Inventory management is a big headache for sellers, particularly when a seller has to manage 100+ dispatches every day. Managing the inventory manually, tracking it timely and updating the stock after each day’s sales is a big and hectic task, and can lead to errors. Any errors in inventory not only result in the working capital loss but also can impact sale volume as the inventory listed on marketplaces is a key factor in determining sales for all online sellers. Thus, Fast WMS system manage inventory accurately can go a long way in managing complex warehouse operations.
Most sellers end up doing an ad hoc management of their warehouse, leading to inventory errors, stock-outs etc. resulting in a lot of mismanagement. It is imperative that the WMS solution you choose allows you to define zones, bins, locations etc. so that your warehouse can be neatly organized. You can define the zones based on product categories, product velocity (i.e. how fast or slow a particular product is selling) or any other criteria which is important to your business. Most leading WMS solutions still do not have a very comprehensive implementation of this requirement, but some new age solutions like FAST WMS SOFTWARE provide the flexibility to manage the warehouse in a very systematic manner.
With increasing volumes, it is becoming impossible to operate the warehouse manually. Now, the sellers are investing in deploying Bluetooth-based handheld devices to automate key warehouse processes. and are able to recover the cost of investment in less than 6 months, if used with a proper system. FAST WMS supports the use of handheld for key warehouse operations and continues to evolve its offering in this regard.
Using manual or traditional systems typically leads to a lot of inefficiencies in the picking process, as the picking staff ends up wasting time trying to locate the right product, and if they end up picking the wrong product, then it implies wasted time trying put the wrong product back and then fetching the right product for dispatch, leading to monetary loss. Thus, it is important that the WMS solution one uses has inbuilt features like picklists, FIFO based picking etc. to ensure that picking of goods happens in an efficient manner. For example, FAST WMS not only provides the option of picklists to optimize the picking process by grouping items to be processed together but also provides the option of generating the barcode label through a single click, minimizing the errors in picking.
For any online seller, returns is a big pain area, as it adds directly to the cost, and every seller continues to grapple with this issue. If returns are managed properly, the profitability of any seller can easily improve by 10-15%, thus it is important that the solution deployed by you is able to handle such a critical process seamlessly. It is important that the solution should be able to scan the item and identify the order against which the return is received. The solution should also be able to reconcile the returns for which the item itself is not received. All these features are already supported in FAST WMS, thus making that solution a preferred tool for handling returns.
For any online seller, returns is a big pain area, as it adds directly to the cost, and every seller continues to grapple with this issue. If returns are managed properly, the profitability of any seller can easily improve by 10-15%, thus it is important that the solution deployed by you is able to handle such a critical process seamlessly. It is important that the solution should be able to scan the item and identify the order against which the return is received. The solution should also be able to reconcile the returns for which the item itself is not received. All these features are already supported in FAST WMS, thus making that solution a preferred tool for handling returns.
Due to the regular wear and tear in the warehouse operations, some stock may not always be in a sellable condition. For example, a stock may be damaged while lying in the warehouse, and a warehouse operator may discover the “bad” stock only at the time of the dispatch. Thus, it is important that the WMS solution you choose allows you the flexibility of doing quality testing at every key checkpoint (inbound, outbound, picking etc.).
Analytics is a powerful tool and the insights that you can draw from your WMS solution can be useful in making key business decisions related to growth, productivity, cost etc. It is important that the WMS solution not only provides comprehensive data but also presents the data in an easily comprehensible manner.