For the best eCommerce brands, fulfilment isn't just something that works behind the scenes. It’s a part of the overall brand experience, and has a big impact on customer satisfaction and retention.
Fulfilment has quietly become one of the clearest separators between eCommerce brands that scale smoothly and those that stall. Speed, returns, inventory placement and automation aren’t “nice-to-haves” anymore; they directly influence conversion rates, repeat purchases, reviews and margin.
Many leading eCommerce brands design fulfilment around the customer first, then optimise operations around what works for their audience.
Below, we look at how the best eCommerce brands actually do this – using real-world examples – and what those patterns reveal about whether your fulfilment model is future-ready.
Fulfilment has seen an important shift from just getting orders from A to B. Instead, leading brands ask:
How quickly does the customer feel reassured?
How predictable is the delivery promise?
How painless is it to send something back?
How resilient is this system as volume grows?
This mindset shows up in three areas:
Local returns
In-country fulfilment
Automation and intelligent technology
Returns are one of the most emotionally charged moments in eCommerce. Customers don't just want a refund, they want ease and convenience in every step of the returns journey.
That's why the best eCommerce brands have redesigned returns around local access.
Customers are less impressed by headline shipping speeds and far more sensitive to delivery accuracy and reliability. By positioning inventory strategically, brands can not only ship fast, but ensure items get where they need to consistently.
That’s why leading eCommerce brands focus heavily on where inventory is positioned, not just how fast it moves.
Amazon has repeatedly highlighted that recent improvements in Prime delivery speeds are driven by better inventory placement across its fulfilment network, not simply faster couriers.
Zalando’s B2B arm, ZEOS, now supports NEXT’s DTC fulfilment across continental Europe using a shared stock pool. The goal is to reduce complexity while improving delivery reliability and inventory efficiency.
If international expansion still means shipping every order from a central warehouse, your model will struggle as volume grows. Shipping in-country drives business growth, and is a strategic advantage for ambitious brands.
Automation isn't a novelty for leading brands; they automate to remove delay, error and fragility from fulfilment.
In practice, automation today is less about robots, and more about intelligent processes and decision-making at speed.
Leading US retail corporation Walmart is deploying large-scale automation across pickup and delivery fulfilment centres in partnership with Symbotic, as the brand aims to improve order speed, accuracy and availability across hundreds of locations.
Not every automation-heavy strategy delivers the intended results. The brands that continue to grow are willing to course-correct when things don't go to plan.
American retail company Kroger announced it would close some automated fulfilment centres and rely more heavily on store-based fulfilment closer to customers, citing improvements in speed and cost efficiency.
What this shows is that fulfilment is never a one-size-fits-all approach. It's vital that businesses are able to pivot if needed, and understand that one brand's success may not necessarily replicate for another.
If your fulfilment approach aligns with the best eCommerce brands today, you'll be able to say 'yes' to the following:
Customers can return items locally (stores, lockers, hubs)
Refunds begin quickly, not after long international transit
Orders ship domestically in key markets
Delivery promises are accurate and consistent
Inventory data is reliable and in real-time
Automation reduces friction rather than adding complexity
Growth doesn’t degrade customer experience
If several of these feel out of reach, fulfilment may be quietly limiting your performance and holding you back from reaching your potential.
Customers rarely praise fulfilment when it works — they simply return, buy again, and trust the brand.
That’s why the best eCommerce brands invest so heavily in:
Local returns infrastructure
In-country fulfilment
Intelligent automation
Inventory visibility
In 2026, fulfilment is about way more than just logistics. It drives growth, reputation and customer trust, and brands that invest in it are pulling further ahead every year.