Warehouses serve a crucial purpose for companies that deal in merchandise and products.
Both physical and online stores are necessary for selling products and storing stock. But they must also generate a healthy return on investment (ROI) for eCommerce. To maximize their value to your company, you need a reliable system.
According to recent studies, about 83% of US companies utilize warehouse management systems (WMS) to optimize their warehouse processes. A WMS comes in handy if you want to upgrade your warehouse operations. Learn more about WMS and what benefits it brings to your business.
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What Is A WMS, And How Can It Help Your E-commerce Business?
WMS software is a system that aids in managing a warehouse’s stock and the various fulfilment processes that happen there daily. Modern eCommerce WMSs help your business streamline operations and improve the quality of service you provide to your customers.
Let’s go through some crucial features a WMS can and should offer your warehouse and business:
Optimize Workload
Ideally, WMS software should enhance your warehouse crew’s organization and productivity, putting together the correct teams for specific jobs. When deciding how to distribute work, the system considers workers’ availability, expertise and distance from the warehouse.
This system improves productivity by minimizing time spent in the warehouse.
The system also uses the data collected in the program to generate an efficient schedule your team can follow. Checking a team member’s availability less frequently is a great time and money saver.
Your business can/ also use a WMS to assess your staff’s efficiency. You can then use the results to analyze how you can best spend your money. Investing in staff training or website improvements is an excellent way to reinvest all the money you’ve saved.
Maximizes Warehouse Space
A WMS helps you make the most of your warehouse’s available square footage. The technology can assess the available storage area and the current inventory to maximize the efficiency of your storage room. In doing so, you can minimize storage fees and maximize space utilization.
Ensures Security
A modernized WMS can aid your business in securing sensitive data, including company and customer information. Selecting a top-rated WMS safeguards your company’s confidential data from unauthorized access.
Most WMSs employ a system where your staff logs in with unique credentials to use these platforms. Every change they make to the stock levels or delivery status leaves a digital signature and a timestamp when they update your warehouse.
Attributing a transaction to a specific team member increases transparency and accountability and decreases the likelihood of theft and other security breaches.
These are standard features, so discuss what other security features your business needs from the WMS.
Improves Overall Inventory Management
With a WMS, business owners can keep tabs on stock levels, improving inventory management significantly. It also enables them to make more precise supply estimates and reduce backorders, ultimately improving supply chain issues.
Finding your way around a warehouse that stocks various products might be challenging. A WMS in place makes finding the items you need easier. Locating your supplies should be a breeze when your crew has already entered the items into the database.
Furthermore, linking your WMS with your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system simplifies gathering information about your products’ performance. You can get this data from product demand and seasonality. This data is critical in deciding which modifications your product lines need to increase your company’s profit or decrease its losses.
Better Billing Management
The best WMS solutions incorporate invoicing features into their system, making tracking orders and invoices easier. The ability to manage billing based on logged activities rather than waiting for a response before sending an invoice is a significant benefit of this system feature. Integrated with e-commerce and B2B platforms, WMS apps have become increasingly sophisticated and feature-rich.
Gives A Consistent Customer Experience
If you want your business to thrive, nothing is more important than satisfied clients. Companies that have automated their WMS have improved their productivity and lowered operating costs. As mentioned, a WMS allows your business to check stock levels accurately. This system also updates your website to show how much of one product you have in stock.
In turn, your clients know exactly how much you have in stock and can update themselves about their orders. Clients satisfied with the quality and speed with which they receive their orders are most likely to return to a business.
Takeaways
Increase your return on investment from your eCommerce business by streamlining your operations with a warehouse management system. Before setting up a WMS, shop around to compare providers and what they can offer in price and services. Negotiating the price with the service you need helps you forecast your costs. Consider looking into other management tools to improve your company’s departments further.
