Is Your Warehouse Ready For Black Friday & Cyber Monday?

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Customers are expected to make purchases online due to COVID-19. Warehouse managers need to think about the current warehouse operations during the holiday period. Simply keeping up with orders is not good enough. Businesses across North America must achieve a competitive advantage to be more responsive to all consumer demands and still ensure profitability.

Here are some questions to consider within your business:

• Are your existing warehouse operations and processes accommodating all your customer’s demands? 
• Are you able to alter your operational processes to improve your output for more workload? 
• Can you scale up and down to handle surges in business? 

If not then now is the time to consider implementing new software to run your warehouse.

Agility

It is essential that operation managers have software tools that allow them to make changes to the system to improve workflows without IT intervention. Many packages rely on an IT department to become involved. Which hits a long list of projects, often arriving too late or not at all. Warehouse management software needs to give managers the ability to tailor all their needs based on their own business requirements, not rely on preset systems that cannot be altered according to management demands.

Flexibility

Throughout the year, especially during seasonal events, warehouse managers need to prepare and scale to change their output levels. WMS software makes it easy to train new staff and allow existing staff to perform a variety of different functions. For the reason that it is all automated with easy to follow instructions. With barcode validation, training is much quicker and less prone to errors. This allows management to seamlessly scale as needed for volume demands.

Mobility

Mobile devices are now essential for the warehouse floor. Mobility gives the opportunity to allow workers to access information in real-time that can alter and impact scheduling and shipping. Management also benefits from real-time information. They can see what exactly is happening at all times and continuously make system changes, which are immediately in place for workers.

Customer services has the ability to get up to date information for customers. Executives can access information to provide financial forecasting. Mobility gives the advantage, keeping everyone informed and the ability to make changes on the fly.

TMS Integration

It is important to consider what happens beyond the dock doors of a warehouse. WMS systems can integrate with Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to provide a seamless transition from packing to shipping.

This can produce immediate savings in shipping costs, offer the best route for customers, and provide instant tracking details. Customers’ expect to be provided all the shipping details including shipment status. A TMS and WMS combination an enhanced customer experience.

Prepare for increased volumes

Planning is essential to make sure that all performance levels stay high and all disruptions are minimal within warehouse operations. It is vital to analyze previous data to get a indication of what to expect during the holiday season. A good WMS has Key Performance Indicators (KPI), reporting and time-stamped history on everything. To ensure you have all the facts on products and employees.

The best managers can plan and prepare for increased volumes, but many companies do not have the software to allow them to meet their needs and the demands for peak seasons. ProVision WMS is a flexible warehouse software that puts the ability in managers hands to optimize warehouse efficiencies during the ebbs and flows.

About ProVision WMS

ProVision Warehouse Management System is a versatile solution that provides the tools to management to co-ordinate order fulfillment, provide excellent customer service, track labor output and improve decision-making. ProVision WMS is built for small to medium sized companies in North America to improve their warehouse operations. For more information, request a demonstration today.