With U.S. online shopping projected to increase nearly 15% this holiday season, Consumers expect seamless communication, flawless service and real time transparency of orders and shipments.  The biggest shopping days of the year will soon be here.  Whether you are a 3PL, warehouse or distribution center operator, the stress of the impending crush of orders and customer demands probably has you reaching for Tums or Pepto Bismol. 

The mad rush of online orders cascade into warehouse management systems like water flowing down Niagara Falls.  Fast and furious, consumers are pushing buttons and tapping on keyboards on sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart with dreams of stress-free shopping and fast, free delivery.  As every supply chain professional knows, customer satisfaction depends upon error-free fast delivery, no matter how late in the holiday season that must occur.  To meet the seemingly infinite volume of orders that flood in daily, a Herculean effort in supply chain management and logistics must occur.  Far more than simply picking, packing and shipping, warehouse management solutions must be able to handle unbelievable volume in rapid iteration without locking up.  Legacy warehouse management systems simply were not designed to handle SKU proliferation, exponentially expansive order volume or the rapidity of operations required for e-commerce fulfillment and online shopping.

This year, it has been estimated that on average, warehouse operations that experience holiday fluctuation may experience an increase in inventory of 40% or more.  If your warehouse, fulfillment center or DC deals with online sales, the pace of order fulfillment operations may be fast and frenetic.  To make it through the holiday rush successfully (and as profitably as possible), it is important to examine and fix problems now.  Examining operations, warehouse space and layout and technology can help you be better prepared and ready to meet challenges before they arise.

Pro-Actively Prepare for Asset Management and Maintenance Needs

24. Evaluate, check and re-check your equipment. Service it now and make sure any problems are completely resolved to ensure top efficiency of: 

• Mobile computers, bar code readers, bar code scanners and printers
• Material handling solutions

25. Make sure you have adequate supplies on hand in case of malfunction or wear: batteries, cables, power cords, replacement devices and equipment.

Using Third Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) as Partners to Fulfill Online Orders

To help retailers fulfill all those millions of orders, third party logistics providers act as intermediaries between retailers and consumers.  Across the United States, 3PLs receive goods into warehouses, handle, store and ship out orders and collaborate with transportation and logistics providers for the last mile delivery to consumers. Specialists in supply chain logistics operations, outsourcing to 3PLs can help give online retailers the bandwidth to meet burgeoning order volume and improve the customer experience.

The most successful third party logistics providers invest in technology to give themselves a competitive edge.  Third party logistics providers typically rely on warehouse management systems developed specifically for the 3PL industry rather than simple inventory management software. Using a 3PL WMS system designed to meet the requirements of many different types of clients, each with their own unique billing requirements and operational needs is essential and provides a competitive advantage in courting and winning new business. 

Often during the holiday season, consumers specify personalization for their orders.  This may come in the form of gift cards, gift wrapping, specialized packaging, custom assembly of kits or other options.  In addition to individual requirements by consumers, retailers and manufacturers may have requirements and specifications.

For 3PLs, being able to bill for all the specialized labor and services is critical to profitability.  In years gone by, third party logistics providers would use spreadsheets to keep track of these services.  In recent years, many warehouse management software vendors developed specialized 3PL billing capabilities, sometimes in separate systems or modules.  The problem often is that the 3PL billing capabilities are not flexible enough to handle the immense variation in services.  This tends to result in a loss of revenue for 3PLs or use of “workarounds” with their current software.  This is undesirable, error-prone and inefficient.

User Friendly 3PL Web Portals Help Ensure Customer Satisfaction and Reduce Labor Costs

One way for a third party logistics provider to keep labor costs under control is to provide a web portal for their customers.  A web portal that can easily be managed and personalized for each customer can significantly cut down on customer service labor and time.  In turn, giving customers the way to be independent and have more control over their operations, inventory, reports and other matters typically leads to increased customer satisfaction and can provide a valuable competitive advantage.

In the world of online retail, being able to access real time information and reports can improve the reaction time, order fulfillment rates and lead to a better customer experience for consumers-all key to developing brand loyalty. 

Conclusion

The holidays are upon us and the supply chain logistics industry needs to be fully prepared.  Consumers have become increasingly demanding and have proven to be fickle when vexed from delays in order delivery and errors.

Training, pro-active maintenance and asset management preparedness and a thorough examination of operational processes and technology will help to identify weaknesses that can be remedied before Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holiday rush.