Fulfillment vs Fulfilment: American vs British Spelling

As you expand your ecommerce business internationally, you’ll face a new set of challenges –especially when it comes to global fulfillment. Understanding a new vernacular is one of these potential obstacles.

In the middle of figuring out international logistics and how to make it work smoothly, you’ll likely come across the term “fulfilment” when researching how to fulfill orders abroad. You might be wondering: “How fulfilment different from fulfillment?”

If this is creating some confusion, read on to learn all about fulfillment vs. fulfilment and which spelling you should use.

What is fulfillment?

In ecommerce, fulfillment refers to the entire process of receiving new orders and delivering them to the end customer. The different steps in a fulfillment process include things like order processing, order receiving, warehousing, order picking and packing, shipping, and order tracking.   

While this process is similar all over the world, you make encounter different spellings of the word itself.

Fulfillment vs. fulfilment: Which one is correct?

It depends. Fulfillment and fulfilment are just the same word spelled in two different ways. Fulfillment is the American spelling while fulfilment is the British/Australian spelling. So the correct spelling solely depends on whether you’re using American or British/Australian English. 

In fact, there are a whole bunch of other words that are spelled differently in American English and British/Australian English. For example, British and Australian English will add a “u” to words like labor or flavor so it becomes labour or flavour. Additionally, “centered” is spelled as “centred” in both British and Australian English.

Additionally, certain words are used slightly differently even though they have the same meaning. For example, while “zip code” is used in American English, “postcode” is used in British and Australian English. One word that American English and British English use in common is “carrier,” while Australian English uses “courier.”

When shipping to or from America or England, which spelling is correct?

The correct spelling to use depends on whether you’re shipping from America or from other countries that use British English. If you’re shipping from America, “fulfillment” would be the better option. If you’re shipping from the U.K or any other country that uses British English, then you should use “fulfilment.” This includes countries like Australia and India. In Canada, both variations of the word are used.

Regardless, the spelling shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The complexities of global shipping mainly involve shipping tariffs, customs regulations, insurances, address requirements, and transit times. Additionally, you may experience some complications when shipping restricted items.

As long as you work with a reliable global shipping partner, you can trust them to handle all these complexities and ensure a smooth fulfillment process. 

How ShipBob can fulfil(l) for ecommerce sellers in different countries

Whether you’re shipping from the U.S or from another country, you need a reliable logistics partner who can seamlessly handle your international fulfillment. With a distributed network of fulfillment centers across the globe, an international 3PL like ShipBob can fulfill orders for ecommerce sellers in different countries.

If you’re selling to customers in the U.K, ShipBob can deliver a world-class fulfillment experience with a fulfillment center located in Manchester close to the Port of Liverpool. This allows for efficient receiving and distribution of international inventory. As the fulfillment center is located in the same distro park as Royal Mail and DPD (our two U.K carriers) orders can also get fulfilled much faster so your U.K customers can enjoy a smooth delivery experience.

ShipBob also has two fulfillment centers in Canada. Having multiple Canadian fulfillment centers ensures fast and affordable fulfillment of in-country orders. Located in Ottawa and Toronto, these two fulfillment centers help you deliver orders to Canadian customers in metro areas in just 2-4 days. From here, you can also ship out orders from Canada to the rest of the world.

For sellers who want to ship orders to Australian customers, ShipBob offers fulfillment centers located in Melbourne and Sydney. From there, orders are shipped through couriers like Australia Post to deliver orders across Australia in 1-7 business days or 1-3 days for expedited shipments. 

Additionally, ShipBob’s Poland fulfillment center helps you get international orders to your European customers as early as 1 business day for local Polish and German addresses. From this fulfillment center, orders to France and the U.K take 2-3 days to get delivered and orders to Spain will take 4-5 days to get delivered. 

ShipBob is the 3PL that powers international fulfillment for many of today’s most popular brands. For example, Ombraz, sells sunglasses to customers in 55 different countries. The brand has moved inventory to Canada and Europe to streamline their international fulfillment and reduce costs. 

“We found that sending inventory to Europe involved less paperwork and was faster than expected. The process of getting inventory sent to ShipBob’s fulfillment center location in Europe was very streamlined.” 

Nikolai Paloni, Co-Founder of Ombraz Sunglasses

FAQs

Fulfillment vs. fulfilment FAQs

Below are answers to common questions about fulfillment across countries.

How do you spell fulfillment in Australia?

The spelling of fulfillment in Australia is “fulfilment.” The spelling is the same in the U.K.

What words do British and English spell differently?

British English is a variation of English and is most often compared to American English. While extremely similar, certain words are spelled slightly differently.

For example, while British English spells it as “organise,” American English spells it as “organize.” There may also be additional letters added in British English or vice versa. For example, it’s spelled “catalog” in American English while “catalogue” is the spelling used in British English.

Does ShipBob have fulfillment centers in the U.K?

Yes, ShipBob has fulfillment centers all over the world including one in Heywood, U.K, which is near Manchester.