With the efficiency and ‘next day delivery’ options of Amazon and other large online retailers, customers are becoming increasingly demanding when ordering products online. With some businesses even offering same day deliveries, these modern expectations put a lot of pressure on warehousing businesses.
Managing this increasing customer demand well is essential to ensuring your business isn’t missing out on large quantities of potential sales. At Bit Systems, we’ve highlighted 5 key ways your business can improve its management of warehouse goods to meet customer demand.
1. Make sure your warehouse is suitably staffed
As warehouses tend to have a higher staff turnover rate, it can often mean that they’re not always working to full capacity due to the time it takes to train new warehouse operatives and other related factors.
Retaining staff is often easier said than done, however, by streamlining training processes and creating a positive work environment, warehousing businesses may see reduced staff turnover. Additionally, through the busier seasons such as Christmas, it may be worth looking into hiring agency workers as a temporary measure to making sure orders are fulfilled on time.
2. Organise your inventory
Organising your warehouse inventory will go a long way to streamlining your operations and meeting increasing customer demand. Having a logical method of organising stock, so best-selling items are closer to dispatching points, will make order picking much more efficient.
3. Choose the right supply-chain partners
The supply-chain partners you work with also have an influence on how your business is seen by customers. Choosing trustworthy partners that have a robust distribution and transportation network, that you know will deliver customer orders on-time and with care, will go a long way to meeting heightened customer demand as well as improving brand reputation.
Simply choosing the cheapest distribution options will likely reflect poorly on your organisation, particularly if deliveries are slow and products are turning up damaged.
4. Consider becoming a 24/7 operation
With heightened customer demand reshaping the way warehouses operate, the traditional 40-hour workweek may not be enough for warehouses to keep up pace with the growing marketplace.
Transforming your business into a 24 hour operation will have both positives and negatives, however, if you know there is demand enough for your business to work round the clock, the software is there to make tasks simpler for warehouse operatives.
5. Invest in warehouse management software
Investing in warehouse management software (WMS) can do a great deal for businesses looking to find ways to meet heightening customer demand. Most WMS technology has been designed to streamline processes, allowing warehousing businesses to work at increased capacity.
Some WMS systems, such as Bit Inventory, also offer warehousing businesses stock tracking capabilities as well as supporting first-in-first-out processes. This not only helps warehouses have a full view of the inventory moving in and out of their establishment but also improves stock rotation, saving the business money from wasted stock.
There are many warehousing businesses out there at the moment feeling the pressure of increasing customer demand. With over 20 years of experience helping warehousing businesses streamline their processes, we are more than happy to offer informed advice and guidance. If you would like to understand more about how your business can better manage customer demand, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly and experienced team. Feel free to call us on 03300 245452 or email info@bitsystemsltd.co.uk.
