers advertise low rates but add charges for product size, weight, or SKU complexity.

Q: What are the biggest challenges for eBay sellers regarding fulfillment?

A. To be honest, the biggest challenge has to be managing different product types, especially in unique order formats like auctions or Buy It Now. Auctions often involve one-off or collectible items that demand precise inventory management and quick shipping once sold. In contrast, Buy It Now listings typically involve multiple units of the same item. With eBay order fulfillment, it’s a new thing every time, and you have to maintain constant communication with your buyer to streamline returns, refunds, and fulfillment.

Future Outlook

By partnering with carriers like Evri and Royal Mail in the UK, eBay is actively addressing seller pain points such as tracking automation, delivery protection, and negative feedback removal for late shipments caused by carriers. Further down the line, we may see Simple Delivery or an equivalent eBay order fulfillment service expand globally. Streamlined postage solutions could help smaller sellers compete with larger marketplaces and reduce shipping costs in the U.S.

Syncing Inventory, Orders, and Product Data

So, what happens when you try to mix and match different ecommerce order fulfillment models across multiple sales channels?

Depending on the volume of orders your business processes daily, a hybrid multichannel ecommerce fulfillment strategy might just be the best course of action. However, in our experience, individual services don’t communicate well with each other. For instance, WFS might not readily integrate with your third-party logistics provider and your in-house system — then things can get messy, fast.

Why is it so important? Because mismatched data leads to a cascade of problems. Overselling, shipping delays, lost revenue, and noncompliance. With the regulatory landscape continuously shifting, you need a platform that can identify and remedy any possible deviations.

If you’re operating in the U.S., you need to be minutely aware of regulations even at the state-level. For instance, New York’s Digital Fair Repair Act mandates sellers must ensure product listings include accurate repair information and comply with disclosure requirements.

Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is actively cracking down on use of dark patterns in the marketplace — deceptive design practices or false urgency tactics that trick consumers into making purchases or sharing data, for instance “Only 2 left in stock.” Therefore, you have to ensure accurate inventory counts at all times to avoid misleading customers. ICPEN’s latest report suggests that an estimated 66.82% of traders made use of multiple dark patterns in 2024.

You need to be on your toes every second of every minute when it comes to inventory management, order synchronization, and product data. That’s why it’s always best to have an order fulfillment or a WMS software as the primary level of protection instead of blindly trusting third-parties.

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Common Challenges and How to Solve Them

Heading into 2025, the question isn't whether Amazon FBA is still profitable or if Shopify Fulfillment Network can keep up with demand. Those are tactical decisions. The real question — the one that will define your success — is whether your business is equipped to sell and fulfill across all channels. Whether you're a brand managing fulfillment in-house or a 3PL scaling operations for multiple clients, the ability to unify your sales and fulfillment processes will be the single most critical factor in staying competitive.

Multichannel fulfillment isn’t just about picking the right provider or building out warehouses. It’s about creating a unified ecosystem where every order, every inventory update, and every delivery promise flows seamlessly across platforms. Whether it’s your DTC website, Amazon storefront, or wholesale B2B orders, you need a system that ensures no sales slip through the cracks because of stockouts, delays, or disconnected workflows.

Multichannel fulfillment is complex. Inventory needs to sync across marketplaces, orders must be routed to the most efficient fulfillment center, and you have to juggle expectations like two-day shipping or in-store pickups. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing fulfillment in-house or outsourcing it because if your systems can’t talk to each other, you’re going to run into problems.

This is where a WMS with capabilities to orchestrate multi-channel fulfillment comes in clutch — it helps you navigate and overcome many of the challenges businesses face when starting out with multichannel fulfillment. For brands, it means delivering consistent customer experiences no matter where the order originates. For 3PLs, it means being able to scale efficiently while offering clients the flexibility they need to grow. Let’s discuss some of the common challenges that you will eventually come face-to-face with as the year goes on.

1. Lack of Visibility into Sales Data

This problem starts with mismatched SKUs — that is when the same product has different identifiers across platforms. Sales data and order information don’t tally with each other, and you’re left with dubious business intelligence. For most brands and 3PLs, one of the biggest challenges is to glean actionable insights from orders and customer relationships across all your sales channels.

Fix: To truly understand your sales and optimize your multichannel strategy, you need a central hub for your data. Think of it as a way to connect the dots across all your sales channels. Instead of just seeing individual sales, you need to see the bigger picture. This means a system that can handle the complexities of multiple SKUs and identifiers across different platforms. Ideally, you want a unified solution like a WMS that not only manages your inventory in one place but also lets you allocate stock to specific channels directly. Having a single source of truth will allow you to peek closely at how different SKUs perform across different platforms, identify trends, and make informed decisions about inventory and sales strategies with the appropriate context.

2. Overselling

Imagine this: you're running a promotion on a hot-selling item across multiple sales channels. However, to manage and fulfill orders, your business still relies on offline methods and spreadsheets. When inventory isn’t synced in real time, you risk selling products you don’t actually have in stock. By the time you realize that you’ve been selling phantom stock that does not in fact exist at any storage location, the damage has already been done.

Fix: To establish a long-term solution to overselling, you need a system to instantly update stock levels the moment an order comes in, no matter where it originates. Think of it as a central control tower for your inventory, where you can see everything that's happening, all the time.

There are two critical components to managing inventory - automatic alerts that trigger when stock levels dip below certain thresholds and configurable rules for different contexts. With these in place, you can now proactively replenish inventory, preventing those last-minute scrambles for emergency stock. Also, if you're planning a promotion or a seasonal sale, you can build in mechanisms to monitor demand spikes and maintain buffer stock.

And to neatly tie it together, you need a way to bring all of this data together and plan for future demand. As a simple consequence of unifying your data, you can directly tackle overselling and simultaneously get better at demand forecasting, setting you up for smoother operations year on year.

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3. Shipping Delays

Again, shipping is one of those challenges that become bigger of a problem the more you grow. With orders coming in from multiple channels, delays in order processing can lead to late shipments, affecting customer sentiment. There’s a ton of things that you have to figure out —

• Can a carrier scale with you?
• Should you opt for multi-carrier shipping?
• How to handle returns?
• How to factor shipping charges into your pricing strategy?

Fix: What does a streamlined shipping process look like?

When implemented well, ecommerce shipping functions as a unified process that continuously pulls data from order fulfillment and shipping systems. This data is the key — it feeds into a centralized authority to automate several key stages of the shipping journey, including label printing, carrier selection, and real-time tracking.

Think beyond just online orders. Consider how you handle orders from in-store purchases, omnichannel flows like buy-online-pickup-in-store, and even shipments to offline retailers and distributors. Just like no single order has the same context, similarly, you need a system intelligent enough to drive the best delivery outcome every single time. With enough carrier integrations, you can offer multiple carrier options and leverage historical data to refine your pricing strategy to suit specific shipping needs.

The biggest challenge here is to harness and harmonize all the data. Once that part is out of the way, you can find many more fruitful applications of said data. For example, you can implement smart algorithms and create customized fulfillment workflows to reduce picking, packing, and shipping times, especially for high-volume operations.

4. Overcoming Barriers to Scaling

As your client portfolio grows, you'll eventually face challenges while managing diverse order types, from individual ecommerce shipments to bulk orders for distributors and retailers. When you sell SKUs across multiple platforms, maintaining consistent and accurate product data becomes incredibly difficult. Add that to the growing complexity of managing unique labeling, packaging, and shipping requirements for every sales channel, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Fix: The reality is, spreadsheets and manual tracking simply can't keep pace with the demands of a growing multichannel operation. To do something about it, you have to start by centralizing your inventory management, whether it’s online marketplaces, in-store purchases, or bulk shipments to retailers. Implement tools that can handle both small parcel and LTL/FTL shipments seamlessly, while also managing returns from multiple channels — online, in-store, and retail partners.

Automated workflows for receiving, picking, packing, and shipping can reduce errors and improve efficiency, especially as your order volumes grow. Add in integrations with critical systems like ERPs as you grow so you can onboard new capabilities to ensure smooth communication and data flow at all times. You can manually set up these capabilities as your business grows, or you can bring these targeted solutions under a single comprehensive system, like a cloud WMS. The latter approach leaves you more room to grow, with ready-made integrations waiting to bring in more functionality as and when your business needs them.

5. Deciding Between 3PL and In-House Fulfillment

For most brands and businesses in ecommerce, choosing the right multichannel fulfillment partner is a tremendous headache. Should you go with a 3PL? Handle it in-house? Or jump on board with one of the big players like Amazon FBA, Walmart Fulfillment Services, or Shopify’s Fulfillment Network?

Spoiler alert: there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. No matter which route you take, a WMS can make your life infinitely easier. Every business has different priorities and the “right” choice depends on your metrics: cost, control, scalability, or speed. But no matter what you prioritize, one thing is universal: multichannel fulfillment is messy without the right systems in place.

Fix: Any WMS worth its salt already has pre-built integrations for major platforms like Amazon, Shopify, and Walmart — and any third-party tools for accounting, billing, shipping carriers, and even demand forecasting. You can even create and manage your own product catalogs across several sales channels. It empowers you to adopt a hybrid approach if needed: maybe you use Amazon FBA for fast-moving SKUs but handle specialty items in-house or through a 3PL.

Automating Order Fulfillment with Software

The future of multichannel fulfillment is being shaped by advancements in AI and automation, and we're seeing practical applications emerge as we speak. While fully automated, "thinking" warehouses may still be a few years out, the integration of AI into WMS solutions is delivering tangible improvements.

1. One of the most impactful areas is predictive analytics. AI-powered systems are now capable of independently analyzing vast datasets – historical sales, seasonal trends, and market fluctuations – to accurately forecast demand. As a business, if you deal with a lot of seasonal spikes or volatile markets, imagine how much more you can achieve with more intuitive, intelligent, and adaptive predictive systems.
2. Smart slotting and picking are also being revolutionized. AI is progressively getting better at analyzing real-time movement patterns on the ground and optimizing product placement accordingly. What you get as an end consumer is a WMS that can intelligently calculate the fastest picking routes, and adapt to any changes in order volume or product location on the fly. As a natural consequence of this, you end up minimizing travel time for pickers and automated systems, making life significantly easier for them.
3. While Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and cobots have been around for a while, they are becoming increasingly intelligent, thanks to AI. They can now navigate complex warehouse layouts, collaborate seamlessly with human workers, and even learn new tasks. Research and development have slowly but steadily improved their effectiveness at labor-heavy tasks like picking, replenishment, and packing. This frees up your human workers and dramatically improves safety standards on the floor, especially in high-volume operations.
4. Finally, with real-time optimization businesses are finding newer and more innovative ways of responding to the unpredictable nature of the world. With AI, your WMS can now analyze data from various sources – traffic, warehouse conditions – to adjust workflows and issue alerts in real-time. This could mean rerouting pickers around congested areas, adjusting picking schedules based on order surges, or optimizing delivery routes based on traffic patterns.

We have barely even scratched the surface of how AI is transforming multichannel fulfillment. We are looking at a massive jump, not just in terms of efficiency and accuracy, but also responsiveness to external stimulus like weather conditions, environmental control while handling perishables, optimized energy consumption in the warehouse, and more. As AI technologies continue to mature, we can expect even more innovative applications. The future of multichannel fulfillment, and fulfillment in general, is intelligent, and the onus is on you to be ready.

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Conclusion

2025 is still fresh and it’s definitely too early to be making predictions. But one thing is for sure — businesses have to embrace multi-channel ecommerce order fulfillment to compete and thrive going forward. Amidst the uncertainty lies incredible opportunity. Whether you’re a seller scaling fulfillment operations or a 3PL managing multiple clients, you have to have a consistent fulfillment strategy that can pivot and adapt according to market changes.

Don't get left behind.  Explore how our proprietary WMS can help you flesh out your ecommerce order fulfillment strategy. Contact us to schedule a demo and understand how we can work together to position your business for success in 2025 and beyond.