Speed up, costs down: 5 adjustments to save resources and save time

Mass returns and same-day deliveries require lean and efficient processes. But you don't have to throw everything tried and tested to do so. It is often astonishingly simple solutions that make the e-commerce warehouse much more flexible and at the same time more cost-effective. You should clean up these five problem areas.

About the author: Amelie Demmler - The industrial engineer is an expert in process optimization. She analyses, advises and supports logistics companies on their way to more speed and lower costs — and writes about it here. The mail-order business is thus wasting huge growth potential, as more and more customers expect flexibility. It must be possible to replan at least until the warehouse worker picks the items — otherwise you're playing into the hands of the competition. With modern software solutions, this is easy: They update the planning up to 200,000 times per second and take changes into account right before the start of an order. If items are unavailable or broken, the software immediately reschedules. That's how modern order management works.

1. Use time window

Logistics processes are often so rigidly regulated that no smooth rescheduling is possible in the event of problems or requests for changes at short notice.

2. Skip storage

Many e-commerce providers only order items when customers order them. The compromise of a longer delivery period is justifiable. It makes less sense to place the products required for shipping in the warehouse after the goods have been received, thus slowing down the process unnecessarily. If an item from the incoming goods can be assigned directly to an order, it should of course go directly to the outgoing goods. Modern, software-supported warehouse execution solutions plan farsightedly, recognize connections and prevent coordination problems.

3. Parcel service providers consider

Each parcel service picks up the goods on different dates, which is why the time priorities for picking orders change several times over the course of the day. If the shipments are not ready in time, delivery is delayed and valuable potential falls by the wayside. An e-commerce warehouse, which stands for the best possible efficiency and customer experiences, picks this low-hanging fruit and coordinates picking planning with the pick-up slots of the shipping partners. Ideally, this works automatically, with the far-sightedness and low error rate of a software solution.

4. Assist picking personnel

Picking the right product on time is a key factor for fast deliveries. Warehouse specialists should therefore receive their orders digitally in order of urgency. This requires nothing more than a standard smartphone and a mobile-friendly user interface. In this way, employees are easily supported, the pace is increased and the error rate is reduced.

5. Use customer-specific pick lists

Picking the product requests of all customers one after the other is misunderstood politeness that is of no use to anyone. If there are several orders for related items that are stored close to home, the order management should bundle the picking of the items, the specialist should transport the entire selection to prepare for shipping and the local staff should assign the items to the various orders. This procedure shortens shipping times, optimizes the distribution of employees and significantly reduces travel times.

Everything under control: SYNAOS Warehouse Execution

These five points are an important lever for increasing the efficiency of an e-commerce warehouse and reducing its costs. Detailed planning can be carried out by a powerful software solution such as SYNAOS Warehouse Execution.

SYNAOS has designed this solution specifically for the needs of modern e-commerce centers. The software controls and orchestrates all processes in the warehouse. In addition to Order & Process Management, this also includes Vehicle & Operator Management, Asset Management and Storage Management. As a SaaS solution, SYNAOS Warehouse Execution is quick to start and easily scalable; as a cloud solution, it is flexible and versatile. SYNAOS Warehouse Execution is also ideal for companies with a heterogeneous IT landscape and historical document processes. Welcome to the forefront of e-commerce competition.

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Lyrics: Amelie Demmler

photos: Frederike Wetzels

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