Return on Investment (ROI) is a primary means of measuring the successful implementation of any Warehouse Management System. Before buying into a new system, there will be significant discussion about what your return on investment should be and how it should look. ROI means much more than just the literal dollars and cents you earn back through expense savings. It also encompasses more abstract things like simplification of processes, employee satisfaction, and other far-reaching effects of the system.
Higher Sales
The biggest way that you can expect to see return on your investment with a Warehouse Management System is through a boost in sales. Your team will be able to process more orders in less time, which naturally leads to more orders coming in. Customers flock to companies that offer quick shipping and delivery, which will become a standard part of your operation. In addition, since you will be better able to predict product inventory throughout your process, you will keep your warehouse stocked more appropriately so that you never have to miss out on an order.
Less Labor
By eliminating extra steps in the process and providing up-to-the-minute status updates, along with dynamic dispatching of orders, your whole team can enjoy the time and energy they are saving. Your employees' productivity will multiply, but they will actually have less physical work to do with the Warehouse Management System guiding the way. This saves you money on labor and keeps your employees happier in the long run.
Customer Retention
In general, it is seven times less expensive to retain an old customer than it is to create a new customer. Your Warehouse Management System works to make your order fulfillment system more accurate, which leads to fewer customer complaints and returns. It also boosts the accuracy of your inventory so that you are less likely to have items misplaced or lost in the warehouse waiting to be ordered. Your customers will appreciate a higher level of information about the progress of their orders and expected delivery dates.
Administration
Lastly, your Warehouse Management System not only updates many of your processes, but it also removes a significant amount of paperwork and manual processing. By using tools like order dispatching and batching, your management team will have more time to solve problems rather than trying to keep up with the day-to-day work. This empowers your administrative team to focus on growing the business.
There are plenty of other ways that Warehouse Management System technology can provide you with a return on investment. In the end, you will measure your success based on your rate of growth and the number of orders you have fulfilled, but even in the short term you can see major gains in terms of customer and employee satisfaction. You will also save money month over month as the system begins to work for you and your team becomes more familiar with navigating the new technology.
