October 14, 2024
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In today’s hyper-competitive retail environment, order fulfillment success means having a seamless pick, pack, and ship process that matches the various cut-off windows in warehouse operations and carrier pickup times.
A cut-off window is a deadline for tasks such as receiving, order processing, and carrier pickup, which must be completed to meet customers’ expected delivery dates.
If cut-off windows are missed, the result is a ripple effect that disrupts order workflows or causes orders to be shipped later for later-than-expected delivery, resulting in severe customer service and financial repercussions for the retailer.
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The negative impact of order delays due to missed cut-off windows, include the following:
Customer Dissatisfaction and Lost Revenue
According to Invespcro, 80% of shoppers surveyed want same-day shipping, while 61% want their packages even faster — within 1-3 hours of placing an order. Additionally, customers want their items to be shipped correctly, on time, and with real-time visibility into the order as it is processed and shipped.
Industry statistics show that up to 30% of customers will not return to a retailer after a negative experience, such as late delivery. The potential loss of lifetime revenue from dissatisfied customers can add up quickly, resulting in millions in lost business for larger retailers and distributors.
How much does it cost to replace a lost customer? Studies suggest that acquiring a new customer can cost five to seven times the cost of retaining an existing customer.
Retailer Compliance Fines and Chargebacks
Retailers frequently impose financial penalties or chargebacks on vendors or suppliers who fail to meet predetermined terms on delivery requirements for both early or late deliveries.
Retail non-compliance fines may result in a 1% to 5% added charge¹ added to the order, and when multiplied across thousands of orders, can profoundly impact the vendor’s profit line. These penalties can range from several hundred to thousands of dollars per infraction.
Chargebacks are particularly common in industries like consumer-packaged goods (CPG) and retail operations, where on-time delivery is critical for maintaining shelf stock and preventing stockouts.
Increased Customer Service Costs
If a shipment error does occur, one of the most critical steps to take is creating an accessible, responsive customer service program to help customers resolve the issue as amenably as possible. However, the process of addressing the complaint, researching and identifying the root cause of the problem, and developing a solution is often time-consuming.
It requires the efforts of staff across multiple departments. The extra time needed by staff to resolve each shipping delay is time-consuming process and adds to operational costs.
Unplanned Carrier Charges, Higher Shipping Rates and Additional Fees
Missing carrier cut-off times may lead to additional shipping charges if companies must expedite late orders using premium shipping services to meet delivery deadlines. These added shipping expenses erode profit margins and increase operational complexity.
The Numina Group offers a flexible, real-time warehouse execution platform, RDS™ Warehouse Execution System (WES), offering a family of modules that can be configured to eliminate potential gaps or bottlenecks and create a predictable, smooth-flowing operation.
Automated Order Processing
Numina’s RDS™ WES platform is designed to bolt on to any ERP or WMS system and added AI-supported capabilities to automate and synchronize all activities from order analysis, release optimization planning, picking, packing, shipping, and fulfillment.
RDS serves as the control center that directs the movement of the various connected warehouse technologies and labor resources used in fulfillment operations. It prioritizes orders, selects the optimal picking methodology, and releases according to time constraints to meet cut-off windows. RDS ensures that high-priority shipments are processed ahead of the deadline.
Enhanced Picking and Packing Automation
RDS also includes planning logic to assess order profiles and determine the best picking strategy for orders, including batch and discrete picking. RDS identifies the optimal pick path for workers, resulting in shorter pick paths that eliminate excess walking.
RDS also enables technology-supported voice technology, pick-to-light, and AMR batch-picking solutions for faster, 99.9% accurate picking. RDS cartonization logic can also be applied to auto-determine the ideal shipping carton for an order, making it possible to eliminate the step of picking to totes and replacing it with picking directly to the carton.
When these strategies are deployed, labor-intensive tasks are eliminated, leading to a 70% reduction in labor costs.
Carrier and Shipment Manifesting Integration
The RDS platform is integrated to exchange information with multiple LTL, parcel, and postal carriers for routing, rating, shipment manifesting, and coordination of fulfillment tasks within the time constraints to meet carrier pickup cut-off times and ensure that all shipments are prepared and loaded for on-time dispatch.
99.9% Accurate Orders and Fewer Returns
Order accuracy is the cornerstone of creating an efficient fulfillment workflow that will automatically manage activities to meet delivery requirements. The RDS Victory Voice Suite is a modular pick-by-voice solution that guides workers through picking activities via a headset, wearable computer, and hands-free barcode scanning.
Numina’s advanced voice-picking solution is proven to deliver an order accuracy rate of 99.9%, which has enabled many companies to dramatically reduce shipment errors and customer service calls while lowering the occurrence of returns and reshipments.
The Numina Group, an independent warehouse systems integrator and software provider, can help you evaluate your warehouse operations, identify process improvements, and evaluate warehouse technology solutions that will create a seamless, end-to-end warehouse execution workflow that drives accuracy and profitability.
With more than 40+ years of experience working in thousands of facilities, we are uniquely qualified to assess your current operations, provide expert warehouse consulting services and make vendor-neutral recommendations for the best combination of technologies that will meet your strategic business goals.
Contact us today for a complimentary onsite consultation to discuss your needs.
The Numina Group
10331 Werch Drive
Woodridge, IL 60517
630-343-2600
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The Numina Group
10331 Werch Drive
Woodridge, IL 60517
630-343-2600