Any distribution company knows the struggles between managing a warehouse between maintaining inventory control levels and meeting customer demands. Any growing warehouse also must balance other factors like the organizational layout, staff, accounting, and managing all the details behind incoming and outgoing shipments. Leaking profits are a real danger with numerous factors that cause money to flow down the drain in a warehouse. As your company grows, one solution to these challenges in the age of technology is investing in a Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). ERP systems with an integrated WMS system in place. Over the years, WMS systems have become more user-friendly to help improve warehouse efficiency, profitability and increase customer service levels.
Increasing customer service levels is a positive intangible result from warehouse technology. Customer service is a metric that is hard to measure but any company that fails to deliver it’s commitments to it’s customers feels the pain in a big way. Whether your business sells directly to consumers or to retailers or both, being able to provide quality customer service is the deciding factor for repeat business for many customers. As a result of warehouse management system functionality, orders are more accurate, they are filled faster, and there are less back orders. Furthermore, advance ship notices and EDI compliant labels can be automatically created and sent. Specific customer needs can be noted and fulfilled by the system. All these contribute to less shipping errors and service level improvement, which translates into happy customers and reducing charge back and penalties.
1. EDI makes you easy to do business with - In working with a large retailer, being able to comply with their EDI requirements, including advance shipment notices, it is necessary in order to avoid orders being sent back, and being liable for all the charge-backs and penalties associated. A warehouse management system with EDI capabilities eliminates all those costs by creating retailer-specific labels and ASNs for every order automatically.
2. No more stock-outs - Avoiding stock-outs can contribute a lot to the bottom line in addition to improving customer service levels. The more often you have orders fulfilled quickly and the less back-ordering your customers experience, the more likely they will be to keep returning. If customers get frustrated waiting for their order to be filled they many go elsewhere for that product or simply move to another provider altogether. It also contributes to less wasted time and space holding orders, splitting orders, paying for shipping, and time wasted by an employee traveling to an empty bin.
3. Integrated WMS system - A warehouse management system that integrates with your ERP makes business flow much smoother, and allows for easier and more accurate tracing of costs. The WMS System can be customized to your accounting methods so that inventory can be tracked and the re-ordering process can begin when necessary. Orders can be tracked as well, invoices can be sent to customers at the appropriate times. This eliminates the question whether inventory was accounted for, if orders were paid, and the possibility for revenue loss due to the misplacement of physical pieces of paper for orders.
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Posted by iCepts Technology Group, Inc. An Accelos and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partner in Pennsylvania
We are a Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partner offering implementation, service, and support for Microsoft Dynamics NAV in: PA, DC, DE, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, VA, WV, and the entire Mid-Atlantic Region. We also offer implementation, service, and support for Accellos One Warehouse Management Systems in: PA, DC, DE, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, VA, WV, and the entire Mid-Atlantic Region.
As experienced SCM, WMS and ERP consultants and value added resellers (VARs), we provide start to finish services for the solutions we represent Microsoft Dynamics NAV for Distribution and Manufacturing, Accellos Warehouse Management System (WMS), Server virtualization, open source VOIP phone systems and infrastructure and security. We provide services that cover process analysis, implementation, training, security and networking. Naturally, we also provide full ongoing support for years after implementation to help our clients succeed. We are your one stop shop for your business technology needs.
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Phone: 717.704.1000
Email: info@icepts.com
Another version of this article was previously posted on iCepts Technology Group, Inc.'s blog on November 11, 2016 Improving Customer Service Levels with WMS