Ecommerce has led to more unpredictable peaks in demand beyond traditional holidays. This puts pressure on warehouses to fulfill orders faster, more accurately, and responsively. A warehouse management system can help warehouses improve efficiency through historical data analysis, scalability to handle temporary staffing needs, and visibility into operations to address bottlenecks in real time. If implemented properly, a WMS can empower warehouses to improve efficiency, accuracy, growth, and the ability to meet changing customer demands and unexpected order surges.

1. The Efficiency
Checklist: How
to manage
unforeseen peaks
with a WMS

2. 2
Ecommerce has transformed
the UK business sector in the
past few years.
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as well as traditional peak
periods at Christmas and in
the January sales.
Today, the biggest
surges in demand
are created by
events such as
Black Friday and
Cyber Monday,
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4. 44
38%
A recent report highlights that
of warehouse management teams are
concerned about order turnaround time
when it comes to pack & fulfil.

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The combination of
‘always-on’ mobile
devices and the rapidly
evolving power of
social media is giving
rise to highly targeted
marketing campaigns.
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As a result,
expectations and
demand around
online retail and
ecommerce are
changing too.

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Now, purchases are being
made round the clock, and
sudden spikes in demand
can occur at any time of
day or night.

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Meanwhile, value-
added services such
as same-day and next-
day delivery, click-and-
collect, and end-to-
end package tracking
are becoming more
commonplace.
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This has served to further
increase the existing
pressure placed on
warehouse managers,
third-party logistics firms
and distribution centres
to provide a high level of
service.

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The increasing complexity of modern
consumer demand is forcing warehouse
managers to adapt and become:
Faster More accurate More responsive

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Warehouses also need to
retain their efficiency and keep
expenses such as staffing costs
under control.
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To meet these challenges
and heightened expectations
head on, leading warehouse
owners are turning to
warehouse management
systems (WMS).

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So what can the
right WMS offer your
business?
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And how can it play
a crucial role in
meeting unexpected
surges in demand?

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Warehouse efficiency:
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The right WMS can help
you analyse historical data
in order to set up your
operations as efficiently
as possible.

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This could mean
changing your
warehouse layout to
minimise picking time.

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Operational scalability:
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A WMS that is intuitive to use allows you to
swiftly bring temporary staff up to speed
during your busiest periods.

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The right technology will
be able to grow in tandem
with your business to meet
your requirements in the
future as well as today.
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ensuring that such systems are
proportionate given the overall long-
term level of activity in your business
and are used in a way that maximises
their value and return on investment.
Your WMS can help
you to maximise the
benefit of any automated
packaging systems that
you employ,

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A WMS can provide
senior management with
invaluable insight into
what is happening within
their warehouse at any
given point in time.
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This visibility means
that managers can be
alerted to problems and
potential bottlenecks or
backlogs as they arise –
enabling them to divert staff or
hardware to address issues in real time.
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Visibility of data,
ranging from
average pick rates
to the length of time
taken to process an
order through the
warehouse, can help
the business finetune
its strategic approach
and improve its
speed of service.
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Remember:
a WMS is a tool.

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If implemented and
used properly, a
WMS can empower
warehousing and
distribution businesses
to improve their
efficiency, accuracy,
ability to grow and scale
to changing customer
demands.
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Learn more about how you can strategically tackle the
challenge of meeting unpredictable order surges and increasing
pressure for value-added services. Download:
The Intelligent Warehouse Manual: How to improve your
warehouse efficiency to meet evolving customer demands
Download now