Can you imagine how much the rapidly changing fulfillment requirements of customers is affecting warehouse operations? With the ever-growing landscape of online orders and remote warehousing, the supply chain is becoming more complex. With promises of same-day delivery, the leading online retailers like Amazon are transforming the way distribution is done.
Warehouses are a crucial component for retailers, manufacturers, suppliers and many other types of businesses. While warehouses are basically a place to store inventory, they are highly susceptible to changes in productivity, efficiency and overall operations.
The experts at SLB Investments, a leading provider of warehouse space for lease in Houston, strongly believe that e-commerce is forcing, or more precisely challenging, warehouses to upgrade themselves, for greater reliability, higher efficiency and a better fit for customers. Warehouses are scrambling to keep up with industry changes. And they’re doing a darn good job!
5 Major Challenges Warehouses Need to Keep Up With
Vendors, warehouses and DC managers are following some best practices to work better, smarter and faster in a compelling work environment.
New Methods of Inventory Management and Shipping
Every second person is placing orders online and expecting quick shipping times. This only means that the demand for a warehouse with office space for rent is not going to see a decline any time soon. The high levels of competition are forcing warehouses now to enable the storage of more diverse products, which could become complicated sometimes. Many institutions have developed innovative new systems that make storage and shipping seamless.
More Appropriate Software
Warehouse technology has advanced enormously, with tons of inventory-management software systems available. It started from the basic barcoding systems and advanced to real-time data-streaming systems, connecting everything from initial supply to shipment in one place. Warehouse workers are using tablets and other portable devises to connect the real world with the digital one. Supervisors too can easily access inventory data whenever they log in.
Speedy Training of Employees
Warehouses need to constantly step up their training efforts to get their employees to work faster and keep moving all the time. The technology is there, and innovative storage procedures are being thought up all the time. But, in order to realize efficiency, workers must follow protocols. Any new hire needs to be trained quickly, so that they don’t miss out on the best practices and procedures that have already been established.
Unbeatable Tracking Ability
The warehouse management system (WMS) was designed to track inventory levels and identify stock locations. But today, WMS solutions are well equipped to take on some of the key challenges associated with e-commerce fulfillment. WMS vendors are stepping up to the plate and building more automated processes into their systems, all with the goal of enabling the “goods-to-person” process.
Understanding the Seasonality of Business
The growth of e-commerce sales in the US continues to outpace stores. But not all e-commerce sales are equal, nor do they all warrant the same amount of attention and energy. Warehouses work considering the fact that the retail wholesale holiday surge comes at a different time than the direct consumer holiday surge. Understanding the seasonality of the business prevents the hassle of re-hiring and re-training workers, better leveraging from the common labor pool.
The power and function of warehousing has already changed dramatically since e-commerce started taking off. Choose your warehouse with office for rent now, before every space available is booked.
