How much thought have you given to your warehouse management strategy and to scaling fulfillment services as the economy recovers?

It’s worth thinking about the warehouse management strategies and tactics used to scale fulfillment by many big companies throughout the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that is starting to loosen its grip. Everyone from e-commerce giants to local mom and pop companies found themselves struggling with fulfillment issues as demand exceeded supply.

Now is a good time to review your fulfillment plan. The following three tips can help you scale up to get and stay profitable in this new business environment.

Change Your Warehouse Management Strategy to Fill Orders Quickly

Consider the following suggestions to improve order fulfillment. These ideas can help you maintain a high service level even when demand for your products is considerable.

1. Line up multiple carriers.

Gone are the days when you could sign a contract with one major carrier and rely on them for fast delivery. Although many companies do have carriers of choice, lining up multiple carriers for order fulfillment is critical today. If one company experiences unprecedented demand, an alternative carrier from among your short list can be contacted to fulfill orders.

Interview various shippers now and negotiate deals with the top candidates. Set up systems now to have multiple carriers ready to go for peak delivery times. You may need to upgrade your software to handle multiple carriers and track orders through the system.

2. Anticipate peak seasons.

Most businesses go through peaks and valleys in their business cycles. You know when your peak season should hit. Review industry forecasts and information from your ERP system to predict this year’s peaks and add on a little extra time as a cushion. Then, increase inventory and hire additional personnel as part of your company’s warehouse management strategies.

Review training manuals and systems and set up new employee onboarding that gets new hires ready to work quickly. Pay particular attention to safety training in the warehouse. This is one step you can’t afford to miss.

Depending on the industry your company is in, you may find that the pressures this year are greater than last year. By anticipating peak season and preparing now, you can be ready when it hits and still deliver customer orders on time.

3. Update your software.

Along with multi-carrier shipments and increased demand comes the need for updated software to handle the influx of business. Sage 300 gives you the flexibility to choose the edition best suited for your warehouse management strategy (Standard, Advanced, or Premium), and is fully customizable and scalable to suit your present and future needs. Choose the applications you need and skip the ones that you don’t from a list that includes Business Intelligence and Reporting, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Operations and Distribution Management, Payment Processing, Services and Project Planning Management, and more.

E-Commerce Is Here to Stay

None of us have a window into the future to see what the future will hold for business. But we can say for certain that as time goes by, more people will choose to order products online. Big e-tailers may have paved the way for customers to grow accustomed to online ordering and delivery, but the global pandemic shifted thinking from seeing e-commerce as an option to seeing it as a necessity. With this shift, comes a change in thinking about warehouse management and order fulfillment.

Don’t wait until you have a backlog of orders to look at these three points. By preparing now for the changes ahead, you’ll be able to focus on business growth rather than problem solving.

Discover more details about Sage 300 by contacting one of PositiveVision’s business management software specialists today. Call (800) 559-1323 or fill out our online form to request a call.