EDI order processing
Purchase orders arrive through SPS Commerce and drop into the WMS as orders. The advance ship notice goes to the retailer before the truck leaves, and invoices and acknowledgments go back on the retailer's schedule.
B2B Fulfillment Services for Retail and Wholesale Orders
KSP fills your retail and wholesale purchase orders from the same inventory as your DTC site. POs arrive over EDI through SPS Commerce. Cartons and pallets are built to each retailer's routing guide, and freight leaves on LTL or truckload with the delivery appointment booked. A big PO never strands the stock your website needs.
- EDI through SPS Commerce
- 29 dock doors for LTL and truckload
- Veteran-owned 3PL
Built for brands shipping 500+ orders a month.
What Is B2B Fulfillment?
B2B fulfillment is the warehouse work behind orders that go to businesses instead of consumers: retailer distribution centers, individual stores, distributors and wholesale buyers. The order usually arrives as an EDI purchase order and ships in cases or on pallets. Labels, packing and delivery timing have to match the buyer's routing guide, or the retailer charges the miss back to you.
Most growing brands sell both ways. A B2B fulfillment partner should run wholesale and retail orders from the same inventory as your web orders, so you don't split stock between a pallet warehouse and a parcel 3PL. The definition, the allocation math and the questions to ask a 3PL are in omnichannel fulfillment. KSP allocates each retail PO against live stock before it releases to the floor, so the retailer gets its cases and your site keeps selling. Your DTC orders run on the same team's ecommerce fulfillment services.
What KSP Handles on a Retail or Wholesale Order
Every B2B program is set up around your retailers' requirements before the first PO ships.
Routing-guide compliance
Carton labels, packing lists, pallet height, wrap and placards are set from the retailer's routing guide before the build starts. UCC-128 carton labels are verified before cartons close.
Case and pallet picking
Full cases, inner packs and mixed-SKU pallets come out of the same stock as your DTC parcels. FEFO is the WMS default, so the oldest dated lots ship first.
Retail kits and displays
PDQ trays, floor displays and store-specific kits are assembled on the 50,000 sq ft kitting floor, then palletized for the store.
LTL, truckload and appointments
Pallets leave on LTL or full truckload from 29 dock doors. KSP books delivery appointments and works with the retailer's carrier on routed freight.
Wholesale and drop-ship orders
Faire orders, distributor POs and drop-ship orders for retailer websites ship from the same inventory, with tracking posted back to the channel.
Retail DC, Direct-to-Store, Drop-Ship or Wholesale: How Each Order Ships
B2B covers four order types. Each one ships differently, and each buyer checks something different at the dock.
| B2B order type | What ships, and where | What the buyer checks |
|---|---|---|
| Retail distribution center | Cases or pallets to the retailer's DC, usually LTL or truckload by appointment | UCC-128 carton labels, pallet build and height, an ASN that matches the truck, arrival inside the window |
| Direct-to-store | Store-specific cartons or pallets, one destination per store, often for a launch or reset | Store-level labels and packing lists, delivery before the install or reset date |
| Retailer drop-ship | Single parcels to the retailer's customer, shipped under the retailer's name | Packing slip and label to the retailer's spec, ship confirmation and tracking sent back on time |
| Wholesale and distributor | Cases or mixed pallets to independent stores, distributors or marketplace buyers like Faire. | Correct case packs and counts, the buyer's ship-by date, an invoice that matches the shipment |
Most retail programs mix two or more of these. KSP runs all four from one inventory, next to your DTC orders. For the freight leg of each, see how KSP ships parcel, LTL and truckload.
How Retail Onboarding Works at KSP
Five steps from a signed vendor agreement to a compliant first shipment. KSP plans backward from your first ship window.
- 01
Send the retailer's requirements
The routing guide, vendor manual, EDI trading-partner list and your first PO dates.
- 02
Connect EDI through SPS Commerce
Each trading partner is connected and its documents are mapped to your SKUs and UPCs.
- 03
Write the compliance spec
Labels, case packs, pallet height and wrap, and appointment rules go into the warehouse SOP for that retailer.
- 04
Test before the first PO
Test documents run through the retailer's EDI testing, and the first labels are checked against the guide.
- 05
Ship the first PO
The order is picked, verified and loaded, and the ASN goes out before the truck leaves. Your account manager watches the first shipments to each retailer.
How KSP Keeps Retail Orders Out of Chargebacks
Retail deductions come from a short list of misses: a label that won't scan, a pallet built off spec, an ASN that doesn't match the truck. KSP puts a check at each one.
On every retail order
- 1
Verify each case and unit
Every case or unit barcode is scanned against the order. A mismatch stops the workflow until it's corrected.
- 2
Check labels against the guide
UCC-128 carton labels are verified before cartons close, and pallets are built to the guide's height, wrap and placard rules.
- 3
Send the ASN before the truck leaves
The advance ship notice reaches the retailer before the truck pulls out, built from what was scanned onto the pallet.
Room for retail volume
Retail programs run in the same building as your DTC orders. Inbound containers and outbound LTL work the same docks, and store kits and displays get built on a dedicated kitting floor.
- Dock doors for LTL and truckload
- 29
- Kitting floor for retail kits and displays
- 50k sq ft
- Orders fulfilled since 2012
- 32.1M
Retail and wholesale orders ship from KSP's FDA-registered facility in Brooklyn Park, MN: a climate-controlled building of about 225,000 sq ft.
What Is OTIF and What Does Missing It Cost?
On time, in full: the retailer scores whether the shipment arrived on the booked date and whether every unit on the PO was there. Walmart fines suppliers 3% of the cost of goods for misses (Supply Chain Brain, reporting the Wall Street Journal).
Walmart's February 2024 revision replaced its single 98% threshold with 90% on time and 95% in full (Logistics Management), and Target sets a 95% fill rate with a 5% of cost-of-goods penalty on unfilled items (SPS Commerce).
APQC puts the cross-industry median for orders delivered complete and on time at 90.0% across 1,781 companies (APQC measure 102357). That is a broad benchmark, not a retailer scorecard. Retailers change these terms without notice, so ask who at a 3PL watches your guides.
Target charges $0.75 per carton when the ASN sent with a shipment is inaccurate, and receiving units with no ASN available exposes a supplier to 3% of the cost of goods (SPS Commerce). Both are document failures rather than damaged goods, so a warehouse working from paper manifests and hand-keyed counts produces them without touching your product. Conexiom's 2024 survey of 898 respondents puts the average cost of a single B2B order error at $17,800 once make-good cost and customer churn are counted, one of the retail benchmarks in our 3PL fulfillment statistics.
611 Stores, One Install Date: A Target Display Program
A display program had to reach 611 Target stores ahead of a fixed install date. KSP received the inbound freight, built the kits and shipped store-specific pallets to Target's routing guide. No other vendor met the scope 100% or at the speed KSP handled it.
The program moved more than 75,000 cartons across 8 SKUs into 20 kit configurations for 611 Target stores in four weeks, from receiving the product to every outbound pallet built. KSP cross-docked 20 truckloads of more than 800 pallets into our center with the import company, and arranged hot-shot equipment when containers sat in customs so assembly never stood idle.
Compliance got handled at the pallet: an instruction manual in each kit, and 12 custom placards on each of the 611 outbound pallets, three per side at about 80 cartons per pallet, so each delivery reached the right department and team at the store. About 25,000 overage cartons went to the OEM's warehouse for store-level reorders, each labeled with part number, PO and quantity, built under 50 inches to routing requirements across 10 truckloads with appointments managed. All 611 stores received their shipments on time, ahead of the installation schedule, with no damage and no shortages, and without extra warehouse space or rental trailers.
- Target stores, all delivered on time
- 611
- Inbound cartons received
- 75,000+
- Kit configurations built
- 20
- End-to-end project accuracy
- 100%
Signs Your Retail Orders Need a Different 3PL
Retail growth breaks fulfillment setups in the same places. If two of these sound familiar, price a B2B program.
- ✓Chargebacks show up on remittances and nobody can say which shipment caused them
- ✓Retail POs get keyed in by hand from an EDI portal
- ✓Your stock sits in two places: a freight warehouse for pallets and a 3PL for parcels
- ✓One big PO empties the inventory your website needs
- ✓Your current 3PL treats every pallet order as a special project
- ✓A store launch or reset is on the calendar and nobody has planned the store-level pallets
KSP runs retail, wholesale and DTC orders from one inventory, with each retailer's routing guide written into the warehouse SOP before the first PO ships.
What Drives B2B Fulfillment Pricing
Two brands with the same PO count can get very different quotes. To get you the best quote, we take in multiple factors from your operation and where you ship so you get a fully laid out fulfillment plan. Here are some things we take into account to give you a simple quote, which we'll walk you through as well so you understand exactly what you're getting:
- EDI setup
- The number of trading partners and the documents each one exchanges through SPS Commerce.
- Pick type
- Full cases, inner packs or eaches. Breaking cases to build mixed orders adds touches.
- Labels and compliance
- Carton labels, pallet placards, packing lists and any retailer-specific prep.
- Pallet builds
- Pallets per order, mixed-SKU builds, height and wrap rules, and store-specific pallets.
- Freight
- LTL, truckload or parcel, routed by the retailer or booked by KSP, plus appointment and accessorial charges.
- Kits and displays
- Retail kits, PDQs and display assembly before the pallet build.
Send these for an accurate B2B quote
Give every 3PL you compare the same retailer list and PO profile, and ask which compliance work sits inside the quoted rate.
- Retailers and wholesale accounts you ship to, with their routing guides
- POs per month, and cases or pallets per PO
- Your EDI setup today, if you have one
- Case pack and pallet specs per SKU
- DTC order volume from the same inventory
- Your first retail ship date
B2B Fulfillment FAQ
What is B2B fulfillment?
B2B fulfillment is storing inventory and shipping orders to businesses: retailer distribution centers, stores, distributors and wholesale buyers. Orders usually arrive by EDI, ship in cases or on pallets, and follow the buyer's routing guide for labels, packing and delivery appointments. A miss becomes a chargeback, so the warehouse process carries the compliance work.
What is the difference between B2B and B2C fulfillment?
B2C fulfillment ships single parcels to consumers, packed to your brand spec. B2B fulfillment ships cases or pallets to businesses, packed to the buyer's routing guide and confirmed with an advance ship notice. KSP runs both from one inventory, so a retail PO and a web order draw from the same stock count.
Does KSP handle EDI?
Yes. KSP exchanges EDI through SPS Commerce. Purchase orders flow into the warehouse system, and KSP sends the advance ship notice before the truck leaves, followed by the invoices and acknowledgments your trading partners require. Read how KSP handles EDI with SPS Commerce for the setup.
Which retailers can KSP ship to?
KSP ships to retailers and their distribution centers nationwide, including Target, Walmart, Costco and Chewy, and builds every order to that retailer's routing guide. One Target display program covered 611 stores, all delivered on time ahead of the install date. Send your retailer list and KSP confirms each guide during onboarding.
How does KSP prevent retail chargebacks?
By writing the routing guide into the warehouse SOP before the first PO ships. KSP checks SKU mapping at receiving, verifies UCC-128 carton labels, builds pallets to the guide's height and wrap rules, and sends the ASN before the truck leaves. Your account manager reviews any deduction with you against the shipment record.
Can you fulfill B2B and DTC orders from the same inventory?
Yes. Retail, wholesale, marketplace and DTC orders all draw from one inventory in one building. A large PO is allocated against live stock before it releases, so it doesn't strand units your website needs. You see every channel's stock in one portal instead of reconciling two warehouses.
Do you ship LTL and truckload?
Yes. Retail and wholesale pallets ship LTL or full truckload from 29 dock doors, and smaller B2B orders ship by parcel with multi-carrier rate shopping. KSP books delivery appointments and works with the retailer's carrier on routed freight. See shipping options for how each mode gets chosen.
What B2B volume does KSP work with?
KSP works with brands shipping 500+ orders a month across all channels. B2B programs run from a handful of wholesale accounts up to store rollouts like the 611-store Target program. Send your PO profile and retailer list, and KSP builds a plan and a quote on those numbers.
Can a DTC 3PL ship to Target and Walmart DCs?
Only if it runs EDI, books carrier appointments and builds pallets to routing guides. A parcel-first warehouse might take the volume, then hand the retail PO back or ship it on DTC rules, and the retailer charges the misses back to you. Ask how many retailer delivery windows they hit last quarter.
What is the difference between ASN compliance and a fill rate miss?
An ASN failure is a document problem: the notice preceding your truck is inaccurate, and Target charges $0.75 per carton for it. A fill rate miss is a quantity problem: the retailer's 95% fill rate is not met and the penalty runs 5% of cost of goods on unfilled items.
How do I avoid retail chargebacks when my volume is small?
Send an accurate ASN, build to the guide's pallet and labeling requirements, hit the appointment window, and keep proof of what left the dock. Revya's study of 47 CPG brands found 21.3% of deductions invalid, and those invalid deductions cost brands 1.7% of revenue.
Can KSP handle my retail PO and my subscription boxes at the same time?
Yes. Both draw on the same inventory in the same building, and the kitting floor builds both: 20.9 million kits to date, including one client program of over 20,000 promotional kits assembled and shipped with zero errors. Send the PO and the drop calendar and we schedule the builds against one receiving plan.
Get a B2B Fulfillment Quote
Send your retailer list, routing guides, monthly POs and your first ship date. KSP comes back with a compliance plan and a quote built on that profile.
Facing a first retail ship date? Put it in the request. It sets the onboarding plan.