Sometimes when business itself is keeping you busy, you let things slide by that you should have been playing closer attention to. Inevitably, a problem will grow larger until it is given the proper attention it needs. An example of such a situation is the need for an updated warehouse management system. The warehouse is a place that is easily prone to chaos. There is so much going on at once between orders coming in, orders going out, the physical placement of products, and several employees all trying to complete the days tasks as efficiently as possible. Because of all of this, a quality order/inventory/warehouse management system is an investment that any business would be smart in making. But how do you know when it’s the right time?
Four Ways to Know
Business Growth
A growing business is a goal for all business owners for obvious reasons- it means you’re thriving. It should be something that the company is very proud of. But with such success comes a whole new set of responsibilities which can ultimately lead to problems if not properly addressed. Growth means more customers, more orders, more products, possibly more locations, and more employees among so much more. Everything that was already going on within your warehouse has now been multiplied and it is so much easier for things to get out of hand if not handled the right way. Because of this, you need a software which will keep all parts of your workflow processes integrated in order to keep things running smoothly.
Unhappy Customers
The most obvious sign that something is wrong within a business is the existence of unhappy customers. Disorganization in a warehouse leads to errors such as late deliveries, wrong deliveries, or a customer being promised something that is not even in stock. All of these things can be so easily avoided if only there was a way to keep all data updated in real time and all parts of an order organized. With automated processes being provided by a quality software, workers will always know what their next step should be as well as what they do and do not have on hand in the warehouse.
Missing Inventory
When things get messy, they’re only prone to get messier. Having no real system of keeping things in their physical place within the warehouse is an easy way for things to go missing. This can happen in many ways. The first is the most common in that if you don’t know where to go to look for something, it can be thrown anywhere, never to be found. The second is the unfortunate reality that not everyone is honest- and a messy warehouse is the perfect opportunity for a worker to take a product for themselves. Workplace theft is a real issue that should be given the proper attention in order to prevent it. Lastly, when there’s no real record of the inventory coming in or going out, products may be sent out of the warehouse by mistake or maybe never even ordered in. All of this can be avoided by having a system to lay out the products in your warehouse. You can do this based on categories such a product type, color, function, size, or really any way you’d like. Aisles, rows, and bins can help you keep all inventory in its place so that it can easily be found by workers when looking to pack an order.
Not Enough Time
If it ever becomes an issue that employees are unable to complete the day’s tasks within a day, you know something must be changed. Disorganization leads to time being wasted looking for the products or orders that you need or walking back and forth to collect a bunch of items when they could have been picked in a more time- efficient fashion. In addition, taking the time to correct mistakes, please dissatisfied customers, find missing orders, or really reconcile any errors that were made take up valuable time that could have been spent doing something more productive. With more time on your hands, you are able to come up with more innovations and ideas to grow your business.
Find the Right System for You
In the end, only you and your employees will know if something is not right within your company and if that something is lack of organization in the warehouse. In order to fix such problems, you’re going to need a system which incorporates all aspects of your workflow in order to keep things organized and running smoothly. It’s best to go with a system that will work with you to change things thing you want to change and to keep the processes of your workflow that you don’t want to give up. An example of such a customizable solution is SkuNexus. With SkuNexus, there will be smooth integration within every step of your workflow. SkuNexus customizes to the business, not the other way around, making it different from any other software you will find.
Click here to contact SkuNexus to discuss your needs further today.