Your customers expect fast shipping times. When many large companies today are offering same-day and next-day shipping, you can’t afford to have the slower shipping times that were common in the past. Customers don’t want to wait weeks for their order to arrive, and this means you need to find ways that you can increase your shipping times to make those customers happy. However, it takes more than just working with a fast shipping provider to shuttle those packages to your customers. It all starts with your warehouse management.
The First Step in Fast Shipping is Warehouse Management
Making Sure the Items are in Stock
One of the first hurdles that can be overcome with a WMS is inventory. When your customers place an order, they expect that you have the items in stock. With the real-time updates that can be gleaned from a WMS and relayed to your website or database, it will let you know what items you have available for order. This means that your customers won’t place an order for an item that you do not have available.
Knowing how much inventory you have available also lets you know when you need to replenish. It provides a better understanding of not only what you have available, but the items that are selling at faster rates, so you can better focus your efforts.
Finding and Picking the Items Quickly and Accurately
One of the other benefits of using a quality WMS is that it can help you get better control of the items you have in stock. You can make more efficient use of your warehouse space, which will ultimately make items easier to locate for your workers. The workers can check the product type or number and know exactly where they need to go to get the item from your shelves. The organization helps them quickly find what they need.
The system for validating items will help to ensure that workers are choosing the correct items for the customers, and they can be sure they are getting the right number of items. Choosing the correct items is essential for customer satisfaction.
Tracking Through the Warehouse
Do you have a large warehouse, and does it take time to pick all of the items, even when they’re properly stored? The ability to track orders from the time they come in until the time they are picked, transported to the shipping department, and leave will be helpful. You will find that some WMS options can allow you to have a better understanding of where items and orders are located throughout the ordering process.
Fewer Returns
Proper warehouse management also means that there will likely be fewer potential returns. The customer will have received what they wanted the first time, so there won’t be a need to return the item for a different one to ensure they have the right size, type, or color. Of course, there is always the risk of human error, but the software helps to reduce potential errors substantially. Having less need for returns means happier customers, and it means less work for your employees. Companies won’t have to worry about return shipping costs either.
Streamlined Operations from Start to Finish
When you properly manage your warehouse, you will streamline the warehouse operations, so they are as effective as possible. A properly managed warehouse will provide a range of advantages, as mentioned. It will help to ensure the shipping is faster and has fewer problems, which will make the customers happier with your business. This leads to return customers, good word of mouth from those who have bought from you, and eventually more customers.
A Good WMS Makes a Big Difference in Shipping
When you use a great warehouse management system, it’s easy to see just what a difference it can make in the shipping process. Failure to have one of these systems in place could result in lost orders, missing items, items that fail to ship, and a host of other problems. Your customers will not be pleased if they don’t get their items quickly, and it will be worse if they get the wrong items or a shipment that doesn’t arrive.
Take the time to find a great WMS that you can use in your warehouse. Find a system that’s easy to integrate, has a quality interface, and that will ensure your warehousing and shipping processes are up to speed.
WMS for SAP Business One and Macola Software
WiSys has re-invented how ERP systems create value for customers. To meet the business challenges of a new economy, companies need to focus on reducing reaction time to maintain customer loyalties and improve supply chain operations; from receiving through production to delivery. WiSys Agility products have been designed to achieve efficient Warehouse Management (WMS), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Business Intelligence (BI), all from one software publisher. Contact us to learn more.