Top 3 Ways To Increase Warehouse Picking Speeds
As of 2022, 16.1% of all retail sales within the United States were considered E-commerce sales. It is projected that by 2025 that 21.9% of all retail sales will be conducted online.
Whether you like it or not, online shopping is here to stay, and it is growing roughly by about 2% every year.
One of the reasons that online shopping is growing at such a rapid rate is that the average shipping times for online orders continue to decrease. Meaning that customers can get their packages in just 2-3 days.
It is an amazing feat of planning and engineering that makes such a short delivery time even possible. And consistently maintaining short lead times while maintaining a high accuracy is even more critical when developing a trusted brand.
Why Are Fast Delivery Times Critical?
Let’s dive into some of the data compiled on eCommerce to get a clear picture of why optimizing your warehouse to fulfill orders faster is so essential. Remember that the results mentioned below will vary depending on your industry.
A study done by Voxware where 500 consumers were surveyed found that 69% of respondents are less likely to purchase from a retailer if a company cannot deliver their package within two days.
16% will never shop with a business if they receive the wrong order just once, and 14% will stop if their order is delivered late only once.
According to the same study, 86% expect their delivery to be on time during the holidays, 45% expect it to be delivered within 4-5 days, and 36% expect it within 5-6 days.
For companies to be successful, it is essential to retain customers. Obtaining new customers is costly and an inefficient solution for long-term business growth. In fact – according to the Harvard Business Review, obtaining a new customer can cost up to 25 times more than retaining an old customer.
Not only does customer retention play a significant role in reducing costs, but retaining a small number of customers on average can result in big profits. Bain & Company found that increasing customer retention by just 5% can produce a 25% increase in profits. This is because return customers will purchase more from you over time, and your costs to maintain their business will decline. Not to mention that loyal customers will even be willing to pay a premium for you to serve them continually. The costs to switch to another service can cost a lot.
The purchase isn’t over when a customer hits “Buy.” The purchase is finished when the product arrives on the customer’s doorstep. One of the biggest bottlenecks that prevent companies from achieving that fast ship time is their backend warehouse operation.
3 Essential Inventory Tips For Maintaining Short Lead Times
If you need more items picked and shipped due to growing sales, the answer isn’t always just hiring more workers to help fulfill orders. In some cases hiring more workers can hinder an operation because it isn’t optimized for growth.
There are more straightforward, easier, and more cost-effective means to increase your shipping volume and speed. Simply put, you can empower a few employees to pick more every hour by changing a few things in your operation. Let’s explore the top three that could be holding you back.
- Efficient Picking Systems. Different picking techniques are effective for a business to choose from. Developing the right technique for your specific brand is important to keep picking speeds at their maximum.
These techniques can include batch picking, zone picking, the speed cell method and many more.
If you would like to learn more about how you can specifically improve your operation, reach out and talk to an expert.
- A WMS, Ideally one with secure cloud capabilities. In our modern age you simple cannot stay competitive and expect short 2-4 day delivery times if you do not have some sort of warehouse management software.
A cloud-based warehouse management software opens a wide range of possibilities for every type of operation. These can include but are not limited to cycle counts, batch picking, KPI-driven reports, and directed picking routes.
Each item that is picked is subsequently scanned and input into the software. Package slips are then automatically printed so that the picked items can be immediately shipped out.
The software integrates seamlessly with any new or existing system helping managers and business owners alike easily manage the warehouse. A WMS’s benefits and features are impossible if you do not have software to accompany your workers.
- Optimized Inventory Organization. It is common for companies to have some products that sell more than others. It would then make sense to organize inventory based on sales volume rather than randomly throughout a warehouse.
First, the high and low-volume items must be identified. Then they must be re-arranged throughout your warehouse so that the high-volume items are the most accessible.
Optimizing your organizational structure is essential for any successful business.
At WarehouseOS, we commonly say “Power to the Picker.” Because WarehouseOS is a WMS that empowers your workers to do more, faster, and more accurately. If you would like to learn more about how you can optimize your warehouse or storage facility reach out today and talk to an expert.
Conclusion
Customer retention is often underestimated and overlooked because many companies don’t realize how lucrative it can be to retain customers. One of the areas that have a significant impact in helping businesses retain their customers and find new ones is fast shipping times.
They don’t have to wait 7-14 days for a package; the majority of people will simply look elsewhere for what they need if a business doesn’t have a delivery time between 2-4 days.
There are many adjustments that can be made to a shipping operation that can optimize it for fulfilling orders. Above are the top 3 that can make a drastic impact on your operation.
