Knowledge is power when it comes to mitigating risk in the Supply Chain

We talked last week about how installing the right WMS (the right way) can help businesses mitigate against supply chain disruption – for example, the issues we’re seeing in Ukraine and the Red Sea at the moment. So, today we’re looking at how that same WMS can help offset business challenges that are much closer to home.

If you’re in the warehousing industry... you don’t need me to tell you that you’re not the only one.

There are people out there, right now, who are pitching for business from your existing and future customers. And if they haven’t done it yet, they’re thinking about it.

I know. The barefaced cheek.

But given that it is something of a competitive market at the moment, with inflation, disruptions and other deal-breakers, now is the time to shore up your business defences and do what you need to do to protect your market share.

Here’s how you can use your WMS to do that.

Real-Time data – like the data provided by Dispatcher WMS – can track inventory from the time it arrives in the system until it’s delivered to your customer. And every action that’s taken on that inventory in the meantime can be time-stamped and detailed and recorded.

Which is great, if you need to know where product is, and how to move it around the warehouse efficiently and effectively. But it’s also great to have on hand to analyse – when are your high spots, when do things go quiet, what can you expect, how much, what kind, who orders what?

How can you use that data to optimise your inventory planning? How long does it stay with you? What do you need to do with it while it’s there? When are you likely to need to ship it?

All of this is information that you can use to optimise your operation. And along with optimising comes the opportunity to reduce costs, and increase savings, which you can subsequently pass onto your customers. Or increase your profit, allowing you to reinvest in your business or expand.

Combine that with really good service – undamaged, well-managed product that arrives on time, properly packaged, as complete, documented orders, when and how you say it will… and you start to differentiate yourself from the rest.

Take those two things and then allow your customers to track their orders from placement to delivery, and you really start to stand head and shoulders above the alternatives – especially in an industry where it’s the norm that in order to find your stuff, you’ll typically have to spend hours on the phone or pinging emails back and forth.

Allowing customers to self-serve regarding their orders means that your Customer Services team can focus on improving Customer experience elsewhere. Or if you don’t have one of those, well, it means that your warehouse team can get on with warehousing.

Properly configured, your WMS can add accurate, actionable information into the data ecosystem of your entire business – it can blend seamlessly with your ERP, or your CRM, it can become a team player that works 24/7, keeping you updated at all times with all manner of useful information.

This is important, because the more efficiently and accurately you can move inventory into, through, around and out of your warehouse, the more profit your business can make.

The better you are at doing all of the above, the happier your customers will be.

The happier your customers are, the less likely they are to fall prey to people who are promising to save them pennies. They’ll look at the cost savings they could possibly get, they’ll look at the service they get with you - right now - and they’ll chuckle wryly and say ‘No, thanks.’

Your competitive advantage is the service you provide, and the best way to optimise your service is to use tools that give you the information you need to do that.

Now - not all Warehouse Management Systems are created equal, and not all WMS implementations are as effective as they might be. But if you find the right software and the right team to deploy it for you (if you’d like, we’ve got some questions you can ask them to check if they’re right for you), then you’re well on your way to staying ahead of the curve and mitigating as much risk as possible.

Logistics technology is a crucial factor when it comes to supply chain resilience - especially when so much is out of our hands. We can’t control world events, but we can control how we respond to them. And we can optimise the bit of the ecosystem that we do control… if we know what needs to change.

Knowledge is power, real-time (and historical) data is valuable, and comprehensive industry expertise is available to you, right here, right now.

If you have any questions, or need any help, you can always find us on [email protected]