Warehousing: Backbone of E-commerce business
“Trade isn’t about goods. Trade is about information. Goods sit in the warehouse until information moves them.”
–C. J. Cherryh.
The concept of warehousing holds great significance in this age of E-commerce. Online marketing has virtually become the norm, so many offline outlets struggle for survival these days. Now, do you think E-commerce is a piece of cake? No, of course not. There are so many logistics related issues that need to be taken care of day-in and day-out to remain productive, efficient and trustworthy.
Warehousing is the answer! Although an ancient concept, it really has become the backbone of the businesses today, helping companies satisfy the demands of their customers for fast, correct and efficient order fulfilment. Customer has of course become more demanding today asking for aggressive delivery in this digital era. Warehousing plays a pivotal role in reducing the supply chain disruptions and inventory mishaps.
Warehousing: Critical operational components
The entire process of getting ready a customer’s order for transport to the designation notified is covered under warehousing operations. There are primarily 4 crucial operational components in the process, they are explained below.
1. Pick and pack
This involves selecting the products chosen by a customer, checking them and then packing them for shipment.
2. Inventory management
Inventory management is considered a critical component of an optimized, well-drilled supply chain. One of the main operations of warehousing involves assisting businesses track, measure and update their inventories as per the latest need assessment. This offers them real-time insights on existing stocks and also the underselling products. The information comes handy in enabling the company to maintain a healthy inventory, avoiding the tendency to under or over-stocking.
3. Order fulfillment
From the moment the order is placed to when it leaves the warehouse for delivery, the process constitutes a critical journey of facilitating the order fulfillment process. Warehousing ensures that every phase of order fulfillment is handled correctly and the order is dispatched at the earliest.
4. Warehousing management system
It’s necessary to integrate warehouse management systems WMS into the facilities to make it conveniently possible for the businesses to oversee the activities in the warehouse, store their goods (inventory) in an orderly manner and achieve the maximum possible operational efficiency.
What are the key processes in warehousing?
A) Receiving products
Any goods or products from suppliers will be received by warehouse staff. They have to ensure that goods are correct and of mandated quality as per specifications of the order. The inventory could even be received in multiple shipments. After checking for quantity, quality and damages etc., goods are placed in put away area.
B) Put away
This involves moving the goods from receiving area to their respective allotted storage locations. Different equipment like wheels, forklifts, pallet jacks, escalators or other automated machinery may be used for the purpose. Staff must calculate space requirement for each item and arrange them so that they are easy to spot and pick.
C) Picking
If you think this is a child’s play, rest assured it’s not. It takes more than 50% of a warehouse’s resources. Modern warehousing solutions can help you make the process more efficient and reduce operating expenses.
D) Packing
Having picked and combined together a customer’s orders, they are packed and made ready for shipment. The staff puts the items in their respective containers, weighs them, prints labels and coordinates with the delivery service.
E) Shipping
Finally, the packages are handed over to designated carriers to deliver to the customer’s doorstep for a nice buying experience for them.
Warehouses play a vital role in making the operations of online businesses productive, smooth and efficient. Warehousing efficiency goes a long way in establishing the reputation of so many businesses. After this brief look at the key components of warehousing operations and key warehousing processes, we will delve into the main components of warehouse design and some ideal warehouse layouts in our next post. Don’t miss the fun!
Sources
https://www.mecalux.com › … › Warehouse design
https://www.ar-racking.com › blog › layout-and-desig…
https://fitsmallbusiness.com › warehouse-layout
https://www.zoho.com › inventory › guides › what-is-wa…
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