Do you speak British or American English? Depending on your answer, you may differ on which spellings you favor. In short, fulfillment is an alternative form of fulfilment. Below we shortly discuss the use of the verbs in logistics context. For all logistics related terms visit our Wordbook.
Fulfillment Definition and Meaning
What is the definition of fulfillment?
According to Cambridge English Dictionary “fulfillment” can mean several things. It can be:
– The state of being fulfilled.
– The act of consummating a desire or promise.
– The activities performed once an order is received to fulfill the order; packaging, distributing and shipping goods.
– In logistics: The packing and dispatch of a customer’s order by a retailer.
Cambridge English Dictionary
What is the meaning of fulfilling?
According to the Oxford dictionary fulfilling (adjectiv) means making someone satisfied or happy through allowing their character or abilities to develop fully.”a fulfilling and rewarding career”.
How do you spell Fulfillment / Fulfilment?
US: Correct spelling for the English word “fulfillment” is [fʊlfˈɪlmənt], [fʊlfˈɪlmənt], [f_ʊ_l_f_ˈɪ_l_m_ə_n_t].
UK: Spelling for “fulfilment” is [fʊlˈfɪlmənt]
| fulfilment | fulfillment |
|---|---|
| ENGLISH (UK) Pronunciation /fʊlˈfɪlmənt/ Noun – The act of fulfilling. – The state or quality of being fulfilled; completion; realization. – The achievement of something desired, promised, or predicted. – In logistics: The process of taking an order and sending a product to a customer | ENGLISH (USA) Pronunciation /foolˈfilmənt/ Noun – The state of being fulfilled. – The act of consummating a desire or promise. – The activities performed once an order is received to fulfill the order; packaging, distributing and shipping goods. – In logistics: The packing and dispatch of a customer’s order by a retailer. |
Australia: Fulfil or Fulfill?
Fulfil is the spelling commonly used in English speaking countries like the UK and Australia. Correct spelling for “fulfil” in Australia is “fulfil” /fʊlˈfɪl/ (say fool’fil). Similarly, Australians say “fulfilment” rather than “fulfillment“.
Canada: Fulfillment or Fulfilment?
While fulfill is the spelling commonly used in the United States, in Canada, they use both spellings.
Some Examples
Examples of Fulfillment in a Sentence
// We will only accept returns if a packing error has occurred during the fulfillment of your order.
Examples of Fulfilment in a Sentence
// Respiratory masks will now be mandatory for workers in distribution and fulfilment centers.
Order Fulfillment or Order Fulfilment
Both terms are correct. Wikipedia defines order fulfillment (in British English order fulfilment) as a complete process from point of sales inquiry to delivery of a product to the customer.
Sometimes order fulfillment is used to describe the more narrow act of distribution or the logistics function, however, in the broader sense it refers to the way firms respond to customer orders.
Product Fulfillment or Product Fulfilment
Both terms are correct. Product fulfillment is sometimes used as an alternative to order fulfillment (in British English product fulfilment). In essence, it is the process of taking an order and sending a product to a customer.
Service Fulfillment or Service Fulfilment
Both terms are correct. Service fulfillment (in British English: service fulfillment) involves a series of supply chain activities responsible for assembling and making services available to subscribers. Supply chain activities in service fulfillment involve the following processes:
- – Service design and cataloging
- – Integrated inventory management
- – Network configuration and capacity assignment
- – Service order entry, decomposition, workflow tracking and fallout resolution
- – Service order activation
Fulfillment Center
Fulfillment house and fulfillment center (in British English: fulfillment house and fulfillment centre) are modern terms for a packing warehouse.
Center or Centre – Which Is Correct?
Center and centre have the same meaning. Center is the correct spelling in American English, but British English writers usually prefer centre. Thus in British English the correct term is fulfilment centre.
Notice that center (and centre) can be a noun, adjective, or a verb.
Fulfillment Center vs Fulfilment Centre
Following the logic discussed above – the correct term in American English is fulfillment center. Using the term “fulfilment center” is not considered correct in either form of English.
Waredock Fulfillment Network
Why we are writing about this?
Waredock is a cloud logistics company offering fulfillment and warehousing services in Europe and US. As an alternative to the Amazon Fulfillment Network we help customers stock their goods and do fulfillment from major metropolitan areas in Europe. As these terms often get misspelled we wanted to highlight the differences for non-English speakers. If you are looking to make your fulfilment process faster and cheaper then sign up today!
