Automation and digital transformation are the buzz words of 2019, but the trend has taken the wholesale and distribution industry by storm, allowing companies to follow in the footsteps of retail giant Amazon in processing, fulfilling and dispatching customer orders.
As Amazon leads the way in the latest warehouse automation trends, it's up to the smaller distributors to take inspiration from the leaders and make small changes that have huge impacts on the efficiencies of a business.
It's possible to digitalise every part of your business operation to maximise on efficiencies - from your marketing efforts to your sales pipeline management and your stock purchasing to your performance reports - but there is one area of your operations that's often overlooked that can save you an incredible amount of time and money.
Automating your dispatching processes can simply revolutionise your warehouse and have positive effects on the way you process your orders.
An ERP solution that is created with distributors and wholesalers in mind, will have a carrier integration module that can help you to begin your digital transformation.
Manually completing delivery labels can hinder your chances of producing accurate data for your carrier. Incorrect addresses can lead to customer complaints, poor reviews and extra time to rectify the issue.
Company reputation is more important than ever with savvy-consumers doing their research before purchasing, so a seamless delivery process is key to customer satisfaction.
Removing the manual human element of dispatching allows you to deliver quality, fast and effective service.
Hiring staff to spend their days inputting data into a carrier's software for delivery labels is a waste of resource. Your employees could be contributing to other key operations that will help you to drive the business forward.
When there are software solutions that automatically take customer order information and print labels from your chosen courier, it seems a waste of talent for staff to input the data themselves. Take away the middleman and let software take care of your time-consuming manual processes.
Whilst there is an initial cost associated with implementing an ERP system, the immediate benefits you'll receive will no doubt outweigh the investment.
The time saved from manually inputting data and freeing up employees to better spend their time completing other tasks directly impacts your profit margins.
Plus, with a fully integrated, complete ERP solution, you'll reap the benefits of the software in every other area of your business operations as well.
If your taking automation and digital transformation seriously, you may have already automated processes in other areas of the warehouse. This means that whilst you can fulfil an order at super speed, you may not be able to get it out to the customer any quicker if it's sat at the dispatching area waiting to leave.
When considering automating your warehouse processes, don't forget to consider all elements of the processes for the ultimate, efficient operation.
Automating your dispatch operations has never been more important than when you're selling on multiple platforms. Often customers expect a quick turnaround when ordering online, and if you plan to stay competitive with other suppliers, you'll need to consider the fastest delivery option you can supply.
You can only make delivery promises if your behind-the-scenes operations are seamless and efficient. Automating your dispatch processes with carrier integration allows you to easily handle an increase of online orders from your eCommerce website as well as Amazon and eBay orders.
prof.ITplus, the distribution and wholesale ERP solution, gives you the ability to integrate with the key carrier companies to make your order processing more productive and efficient to enhance customer service, improve your bottom line and begin your digital transformation journey.
