Warehouses store goods for a company, but these large systems do not work as a simple storage system. Expertise is needed to manage a warehouse and make the supply chain more efficient to get enhanced customers’ satisfaction.
The managing authorities use a Warehouse management software system to maintain the accuracy of the inventory as well as transactions.
The warehouse activities are typically done manually. As a result, you can expect manual errors such as shipping delays, additional costs, and even dispatching of wrong products. More importantly, now, customers are super smart.
They are not going to tolerate the man-made mistakes. They will not take a second to cancel a product if they encounter delays and similar problems. Warehouse management is also aware of the demands of modern customers.
They are utilizing advanced technologies such as automation, robots, and blockchain to manage warehouse activities efficiently.
If you have a warehouse and you are having difficulties in getting accuracy and fulfilling orders on time, you can go through the following six warehouse trends. These trends will be useful in boosting the productivity and efficiency of your warehouse. Also, they will reduce the challenges of manual mistakes.
1. Regional Warehouse
In the current condition, some popular retailers are focusing on regional warehouses. They know their customers want a fast solution. They want the product to be delivered at their doorstep on the same day.
This is not possible if you do not have a warehouse in their region. Therefore, some retailers are focusing more on the smaller regional warehouses instead of considering a warehousing hub.
With a local warehouse, they can quickly deliver the product without any unexpected delays.
2. Last-Mile Delivery
Last-mile delivery means the company will move goods from the transportation hub to the home address of the customer.
This warehousing trend will enable companies to complete the last mile delivery on their own to speed up the delivery process and win the trust of their customers.
For the final mile delivery, they can consider both outsourcing and insourcing. When outsourcing involves a third party for the delivery, the insourcing will require hiring extra staff to deliver the products. In both conditions, they can expect the fastest delivery.
3. Voice Technology
Voice technology will be widely used in the warehouse to make the management more comfortable than ever.
The workers can speak to the management system of the warehouse by using a microphone, headset, and wireless computer. The employees and management authorities can use the local area network and radio frequencies to get verbal instruction and send confirmations when the product is delivered.
Voice technology can be useful since it does not involve the need for paper. Also, verbal communication is easy to understand. They can use this voice technology for picking orders, checking stocks, and receiving goods.
4. Machine-To-Machine Technology
Machine-to-machine technology will help employees to perform actions and exchange required information without any manual intervention.
The machine-to-machine technology can help a warehouse management system to control, monitor, and receive data from different equipment such as conveyors, coating machines, work cell automation, pallet machines, and automated packing.
5. Mobile Technology
The warehouse house management will use mobile technology to get information about shipping labels and picklist anytime from any place. Some mobile devices like device barcode scanner can be used to scan the inventory and maintain the accuracy of the list.
6. Blockchain Technology
The blockchain technology will be used in the warehouse to make the data secure and transparent. Though the information can be easily accessible, still, it cannot tamper.
The original information will remain untouched. With blockchain technology, the data security will be increased, and all the transactions will be stored.
The warehouse management will use blockchain to record the inventory and equipment movement, data related to the vendors and suppliers, and tracking orders.
All these trends will dominate the warehouse management in 2020. You can try these in your warehouse to make it more efficient and accurate.
If you are looking for some help, you can consider hiring JD Edwards Managed Services consultants to help streamline the process across your entire company. These services are thoroughly skilled and experienced to take care of your warehouse needs.
They will help you to implement the proven strategies and maintain accuracy. They can use the right technology to ensure better communication and fast delivery.
Author Bio
Chris Giarratana is the co-founder of StrategyBeam, an Orlando marketing agency, where he works with small businesses. He specializes in SEO marketing, Google AdWords management, and copywriting services.
