Picking, packing, and shipping are essential processes at warehouses and fulfillment centers. The basic process involves picking goods to be sent, packing them securely, and shipping them via a shipping partner like UPS, FedEx, or the USPS. Picking, packing, and shipping used to be one of the most time-consuming aspects of a business, but automation is changing that.
Also referred to as warehouse automation, pick, pack, ship automation involves using technology to support a dedicated warehouse team. It doesn’t replace human workers. Rather, it reduces tedious work and human error, increases efficiency, improves order fulfillment times and customer service, and reduces returns.
Few people can memorize the location of every item in a warehouse, but automated systems can instantly identify the location of each item in an order. Pick, pack, ship software keeps track of the location of every item in the warehouse, making it easier for team members to fulfill orders as quickly as possible.
Warehouse Automation systems are often integrated with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, the e-commerce platform, and other order management and inventory systems. Utilizing barcodes and scanners to collect information at fulfillment step increases efficiency even more.
Automating the picking, packing, and shipping processes creates a wealth of data on everything from inventory levels to repeat business rates, and all of it can be made available in real-time. Team members can make data-driven decisions that continuously improve customer satisfaction, worker productivity, an efficiency.
Even the best pick, pack, ship strategy will never be perfect. Challenges will arise that require warehouse managers and others to intervene. That said, warehouse automation can help to eliminate many of the most common inventory management mistakes and pitfalls, reducing labor costs for fulfillment centers and letting you pass those savings to the bottom line and to customers. There are many possible tools to consider in your evaluation including leaders such as Acctivate, SkuVault, NetSuite, and Provision. Selecting the right tool depends on many factors
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