The process of dispatching goods from the warehouse can be long and laborious with many individual tasks involved. Turning this operation into an efficient and streamlined system will help free-up time, and increase warehouse capacity.
There are a variety of ways in which warehouses can streamline the dispatching process, with four key areas identified below:
1. Utilising technology
Technology is a key factor of business success, as it can help develop a competitive advantage. In terms of dispatching, implementing a warehouse management system that supports the use of barcodes and scanners, and automated the more monotonous tasks can effectively decrease downtime. Using scanners to pick and dispatch stock against sales orders, and automatically printing dispatch notes can save significant amounts of time, whilst also reducing human error.
2. Breaking down the process
Having a process is highly important for the effective management of dispatching. Breaking down the operation into key stages will avoid staff confusion, keep tasks manageable, and help to identify any potential problem areas; whether certain tasks are taking longer than expected, or more mistakes are being made in others. Having well-defined steps within a process will increase productivity and efficiency, but only as long as staff are suitably trained.
3. Prioritising customers
By determining the customers that need or have paid for a quicker delivery, they can more easily be kept happy. Implementing a system that ensures there is a dedicated team to fill priority orders allows warehouse operatives see which stock items are more time-sensitive, making it easier for teams working on dispatching stock by streamlining the process even further.
4. Route optimisation
When delivering goods to customers, it is often easier said than done. Whilst mapping out the shortest routes possible based on distance may seem like a good idea at the time, these routes may be prone to high levels of traffic or be unsuitable for lorries. Trusting mainstream map applications such as Google Maps may also end up being more of a hinderance than a help as they can often have a significant delay in reporting accidents or congestion. Employing intelligent software that understands the route options available to a delivery driver, and which route is the most cost-effective without the potential of causing a delay to delivery times, will help increase the efficiency of the dispatching process.
If your looking to increase the efficiency of your business’s dispatching process, but not quite sure where to start, feel free to contact our team at Bit Systems. With our many years’ experience providing intelligent software and support to warehousing businesses, we understand the struggles faced to streamline warehouse operations. You can call us on 03300 245 452 or email info@bitsystemsltd.co.uk.