The High Cost of Shipping Mistakes and the Path to Perfect Order Practices

Shipping mistakes cause customer frustration, resulting in serious damage to any e-commerce company or retailer. Shipping mistakes are also expensive in terms of the internal resources required to process returns, correct errors, and also the revenue lost from non-returning customers. Research shows that 30% of shoppers who have had a negative experience with a retailer will not return and will likely buy from a competitor.

Blog: How End-to-End Warehouse Automation Can Future-Proof Your Company

Also, shipping errors are not limited to delivery delays but can include errors in the items shipped. For example, research suggests that the cost of miss-picks drops an e-commerce company’s profits by $400,000 or more.

Eliminate Shipping Errors with a Perfect Order Culture

One way to minimize the risk of order and shipping errors is to build your fulfillment operations around the concept of a “perfect order,” which is defined by four key metrics:

• Complete order-fill accuracy
• Zero defects
• Accurate documentation
• On-time delivery

Errors related to any of these metrics can result in a dissatisfied customer and lost revenues. However, they can be largely eliminated by analyzing your warehouse operations and making improvements to ensure efficiency and accuracy.

Video: Warehouse Automation Design for Perfect Order Practices

Streamlining Distribution Processes

To minimize errors and improve efficiency, companies should consider the following process improvement strategies:

• Evaluate Product Slotting: Perform slotting analysis to ensure that product placement is optimized to maximize picking efficiency. (Blog: What is Slotting in a Warehouse? Tips to Optimize)
• Batch Order Picking: Increase efficiency by grouping similar products by location, enabling workers to pick multiple orders simultaneously.
• Plan for Seamless Expedited Order Management: Configure your order processing worklow to allow for the seamless insertion of expedited orders into the overall fulfillment workflow.
• Analyze and Segregate Task Management: Identify and divide the various tasks in the order workflow and assign them to multiple workers. By doing so, you can prevent the reliance on one person and spread quality control across the team.
• Implement Batch Picking with Consolidation Walls: Optimize the picking process to reduce handling time.

The above recommendations are just a few ways to streamline your distribution operations. Depending upon your company’s product profile, other efficiency options and warehouse technology can be deployed to speed up order fulfillment while maintaining 99.9% order accuracy.

The Role of Warehouse Execution Software 

Software is essential to increase order fulfillment productivity and throughput. WMS and ERP software systems commonly play an integral role in warehouse operations but often cannot be easily or quickly integrated to manage other value-added warehouse technologies.

As a result, most businesses are seeking warehouse execution and control software to extend the functionality and life of their WMS/ERP systems. Numina Group’s RDS™ Warehouse Execution and Control Software offers a suite of modules designed to improve the entire pick, pack, and ship process, including:

• Order release optmization
• Voice picking
• Autonomous mobile robots
• Pack-and-ship automation
• Vision audits
• Conveyor and sortation control

These modules can function independently or together to create a cohesive solution that upholds perfect order practices. Numina Group stands out by offering the flexibility of these components combined in a singular software suite.

Conclusion

Warehouse automation, when managed by a flexible WES-WCS platform that integrates and synchronizes workflow using technologies such as those discussed above, offers the most compelling results in controlling operating costs, and optimizing warehouse operations for current and future growth.

Numina Group can show you how to define, design and implement the right combination of warehouse technologies for your operations. Our warehouse automation design services, warehouse automation software, and extensive systems integration expertise deliver solutions proven to execute complex order fulfillment requirements that improve warehouse productivity and enhance customer service.

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