Many eCommerce founders remember the early days – packing orders at the kitchen table, printing labels at home, midnight runs to the post office, tracking everything in a single spreadsheet.
As businesses grow, however, so does the complexity behind the scenes.
Whether you’re moving into your first warehouse or thinking about adding another, keeping everything running smoothly requires more time and effort – not to mention more headspace!
This is where fulfillment software starts to really matter. Without the right tools linking your operations together, you’re not streamlining — you’re multiplying complexity and risk. With the right software in place, however, logistics becomes an engine – faster, smarter, and built to scale.
Let’s unpack how fulfillment software is the vital missing piece that transforms logistics into a high-impact asset for global growth.
In this article
Why Software Is Essential for Multi-Location Fulfillment
Every modern business relies on central software platforms. Finance teams have their accounting systems, sales teams use CRM software, marketers track performance through analytics dashboards, and so on and so forth.
Fulfillment is no different. When you’re running multiple warehouses, you need to build a central system, and the stakes are high. After all, if your inventory data is wrong and errors are made, you’ll let down real customers.
Reports show that between 50% and 84% of customers won’t return to a retailer after a bad delivery experience, and 32% abandon their carts if the delivery estimate is too long.
Many businesses try to deliver on expectations by building a patchwork of systems – basic order management software combined with spreadsheets, and separate warehouse management systems at each location. Manual processes can fill the gaps.
That might work temporarily, but it creates costly inefficiencies that only compound as you grow.
Software built specifically for eCommerce fulfillment – such as our very own ControlPort™ system – is the answer.
Introducing Our Fulfillment Platform: ControlPort™
J&J Global Fulfillment has grown from a single UK warehouse in 2010 to an international network spanning the UK, EU, North America, and Australia.
Along the way, we’ve observed firsthand how difficult it was for brands to scale globally without the right tech holding everything together.
So, we worked painstakingly to develop the award-winning ControlPort™ – our custom software platform designed to power fast, accurate fulfillment both domestically and internationally. Here are some of the core features it brings to the table:
- Real-time inventory synchronisation across all your warehouses, preventing overselling and stockouts.
- Intelligent order routing that automatically sends each order to the optimal fulfillment location based on stock levels, customer location, and shipping requirements.
- Comprehensive batch and BBE tracking that prevents wastage and ensures product quality.
- Complete cost visibility with transparent breakdowns of all fulfillment expenses.
- Detailed analytics and performance reporting for data-driven decision making
- Seamless integration with major eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, and more.
We’ve fine-tuned ControlPort™ through daily use in the field, handling millions of orders yearly for hundreds of brands.
The outcome? A system delivering 98% same-day dispatch rates and 99.9% picking accuracy throughout our global network.
Let’s dig deeper into the four ways ControlPort™ transforms fulfillment from a bottleneck into a growth engine:
1. Centralising Your Fulfillment Operations
Centralising fulfillment works on two levels: bringing together your sales channels on the front end, and unifying your warehouse operations on the back end.
ControlPort™ handles both by creating a single platform where everything connects. Your sales channels feed directly into the system, which then coordinates with our entire fulfillment network.
The result is complete visibility across your operation – from the moment a customer buys your product, whether on your website, social media, or any other channel, to the second it arrives at their door. There are four key components at play here:
- One central inventory system that unifies stock data from all warehouses, eliminating conflicts between locations and providing that all-important single version of truth.
- Integrated sales channel connections that pull orders from all your marketplaces into one system, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
- Single standardised processes that create consistency in how orders are received, processed, and shipped across all facilities.
- Unified documentation systems that standardise paperwork, labels, and communication regardless of origin or destination.
By centralising fulfillment from the point-of-sale to the warehouse, ControlPort™ removes the mix-ups and mistakes introduced by manual or patchwork systems.
Insight From Our Case Studies
ControlPort™ is so easy to use. The capability is great and the reporting functionality is incredibly useful as well.
– David Nettleship, Operations Manager, The Wine Flyer.
The Wine Flyer, a British Airways and IAG subsidiary, uses ControlPort™ to manage their constantly changing inventory of premium wines. With customer expectations set by their association with British Airways, reliability and visibility are essential.
They were particularly impressed with J&J’s BigCommerce integration, which effortlessly connected their website to our fulfillment infrastructure.
2. Clarity and Control at Scale
Every additional warehouse multiplies your inventory data points. Managing warehouses in different locations means tracking thousands of SKUs, monitoring stock levels, watching expiry dates, and measuring performance metrics – all while making sure nothing slips under the radar.
ControlPort™ delivers real-time insights into your entire network, with practical tools designed for ultimate operational oversight:
- Visual monitoring dashboards: Get immediate status updates with colour-coded indicators showing which products need attention across all locations.
- Proactive alert systems: Receive notifications when stock levels cross thresholds, items approach expiration, or performance metrics deviate from targets.
- Exception highlighting: Instantly see which orders, products, or processes aren’t following expected patterns.
- Cross-facility comparison tools: Identify performance differences between locations to detect and address inconsistencies.
This toolkit equips you with the ability to address fulfillment issues before they affect customers while slashing costs and saving everyone time – all powerful growth drivers for expanding businesses.
You can even track how we’re performing against our service level agreements (SLAs) with transparent metrics on stock processing, pick and pack accuracy, dispatch times, and more.
Monitor our performance across custom timeframes – from the last week to the previous 12 months – giving you complete oversight of our service quality.
Insight From Our Case Studies
The visibility on batch numbers and expiration dates that ControlPort™ provides is the best out of any of the 3PLs we’ve worked with.
Chris Sutton, Logistics Manager, PetLab Co.
PetLab Co., a pet supplement brand founded, relies heavily on ControlPort’s BBE tracking. With ControlPort™, they can manage inventory approaching expiration dates and even automatically halt sales of products within 30 days of their BBE date – helping them maintain brand standards and compliance.
3. Scaling Smoothly and Confidently
Expanding internationally often forces companies to adopt new systems for each region, train staff on different methods, and devise workarounds to maintain operations.
ControlPort™ changes this by treating new locations as additional points in your existing network, not as entirely separate entities:
- Rapid new location setup: Add warehouses to your network in days rather than weeks or months.
- Consistent training experience: New staff learn one system regardless of location, reducing onboarding time and errors.
- Market-specific customisation: Adapt to regional requirements while maintaining core system consistency.
- Volume scalability: Handle dramatic increases in order numbers without proportional increases in management overhead.
This transforms how companies can grow globally. You can position stock closer to customers in new markets without inflating the admin burden. ControlPort™ is flexible enough to accommodate regional differences while maintaining a consistent operational framework across your entire network.
Insight From Our Case Studies
New members of our team never struggle to pick up ControlPort™ because it’s designed for humans and is incredibly client-focused.
Freddie Northcott, Operations Manager, Tom’s Trunks.
Tom’s Trunks, a sustainable loungewear brand that has witnessed 204% year-on-year growth, values how easily new team members can use ControlPort. As they continue to expand rapidly, having software that scales with them has been fundamental in maintaining their momentum.
4. Analytics That Work For Your Business
Numbers only matter when they drive better decisions. ControlPort™ turns raw data into practical insights that directly improve your fulfillment operations – and you don’t need a data science degree to understand them.
The platform offers targeted analytics specifically designed for multi-location operations:
- Cost optimisation tools: Identify the most economical shipping options and inventory placements across regions.
- Performance comparisons: See which carriers, warehouses, and processes deliver the best results in different markets.
- Trend identification: Spot emerging patterns in customer behaviour and regional preferences before they become obvious.
- Scenario modelling: Test different fulfillment strategies before implementing them to predict outcomes.
Together, these analytical tools and reports ensure that all the valuable logistics data you’re collecting is put to use. Actionable fulfillment data often proves the missing piece brands need to succeed in their expansion efforts – it makes your strategies easier to plan, strategise, and optimise over time.
Insight From Our Case Studies
J&J is a great partner. Their operation is highly organised, their technology is sharp and always developing, and best of all, the people are kind, helpful and smart.
Ben Hantoot, Co-founder and Partner, Cards Against Humanity
Cards Against Humanity built their own fulfillment network in the US but partnered with J&J for UK and European orders. ControlPort™’s analytics help them manage their legendary promotional campaigns and ensure they can rapidly scale to match demand spikes across different regions.
How Fulfillment Software Unlocks Multi-Location Growth
With proper technology binding your network together, multiple locations become a strategic asset that transforms your business economics, customer experience, and growth trajectory.
Let’s look at some common scenarios that businesses face when expanding to multiple locations, and how the right fulfillment software makes the difference:
| Real-World Scenario | What Goes Wrong Without Software | How the Right Technology Fixes It | The Bigger Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Some customers get their order in 24 hours. Others are waiting over a week…” | Shipping from a single location slows down delivery for anyone outside your home market. | Orders are routed to the warehouse closest to the customer – automatically. | Delivery times are faster, expectations are met, and suddenly, new markets become realistic growth opportunities. |
| “We’re spending a fortune on shipping just to keep up with customer expectations…” | Relying on one location leads to expensive express services just to stay competitive. | Software weighs up distance, stock levels and courier rates to choose the most efficient fulfillment path. | Shipping costs drop significantly (30–66% in some cases), with no compromise on speed. |
| “We ran a flash sale that wiped out UK stock – but our EU warehouse still had loads…” | Inventory sits in silos, so one warehouse runs dry while another has plenty. | The system sees your stock as one network – and routes orders wherever the product’s available. | Fewer stockouts, smoother promotions, and better inventory turnover across the board. |
| “Our seasonal peaks are getting harder to handle with just one warehouse…” | One location buckles under pressure during sales spikes, promotions or the holiday rush. | Order volumes are distributed across the network automatically, based on real-time capacity. | You stay agile during busy periods – with fewer delays, lower costs, and no last-minute panic hiring. |
| “Different markets need different things – from packaging to paperwork…” | Regional customisations become a logistical pain point without flexible systems. | Warehouse-level rules handle everything from local packaging to country-specific documentation – no manual workarounds. | You can optimise the experience by region without adding chaos or compromising brand consistency. |
| “We’re entering new markets and need fulfillment to scale with us – not slow us down…” | Expansion often means starting over – new systems, new processes, and more complexity. | New locations plug straight into the existing network. Same workflows, same reporting, no disruption. | Expansion feels like a step forward, not a reset. Growth becomes smooth, structured – and far less stressful. |
Bringing It All Together
The bottom line? Brilliant fulfillment software gives you all the advantages of multiple warehouses without the associated hassle and operational complexity.
ControlPort™ connects your inventory, orders, and locations into a single system that works smarter than any individual facility could alone.
The results speak for themselves. Our clients consistently report dramatic drops in shipping costs, delivery times cut by days (sometimes weeks), and significantly more time to focus on growth rather than logistics management.
J&J’s global fulfillment network spans the UK, EU, North America, and Australia, all linked by our ControlPort™ platform. We’ve built this system for brands ready to smash rising customer expectations and scale strategically without friction.
Ready to explore how multi-location fulfillment could work for your business? Talk to our team today about putting your products closer to your customers, wherever they might be.
This is part 5 of our series on fulfillment center strategy. You can read the rest of the series here:
- Single vs Multi-Site Fulfillment: What’s the Best Strategy For You?
- The Business Case for Multi-Site Fulfillment
- How to Develop an Effective Fulfillment Center Location Strategy
- Strategic Inventory Management: When and how to split your stock
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