As internet sales continue to grow and are projected to account for over 20% of global retail sales in 2023, planning and prioritizing your fulfillment strategies is critical to competing in an increasingly competitive retail market. Without adequate processes and automated systems in place, unprepared retailers will struggle to meet consumer demand and expectations. As 2023 kicks off, we thought we’d share what our customers are focusing on now to help drive future scalability and growth.
Inventory management is the backbone of any retail business. As you review your 2022 operations and sales data, be sure to ask yourself: was I able to meet consumer demand? Do I have the reporting I need to help make this happen? Was my team able to easily manage inventory across sales channels? Did my data give me the answers I needed to make informed decisions about my strategic plans? If you answered “no” to any of these, a Warehouse and Order Management solution should be something you consider adopting in 2023.
Automating Fulfillment Processes
Warehouse management system (WMS) software can help ecommerce retailers improve their inventory and fulfillment management processes. By easily tracking inventory locations and levels, and having access to real-time sales data, this software allows you to stay on top of where your inventory is sitting, and when you may need to order more. When inventory arrives at your warehouse, a WMS helps direct where that inventory should be stored to ensure you’re putting your product away in the most logical location for efficient picking. Creating custom scannable labels allows your team to quickly put away, organize, and manage the inventory you receive. Furthermore, technology like mobile scanning that incorporates an optimized pick path in its built-in pick & pack logic ensures your team can get orders out the door as quickly as possible while maintaining 100% accuracy. As your business grows, warehouse management software can also help you better understand if your inventory is strategically distributed across the globe. Simply put, if you find your warehouse location too far from your most common ship to destinations, you may want to consider expanding your geographic footprint by adding warehouse fulfillment partners.
Planning for Forecasted Changes in Volume
Efficient and accurate order management is another important topic often raised by Extensiv customers, especially as they plan for forecasted increases in order volume. An order management system (OMS) provides one centralized platform for managing orders from multiple sales channels. This provides a unique opportunity to review demand and pivot strategies, all in one centralized location. OMS software can be customized to fit the unique needs of your fulfilment network, including setting up different order workflows by sales channel, inventory location and warehouse network. Prime Days, Black Friday, and new product releases often mean hours of manual order routing processes to make sure orders get out the door as quickly as possible. These high-touch manual processes are not only inefficient and costly but are highly error-prone. Adopting a sophisticated OMS allows you to handle large order volumes more efficiently, giving your team an opportunity to focus more on high-value projects and less on administrative work. Tied to the above discussion about inventory management, an OMS can help forecast demand and automate processes such as inventory replenishment through rules that trigger purchase orders while taking into account sales velocity, calculated growth rate, and lead times for replenishment.
Analyzing Data to Make Informed Decisions
Access to data relevant to day-to-day operations and business strategies is the third topic that is critical to Extensiv’s growth customers. Real-time fulfillment data provides critical Insite to identifying consumer behaviors and areas of opportunity. Sales growth and data reliability grow together. Understanding your customer, what they are buying and how well you are meeting their expectations are important metrics of your combined successes. Without data, you are left in the dark, unable to make informed decisions and act. In one recent conversation, an Extensiv user noted “the Profitability by SKU report in Order Manager completely changed my strategy for peak season. While I thought our mugs were our most profitable item, it turned out I was wrong. I was able to quickly pivot my plans and launch a more successful (and profitable!) campaign”.
Building Effective Fulfillment Strategies
As internet sales continue to grow, it is more important than ever for brands to have effective fulfillment strategies. With regularly changing consumer expectations and behaviors, relying on inefficient manual processes makes it nearly impossible to grow and maintain a positive customer experience. As 2023 kicks off with lots of uncertainty, streamlining and automating your fulfillment operations by implementing software that helps you manage these processes will keep you ahead of the game.
To learn more about Extensiv’s WMS and OMS offerings, schedule a consultation.
