The order fulfillment process includes every step companies must take between receiving an order and the product being delivered into the hands of the customer. This process has multiple parts including e-commerce, inventory management, warehousing and distribution, and each piece of the puzzle must run smoothly for a cost-effective, timely, and satisfying experience for both the company and the customer. One way to improve your order fulfillment services is to boost your inventory solution. Here are some tested and true ways to make this happen.
Speed Up Your Order Fulfillment Process through Integration
By integrating your systems, you will benefit from added visibility into all aspects of your supply chain. These aspects may include demand forecasting, sales, inventory, and logistics. Integrating the sales order management system, the ERP system, which manages financial data, inventory systems, and logistics systems (picking, packing, and shipping) will help your entire fulfillment process will increase productivity.
Automate to Drive Order Fulfillment
One of the most effective ways to speed up order fulfillment is to automate your processes. This doesn’t mean investing in robots or conveyors—it simply refers to making use of software and technology to simplify and expedite activities such as inventory management. For example, using scanners to enter inventory into the computer system as it arrives or leaves the warehouse will help create a more accurate count for future orders. Smaller businesses don’t have to miss out either! There are mobile applications that can be downloaded on your tablet or smartphone, to inexpensively automate these actions. Even the most experienced data entry clerks make mistakes and with the constant flow of your fulfillment process, those errors increase to the hundreds and thousands. If you currently rely on manual inventory processes, you may want to automate your system to bring in accuracy, seamlessness, and the elimination of harmful mistakes such as keystroke errors or illegible handwriting.
Encourage Efficiency while Travelling
Travelling for tradeshows or buying appointments at showrooms can be time-consuming and frustrating if you can’t be around your warehouse. However, having the ability to track your inventory on a tablet or mobile phone will ease your stress and help you make wise decisions for your team. Through the use of special mobile applications, you can see which items are selling well and which items are sitting in the stock room. With this information at the touch of your fingertips, you can order the right items in the right quantities while you’re on the road.
How Lean Supply Solutions Can Speed Up Your Fulfillment Processes
If you’ve noticed setbacks in your distributed order management and want to find the best way to speed up your processes, Lean Supply Solutions can help you. Our team of experts can walk you through your supply chain processes and help you find the weak areas and bring you solutions to improve them. Productivity and speed in the fulfillment chain will increase your positive customer experience and help your employees work more efficiently. Our third-party logistics (3PL) order fulfillment services in Canada live by the Lean Methodology, which is a proven philosophy focused on eliminating any operations, equipment, or resources that are not capable of adding value to clients’ supply chains. We strive to make sure the right products are made available to the right customers at the right time, and we aspire to always offer consistent, accurate, and quality solutions. To learn more, contact us at 416-748-8982.
