Warehouse Dispatch

Many companies begin seeing a downturn in their sales and profits long before they realize they have a real warehouse efficiency problem on their hands. Unfortunately, by the time the problems have made their way out to your customers and you start receiving negative feedback, the issues have probably compounded into one big mess on your warehouse floor. So how do you determine which areas are hurting most and which issues need to be addressed first? Your WMS can help.

Warehouse efficiency is greatly impacted by the way your Warehouse Management System directs users through the work environment. The WMS is not just in charge of the individuals on your team, but also all of the products that come into the warehouse. It can provide exact directions to the right people and improve accuracy at every stage.

Cycle counting was introduced as a way to alleviate the stress and disruptive nature of performing a complete physical inventory count. Cycle counting breaks your inventory down into several different categories and allows your team to conduct rolling counts throughout the year instead. Choosing to manage your inventory this way comes with several benefits, including a large boost to your warehouse efficiency.

For most warehouse-based businesses, dispatching is one of the biggest factors in terms of warehouse efficiency. Your dispatching system needs to arrange incoming orders in a meaningful way and then assign them to your pickers without causing traffic jams or letting anything fall through the cracks. With the help of a Warehouse Management System, dispatching can be highly automated and simplified.

Paper-based warehouse management systems have long outlived their usefulness for many companies. Even small companies today can take advantage of the tools and data that are part of a software-based system. Not only do these systems provide a greater level of warehouse efficiency, but they also have a large impact on your organization's scalability and profitability. Here are a few of the ways that paper-based warehousing may be holding you back.

It is easy to see how paper-based warehouse management can be a slow and arduous process, but it may be harder to recognize some of the hidden costs associated with paper-based systems. While you are focused on direct costs, you could be missing the pennies and nickels that paper is costing you each and every day.

In years past, paper-based warehouse management was the only option available to many companies. While some of them have since successfully implemented barcode labels and Warehouse Management Systems into their warehouse, other companies stick with paper. Cost, difficulty in rollout, and lack of understanding are all reasons that companies have avoided upgrading and have instead stayed with what seems like a "simpler" solution.

Paper-based warehouse management not only has a negative impact on warehouse efficiency, but it also presents many opportunities for human error. On an individual level, there is very little control over the paperwork each team member is filling out. Plus, without a computerized system cross-checking and verifying inputs, it takes much longer to identify errors and resolve them. In many cases, they go unaddressed altogether.

Many warehouses only track the total quantity of stock-keeping units (SKUs) in a given location. These warehouses are missing opportunities to improve their operations by using Package IDs (PIDs). Package identification is a more precise way of handling incoming and outgoing products by identifying them in batches for put away, picking, and cycle counting.

Warehouse management software can completely overhaul the way your business is run on a day-to-day basis. From the simplest of tasks to the most complex analytics, your warehouse management solution should streamline all processes. Here's three ways warehouse management software most directly improves operations: