With the growing complexity of warehousing operations, this service has become anything but simple. Warehousing professionals have been feeling significant pressure from multiple internal and external sources, and if they don’t positively adapt to the market challenges they will end up facing serious consequences.
The global economic recession has affected the warehousing industry in several ways. In an effort to free up capital, there were major cuts in held inventory, adding capacity was deprioritized and expansion or construction of new warehouses was scaled back. However, now that the economy is getting back to its feet, warehouse operations are starting to grow again, and as they grow they are also being transformed by a number of issues that go well beyond simple.
Today’s warehouse professionals face many changes in the way the entire supply chain operates. More facilities and larger spaces demand effective, high-speed communication between all of those involved in the storing process. A virtual across-the-board customer demand for personalisation is driving an increase in the number of SKUs, leading to increased inventory visibility, accuracy and efficiency needs. New regulations call for more accurate product tracking and tracing. Fuel cost volatility impacts logistics and much more. The growth of omnichannel transactions creates the need for increased inventory control, flexibility and faster, more accurate fulfillment. All these factors contribute to the need to convert warehouses and distribution centres into assets for competitive differentiation.
To maximise warehouse and DC productivity, operations and IT leaders must be on the same page in terms of technology systems and business processes. Although partial alignment usually exists between IT and operations today, in many instances there is still a basic technology divide. Therefore, as the industry prepares for the future, it’s vital for IT and operations to be aligned in terms of WMS plans, since these systems are the backbone of the entire warehouse/supply chain operation, and the seed from which all automation plans grow.
Source: Logistics News
Besides following the tips to create new freight forwarding business opportunities that we already gave you, there are other things you can do to increase your profit. To find them out, all you have to do is download Twig’s e-Book “Practical Guide to Boost your Sales”. There you’ll discover some strategies you can use to have an amazing sales performance in the market.
Curious? Just fill in the form, and have access to this exclusive material:
