Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is Warehouse Stock Management
- Features that a Warehouse Stock Management System Should Have
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- Managing Procurement Cycle
- Inventory Clarity and Stock Rotation
- Cycle Count
- Shelf Optimization and Quality Control
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- Cost Reduction in Operations
- Access to Manpower Productivity
- Reduced SLA Breach
- Inventory Clarity
- Better use of Space
Struggling with the daily warehouse challenges despite your best efforts? And the operational hassles keep you too busy to focus on scaling your business. With the growing operational requirements, the control over your inventory is slipping away. Don’t worry; you are not alone; many businesses are in the same boat as you! All that needs to be done is making the right choices for your business. And together, we will explore ‘how to’.
We agree that sometimes operations become a nightmare, whether dealing with limited edition products with limited SKUs, daily essentials with multiple SKUs, or shifting to a new warehouse. The barriers to operations can adversely affect your long-term business goals. But what if I tell you that there is one more boat that is sailing smoothly toward e-commerce success and manages its inventory with complete control over it? Would you like to join that team?
You surely can! Let us spill their secret for you: the team sailing towards success is working on basics, managing their stocks! Let’s explore warehouse stock management further and how it can streamline your workflow and positively impact your business.
What is Warehouse Stock Management
On a fundamental note, warehouse stock management manages the inventory you need to sell, including the stock location and quantity flow. The basic structure should handle the complexities of any type and size of e-commerce business so you don’t go under-stock or overstock.
This process is part of a more extensive Warehouse Management System. Hence, it organizes inventory and how it will be received, stored, kept, and processed to ship according to the orders. Let’s explore some advanced warehouse management system features that can significantly enhance your e-commerce operations.
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4 Aspects of a Warehouse Stock Management System
1. Managing Procurement Cycle
First step first: Let’s start with the procurement cycle, the most critical but time-consuming task. You don’t want to spend a lot of time checking and counting the quality and quantity of your inventory. Instead, you can use that time to process your orders.
We will take you to the world of streamlined operation. Here is the first stop: Warehouse stock management is a savior that automates procuring inventory with accurate reports. It takes care of inventory replenishment and sends a purchase order on time. It also communicates and handles purchase management with all the financial and legal compliance.
2. Inventory Clarity and Stock Rotation
If you don’t know where your things are kept in your warehouse, can you process orders on time? No, right? So here is the second stop: you can acquire central visibility and answer all the questions about your stocks, where they are stored, how they should be packed, and what is returned and sellable or not, all through a single platform.
Secondly, you can efficiently function your inventory through some stock rotation techniques like:
- FIFO (first in, first out): stock that came first will be sold first
- FEFO (first expired, first out): Stock that will expire sooner will be sold first
- LIFO (last in, first out): Stock that is stored last will be sold first
[Why is the FIFO (The First In, First Out) Method a Better Choice for Inventory Management]
3. Cycle Count
In the ideal warehouse scenario, the cycle count must be done consistently. And it is always as dynamic because the inventory flows. However, with the industry’s competition and multiple SKUs and batches, performing the cycle count manually will become a forever task, and the chances of accuracy are minimized. If once it’s recorded wrong, the whole cycle can also become incorrect for further counts.
The third stop in this world is using handheld devices to monitor the accurate cycle count, increasing manpower efficiency. The work that required 20 people is now quickly done by 5 people, saving you manpower for better work distribution. Therefore, inventory management has to be well-integrated with your warehouse.
4. Shelf Optimization and Quality Control
So, the fourth stop is optimizing and controlling! Optimizing shelves sets the maximum storage capacity and decides how inventory will flow. Let’s say your warehouse can store 500 units of products. However, due to incorrect or random shelf use, you can only store 300 units. That means you are always short on 200 units of products. Hence, you end up ordering the inventory more frequently than usual, costing you more logistics and work. Most importantly, it might also affect the capacity of your order fulfillment.
Secondly, quality control, whether for inbound or returns, is very important. You won’t prefer to store unsellable products, wasting storage space. Hence, quality is always at the top with warehouse stock management’s automated, quick system. You can manage storage more efficiently for the right product in a suitable space.
Business Impact with Warehouse Stock Management
An automated warehouse stock management system can significantly enhance your overall business efficiency. Here’s what you can expect by implementing the right strategy:
1. Cost Reduction in Operations
The amount of workforce you will need after letting technology handle your operations is quite cost-saving. Then, the software’s accuracy reduces the chances of errors, promising you more efficiency in processing your orders with fewer mistakes. It will cut down all the extra logistics costs you pay because of the errors.
2. Access to Manpower Productivity
Let’s take an example and try to understand this better. If 30 staff members perform an inventory cycle count, assigning everyone to count would pause order processing, create backlogs, and cause customer dissatisfaction.
Instead, using software with handheld devices allows five people to efficiently complete the cycle count with accurate product information, freeing the remaining 25 to maintain regular operations and ensuring a seamless workflow. This is how optimizing productivity with the right solutions or your warehouse becomes easy.
3. Streamlined Inventory
Let’s see how a stock management system can help keep stock, the heart of any e-commerce business, in the proper flow. If you have central visibility and data reports, like what is the most sold product and what is the least, you have the power to store your inventory accordingly. Next, the system allows you to function efficiently in your products’ expiry management, batching, or bundling.
The plug-in design allows it to fit the needs of your inventory. For instance, a food and beverage inventory will have different management requirements than electronics. Food will expire, and electronics need more prominent space. The date allows you to track the dynamic nature and demand forecasting. It means everything related to inventory comes under your control.
[Control inventory easily with Inventory Control System]
4. Reduced SLA Breach
So, here’s a fact! Your e-commerce flow is productive if your orders function smoothly and on time. If you cannot do that, you are more likely to breach the SLA (Service-level Agreement). The violations of an SLA will affect your terms with the marketplaces, creating serious issues for your business.
The chances of SLA breaching depend mainly on inventory being in control. If your system is automated and stock is managed well. There are fewer chances of unfulfilled orders. Hence, there is no room for an SLA breach. Happy the customer, happier the seller!
5. Better Use of Space
It’s a common issue that your warehouse’s workforce changes frequently. The only thing that remains constant is the requirement for a smooth workflow. Suppose we tell you you can achieve that by using a wise solution! The technology can tell the workforce what needs to be stored in what amount and where in the warehouse. It covers stocking, separating the zones, staging, and streamlining your picking process immediately.
Even if your inventory is bundled or you have numerous batches of products, such as cosmetics, the software will ensure the best use of space! You can manage the shelves however you want; your system will follow!
From Web of Confusion to Warehouse Efficiency!
Like a clean and organized home can turn your chaotic morning into a smooth routine, warehouse stock management can create an efficient workflow and streamlined businesses. Automating procurement, organizing, and packaging processes and providing thorough inventory clarity will increase productivity. From stocking to shipping, everything will be at your fingertips. Then, what’s the wait? Hop on the tech express, streamline your inventory for enhanced operational efficiency, and unlock the successful e-commerce journey.
Optimize Your Warehouse with Unicommerce WMS
Our Warehouse Management System allows management of end-to-end processes, including expiry management, batch management, error-free dispatches, Higher efficiency improving customer SLAs & experience.
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