Online retail has been growing since 2012 when shopping via mobile devices first became widely adopted. A forecast by Barclays suggested that online shopping will rise by 29% between now and 2018 with 70% of shoppers seeking more innovative and rapid delivery options. Have you heard about Amazon’s trial with Audi and DHL delivering parcels direct to customers’ car boots?
An IMRG-Capgemini eRetail Sales Index anticipates that 21% of this year’s retail spend will be online with an estimated value of £107bn, a year on year increase of £16bn
The growth of online retail can reasonably be regarded as a logistics success but in turn this means that modern warehouse systems must meet the demands of the supply chain for faster turnaround times with minimal errors and better management of returns.
With lead times from order to customer delivery becoming ever shorter, today’s business must be able to continue to trade whilst essential warehouse tasks are carried out. At Datalinx we have seen 4 key areas within the business that our ERP warehousing and manufacturing customers wish to improve to enable them to meet these demands:
1. Stock location accuracy
If staff do not know where product is stored they can waste 25% of their time tracking the missing product or searching for the location of alternative stock. This can be the difference between a business being able to dispatch an order on the day of receipt or holding it over to the next day.
2. Inventory accuracy
At Datalinx, we have a saying that if you don’t know what you have or where it is located, how do you know what you have available and can sell. Accuracy of receipt, put away and picking typically improves from 90% with a paper based system to 99.9% when using an ERP embedded automated solution.
3. Speed of picking orders
Orders need to be fulfilled from multiple channels and increasingly we see customers packing B2B bulk orders as well as single line B2C orders, which unless they are picked and packed efficiently can be incredibly time consuming. Without tight controls it can be easy for the wrong item to be sent out, costing the business in time and money to fix. One of the ways around this is to consolidate orders and pick in “waves” enabling multiple orders to be picked on pass through the warehouse before being taken to a dedicated area where they are then packed into individual orders for despatch.
4. Stock taking efficiency
With an annual stock take and company audit potentially causing the business to cease trading for typically up-to 4 days, the cost to the business is significant. Dynamic stock taking enables true perpetual inventory, removing the need to close all or part of a warehouse during the stock take and ensuring the business continues to trade whilst essential warehouse tasks are carried out. The key is for this to be part of an automated warehousing system where all functions and processes are integrated to the core Sage ERP system.
5. Automated Functions
With Datalinx Warehouse Manager all warehouse functions are automated using handheld scanners integrated and embedded within the core Sage system. Product replenishment and goods in are four times faster than traditional warehousing methods and more reliable with Sage updated in real time as transactions are completed.
Products can be held in multiple locations and new inventory is ready for sale online the second it is scanned in enabling our customers to grow online sales.