This according to Technology Management…
On the surface, wholesale distribution of your products may seem simple: receive an order, pack it and ship it.
But, in reality, the warehouse is a complex place with logistic intricacies tucked into every part of the order process. Perfect order fulfilment means delivering an accurate product on time, intact and with complete documentation. Strong order fulfilment is critical to ensuring customer satisfaction.
As distribution channels continue to grow and existing channels expand, distributors are also faced with greater competition and higher customer service expectations. In the world of warehousing and distribution, companies have to implement more advanced management solutions to cope with these changes.
Below we will guide you through 6 of the woes manufacturers & distributors suffer with without ERP and integrated handheld warehouse devices…
1. Inventory accuracy. When manufacturers don’t have full visibility of their inventory, they face the problems of either running out of stock at the wrong time or carrying too much stock. This has a knock-on effect on cashflow, increasing expenses to warehouse extra materials.
2. Inventory location. Lack of inventory oversight can cause a build-up of inefficiencies within the warehouse that slows operations and increases costs. Without clear insight into location, pickers take longer to find the items to ship, which slows the loading process and creates a backup in labour allocation and delivery scheduling.
3. Space utilisation/warehouse layout. It’s not about how much space you have; it’s about optimising that space to avoid unnecessary work. Keep fast-moving and high-selling inventory near the front of the facility so fork lift truck drivers aren’t constantly traveling to the farthest reaches of the warehouse.
4. Redundant processes. Barcode technology can reduce or eliminate the problem of a pick ticket or other documentation having to pass through multiple hands e.g., a picker, a checker, a stager, a loader, etc.
5. Picking optimisation. For warehouses that still have manual processes in place, there tends to be no common route taken to pick items for shipment, which adds unnecessary time to the process. With system-directed pick/put-away, the routing can be automated, which will reduce wear and tear on equipment and your workforce.
6. Poor customer relationships. Ensuring accurate and on-time delivery can be a challenge for a manual warehouse, with fast-ship and bespoke orders causing chaos for your team on the warehouse floor. But with an automated system with powerful customer/supplier integration, planning tools, and company-wide stock visibility can allow companies to keep customer promises and enable you to respond rapidly to unique customer demands such as specific packaging and shipping requirements.
Technology Management extends the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics NAV to offer a full handheld solution in your warehouse, to automatically drive productivity and optimise warehouse capacity.
Seamlessly linking your Dynamics NAV system and your Windows enabled handheld mobile device, Dynamics Additions Handheld for Warehousing provides your warehouse and office team with up-to-the-second information on stock availability and location using the latest wireless bar code technology and handling everything from receipting and directed movements for replenishment to picking and shipping.
Affordable and rugged, we support a range of handheld devices which are designed to survive the rough and tumble of their working environment. With tough touch screens and large buttons, the user interfaces are designed to work with gloved hands in poorly lit environments and can be worn and handled to suit different roles and circumstances.