Warehouse management strategies; how much thought do you put into scaling fulfillment?
Consider the warehouse management strategy many big companies used in scaling fulfillment during the unprecedented “coronavirus” period. Everyone from ecommerce giants to local mom and pop companies found themselves struggling with fulfillment issues as demand exceeded supply. See Inventory Management Practices for Distribution Businesses for additional warehouse management strategy information.
The following information is designed to help you scale up and help you prepare to have a successful and profitable year.
We want to help you maintain a high level of service even as demand for your products increases.
Our partner, Insightworks, offers a mobile app solution to be used with Microsoft Dynamics 365, specifically for warehouse management.
Three Steps for an Effective Warehouse Management Strategy
1. Line up multiple carriers
Gone are the days of signing a contract with one major carrier. Many companies have carriers of choice. However, now it’s essential to have multiple carriers at the ready for order fulfillment.
- Interview various shippers and negotiate deals with the top candidates to have multiple carriers available for peak delivery times
- Know your peak delivery times
- Confirm your software can handle multiple carriers and track orders through the system
2. Anticipate peak seasons
Most businesses go through peaks and valleys in their business cycles. Effective warehouse management strategy includes reviewing industry forecasts and information from your ERP system to predict this year’s peaks.
- Add extra time to your ERP to account for unexpected delays
- Increase inventory
- Hire additional personnel
- Review training manuals and systems
- Set up new employee onboarding to effectively train new hires
- Update your safety training in the warehouse
3. Update your software
Your need for multi-carrier shipments and increased demand may drive your need for updated software.
- Test your current software for its capability to handle multi-carrier shipments
- Review packages that work with your current Business Central Software
BASM Your Business Automation Software Specialist
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