Zalando Fulfillment Solutions (ZFS) is a service enabling Zalando to send your products and fulfill your orders for you, from their warehouses.
To activate this service in Zalando, you first need to make sure that you have two separate agreements with Zalando:
- one with Zalando Partner Program
- one with Zalando Fulfillment Solutions
In Zdirect, you can then choose if you want to manage orders through Partner Fulfillment (default) and/or Zalando Fulfillment Solutions.
- ZFS presentation on Zalando's website
- Articles about ZFS on Zalando's website
- Instructional videos on ZFS (login required)
Tips to help you get the most out of ZFS with Lengow!
- Try to send to Zalando's warehouse the 20% of SKUs that are responsible for 80% of your sales and replenish frequently. Zalando recommends weekly or bi-weekly.
- You will be assigned a dedicated Zalando sales manager to help you through the process of getting started.
Get in touch with ZFS: logisticssolutions@zalando.de
Getting started with ZFS in Lengow
There is no change needed in the Lengow platform regarding authentication or settings.
Your ZFS stock, in particular, is not managed through Lengow but directly with Zalando. Only send your own stock via Lengow.
Using the ZFS in Lengow means that you already have connected and set a Zalando feed in your Lengow account.
If not, contact our Support Team to know your options and how to import your products from Lengow to Zalando.
ZFS orders management
The orders fulfilled by Zalando are retrieved in Lengow directly at the "shipped" status.
A "fulfillment" icon is shown on ZFS orders (see screenshot below).
Note: If a single order contains both products delivered by Zalando AND products delivered by the seller, Lengow identifies the order as a ZFS order.
If you import ZFS orders into your back-office:
- using Lengow API: the information can be retrieved through the node "is_delivered_by_marketplace".
- using one of Lengow's plugins, from the orders import settings:
- Activate the option to import the orders shipped by marketplaces.
- Specific for Shopify: No action is required on your part. Orders go directly back to your Shopify backoffice with the status "fulfilled" and don't decrease stocks. Look for the custom field "shipped by marketplace" and the value "yes" or "no" in your logs.
ZFS billing
Zalando does not require to provide an invoice for every order. You can use an E-Invoice System to send the invoice to customers by email.
ZFS logistics
In zDirect, you can monitor your stock movements and manage your shipping notices.
ZFS stock reports
Two types of ZFS stock reports can be retrieved using the Lengow API via a GET (refer to our API documentation):
- Daily "snapshot" report to monitor your performance:
Zalando issues every day at midnight a ZFS daily inventory report, which enables you to check your stock levels at Zalando warehouses (see screenshot).
This helps you to know which articles need replacement. Please note that items with no stock are not listed.
- "One-shot" request to generate specific stock reports:
Through the Lengow API, you are able to create one-shot requests with variable parameters to generate a customized stock report. Zalando limits the available stock history to 24 hours.
These three parameters can be supplied:
- A list of EAN codes ("eans"): a maximum of 50 EANs can be listed, and the EAN codes must be correct.
- Since a specific time ("from") within the last 24 hours.
- By location ("by_location"): indicates the stock per Zalando warehouse.
(Note: "eans" and "from" are mutually exclusive parameters, provide one or the other.)
- Offerable quantity: quantity currently available to sell, per Zalando warehouse.
- Non-offerable quantity: quantity handled by Zalando but not available to sell. This includes, for example, items that are in the process of delivery to customers, or currently in transit to another warehouse.
These stock reports are available in your Zalando back-office as well.
You are also able to monitor your stock movements and manage your shipping notices in zDirect.
ZFS stock movements
Your stock movements in the ZFS network can be monitored using the Lengow API via a GET (refer to our API documentation).
You can retrieve stock movements on a given period for the following product types:
- received_items: items received by Zalando ("Inbound receive process").
- returned_items: items returned by Zalando ("Outbound return process").
- intra_community_movements: items moved between Zalando warehouses ("ICM").
- liquidated_items: items liquidated by Zalando on your behalf ("Liquidation Data").
Stock movements can be retrieved on a period within the last 100 days. The date must be specified using the RFC 3339 format, example: 2017-07-21T17:32:28Z
ZFS shipping notices
To inform Zalando of your planned inbound articles and ask them for a delivery date, shipping notice requests can be sent using the Lengow API via a GET (refer to our API documentation).
Make sure you follow Zalando's shipping notice process (see flowchart). The following actions can be done using the Lengow API:
- At least 5 working days in advance, send a shipping notice request to inform Zalando of a planned shipment from your warehouse to Zalando’s. After its creation, you may update the shipping notice's parameters.
- Create an announced item set to detail the EANs and quantities that you intend to ship (onboarded EANs only). You may update or retrieve the announced item set after its creation.
- Once you confirm this announcement, Zalando will provide you with a Shipping Notice ID and the delivery date.
- After the delivery date is confirmed, create a dispatched item set detailing the final inbound EANs and quantities.You may update or retrieve the dispatch item set after its creation. If you don't create a dispatch item set, the most recent announced item set is considered the final item set.
- At least 24 hours before the shipment, confirm the dispatch of your articles to Zalando.
- After shipping, check the tracking status to track your shipping in real time.
Your shipping notices can also be managed in your Zalando back-office.
