Maybe you’ve noticed. Our order fulfillment system here at Azure Standard is unique. Because it’s different from most other online eCommerce click-n-ship companies, it needs a little explaining so everyone can understand its advantages (and trade-offs).
The Basics of Ordering from Azure
If you haven’t already, please view our video and written description of How It All Works. This gives the overall view of what we do and how you can benefit.
There are two main ways to have your Azure orders delivered:
By parcel carrier (such as UPS or USPS)
On one of our truck routes.
Parcel Carrier Delivery
When you choose to have your orders delivered by Parcel Carrier, your experience will be very much like those of other eCommerce click-n-ship companies. You place the order, we fill it, we ship it, you pay for the products + shipping. If there are a significant number of items out of stock, we may hold the order long enough for the missing items to come into stock. Simple. Straight forward. You order it, we ship it.
Truck Route Delivery
Choosing to have your order delivered on one of our truck routes (with frozen and refrigerated options) typically means you will have to wait a little bit before your order is shipped because some routes only deliver once a month. For areas on the West Coast, shipping is free by this method while areas farther east have a flat-rate shipping charge. This makes it very economical for ordering heavy, frozen, or refrigerated items that would cost a lot more to send by Parcel Carrier.
Why Our Order Fulfillment Must Be Different
Most eCommerce click-n-ship companies are able to ship on a first-come-first-served basis because each order is shipped individually. And this is indeed how we send our Parcel Carrier orders. But, truck Rroute delivery requires a very different order fulfillment process. Why? Because each order placed needs to wait until all of the orders for a particular route are received (this is why we have order cut-offs when no more orders can be added to a specific truck route), and each order placed is grouped with the other orders going to a Drop.
So, for comparison, you could say that ordering by parcel carrier is a little bit like ordering from a vending machine. You see what you want, you pay for it, it gets delivered in a little package. But, ordering on one of our truck routes is like ordering a family dinner at a restaurant—you have to wait until everyone is there and seated, the cooks in the kitchen have finished their culinary creations, and everyone is served dishes and side dishes all together. But, everyone waits… together.
How Our Order Fulfillment System is Designed
We’ve carefully and thoughtfully designed the order fulfillment system for our truck routes so that we’re able to offer the freshest products possible, with an order cut-off time that is as close to shipment departure time as possible. Yet, we still hear from folks who feel our system is unfair because they wish to be guaranteed to receive their products just because they placed their order earlier than others. There really isn’t a way to game the system and get more than the next person. We strive to fill everyone’s orders to the fullest possible and our in-stock rates have risen significantly since Spring of 2020.
Orders Filled On Time, Not Set Aside
Our system is not designed to set aside products for people who order early. Instead, we pack each order directly with what’s on the shelf at the time (much the way a cook would pull ingredients directly from the pantry without setting aside ingredients for future meals.) If we attempted to set products aside, it would cause numerous problems such as lack of warehouse space to do such, fresh produce and dated products getting old, and we couldn’t allow any revisions whatsoever. That would be tragic and unworkable for many of our customers. So, for these and other reasons, we stick with what has worked long-term… doing our best to keep products in stock for everyone no matter how early or late they order. If it’s on the shelf when your order is pulled, you get it!
The Smart Computer Illustration
We’ve been told that if our software was smart enough, we wouldn’t actually need to set aside any goods physically. The computer would just know that a particular item on the shelf was earmarked from someone who had placed their order farther in advance. Picturing this, the person from our warehouse crew who is pulling your order that includes 1 bottle of fresh milk might see 5 cases of fresh milk on the shelf. But, the “smart” computer would have been programmed to say, “Do not pull this milk for this customer right now because those 5 cases are earmarked for other people who placed their orders earlier and will ship to them when their truck leaves in 2 weeks.” Hmmmm… no, that wouldn’t work either.
Our model of filling orders with the freshest possible goods just before the truck departs is indeed the best solution for everyone to benefit.
The Nitty Gritty Details
In-stock Rates
We’re doing our very best to keep enough in stock all the time so there is not a need for our customers to be out-of-stocked. However, sometimes the vendors short us, and sometimes there is a “run” on a suddenly popular item that we didn’t expect and the item goes out of stock quickly. We understand that this is seen as unfair to those who placed their orders earlier, but we offer these additional thoughts…
When is Inventory Most Accurate on our Website?
The numbers you see on our website are based on exactly what is in stock at this very moment. If your order cut-off time isn’t for another week, everything may be different by then. So, the very best time to see the most accurate inventory for your order is the day of your cut-off.
If the cut-off day arrives and it looks like some items on your order will likely be out of stock, we now send you an email letting you know which items probably won’t be shipped. You can then choose another item as a substitute if you wish.
What about the Expected Arrival Date?
We publish the expected arrival date so you can have a good idea of how soon the next load of product will be delivered to our warehouse. However, these expected arrival dates are really our best guess. We may have scheduled the product to be here at that time, but many factors may change that. For example, sometimes the computer shows that a product will be back in stock shortly, but then when it arrives we find that it is not up to our quality standards. We then have to remove it from inventory. Sometimes we expect a delivery truck to arrive on a certain date, but it is delayed for weather or mechanical issues. Sometimes we receive a huge shipment in big 2000-lb totes (like beans for example) and the computer will show them as “arrived” and “in-stock” when in reality we haven’t had the time to pack them into smaller bags for you. This can mean a delay of up to several days.
Does it Matter When Your Order is Pulled?
A rumor floated around social media circles that made it sound like if you could just get your order pulled before others in the drop (something our customers don’t have much control over, see next section), you would get more of your order filled. This is not necessarily the case at all. Since products come into our warehouse continually, this means that just as items are leaving the warehouse, often the replacement inventory is coming into the warehouse. Sometimes, the products you were looking for (but appeared to be out-of-stock) will arrive at the last minute before your order is pulled. If your order had been pulled any earlier, you might not have received it.
Who’s Order within a Drop gets Pulled First?
The prevailing thought is that whoever’s order gets pulled first gets the most in stock (which is not exactly true, see above). And this has led to some misinformation in social media circles. For the record, no… we don’t fill orders in alphabetical order according to name. But, how do we decide which orders get pulled first?
Of course, we pull the orders in the order of the drops on a route (that’s a given). But, when there is a large drop and many customers within that drop, who’s order gets pulled first? The little-known truth is this: we pull the largest orders first. Yes, within a drop, the customer with the largest order gets pulled first so that their order (typically containing heavy bulk items and cases of goods) can be stacked on the bottom of the pallet, while the folks that make a small order of only a few vitamin bottles (for example) will be placed on the top of the pallet. And there’s the secret. It really doesn’t make much of a difference (if any) on your order’s in-stock rate… but we include this tid-bit of information here to dispel the Internet rumors and give you insight into how Azure works on the inside.
If I Pay for My Order Early, do I Get First Dibs?
This is another piece of misinformation that has made its rounds in comments on social media. We do not charge your credit card until your order actually ships. You may give us your credit card number at the time you check out your order, but your card is not charged until it actually ships. We do not charge cards “early.” No one gets “first dibs.” Everyone has equal opportunity to receive the products. There is no favoritism.
In full transparency, for some very large purchases (mostly from manufacturers who contract weeks or months ahead), we do earmark the contracted goods for that customer.
What You Can Do
Take a look at your order on cut-off day to see if there is anything likely to be out of stock that you would like a substitute for. (Watch for our email notification about this too!)
Ensure that you are getting our emails so you’re in the loop on all the latest information. Are our emails getting lost in Spam? Did you unsubscribe at some time in the past? You can resubscribe by going to ourazure.com/resubscribe.
Bottom Line
If you would like your order filled on a first-come-first-served basis, please order by parcel carrier (UPS or USPS). Additional shipping charges will apply as indicated at check-out.
If you would like to receive frozen, refrigerated, and heavy bulk items in the most economical way possible (shipping included for West Coast customers, minimal shipping for other areas of the US), then please take advantage of our truck delivery on scheduled routes.