Return on investment (ROI) plays an integral role in the success of a business. As with any part of the supply chain, warehouse operations require investment in labor, equipment, transportation and software, and this investment requires an ROI. With the number of moving parts within warehouse operations, and the ever-rising popularity within the ecommerce market, many operators have put their focus on optimisation through technology. Warehouse management systems (WMS) are now an essential to management efficient and successful supply chains.
What does ROI look like for warehouse operations?
ROI is a performance measure that calculates your financial return, factoring in both expenditures and profits. ROI can look different across different parts of an organization. For warehouse operations, ROI measures can look like a few things:
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- Tangible measures are quantifiable outcomes that show direct and measurable benefits. Elements like sales, expenditure and productivity metrics are examples of tangible measures.
- Intangible measures can be harder to show as they are either qualitative or don’t have clear tangible measurements. This includes employee engagement, and other components that are more difficult to measure.
- As with any other department, warehouse operations will also need to support business objectives. Developing new revenue streams, streamlining decision making and providing support to vendors and partners are a few ways warehouse operators support business objectives.
The good thing is that technology has advanced enough to offer warehouses quality systems to measure and track ROI, and WMS is an essential part of a well-run warehouse.
Efficiencies
Picking and putaway efficiency
Labour costs have a significant impact on expenditure, and when staff have to focus on tasks that could otherwise be streamlined, it reduces the time available for other priorities. WMS can track and measure time spent on picking and putaway so managers can determine opportunities for streamlining. This is just one factor that can directly impact throughput levels, allowing workers more time to fulfill and ship orders.
Integrations for minimizing manual data entry
WMS integrates your existing systems and software so accurate information and updates are instantly centralized. Integration cuts back on the time spent manually entering data, plus streamlines complex processes across inventory storage, incoming orders, shopping, picking and packing. By centralizing the data warehouse operators are not required to manually enter information across multiple systems.
Accuracy
Remove unnecessary human errors
Integrated online portals completely remove the risk of human errors that can be worsened by labor shortages, repetitive, tedious tasks, and disorganized filing systems. With online portals, these risks are completely mitigated so staff can focus on BAU.
Real-time inventory accuracy
Immediate access means immediate decision making. With real-time, accurate insights into inventory, operators can quickly communicate to customers the status of their order, amend or adjust orders in real-time.
Customer service
Administrative efforts
Administrative tasks are a necessity, but they can be time-consuming, and can feed into time that could be spent fulfilling orders. By setting up a WMS, administrative tasks like billing and handling paperwork can be automated, speeding up processes for staff and for customers
Customer returns
With improved accuracy comes reduced risk of customer returns. Not only do returns impact profits, they also require additional time spent on processing and handling said returns. As processes are improved and automated, orders will be delivered correctly and quickly.
Save on expenses
Transparency of processes and instant access to resource allocation allows management to easily determine opportunities to reduce costs.
Vehicle and machinery savings
By tracking vehicle usage and expenses, you can save significantly on trucks, forklifts and trailers, location, downtime, utilization rate and other costs that come with managing a fleet.
Reduced transportation costs
WMS provides operators with full visibility across their fleets, including driver allocation, transport routes and delivery schedules, allowing managers the insights to better reallocate and manage expenditure.
Business growth
With fewer errors, efficiencies and lower expenditures, operators have the resources to focus on business growth opportunities and revenue generators. Complete transparency of all areas of the supply chain allows stakeholders to make faster decisions, trial new workflows and focus on innovations. It’s a no-brainer.
Optimize your warehouse operations with Da Vinci
Ready to streamline your warehouse management? Da Vinci empowers organizations of all sizes to develop sophisticated supply chains across warehouse, transportation, yard and labor management.
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- Easily integrate with your supply chain
- End-to-end solution
- Ongoing technical support for a trusted team
- Flexible, customisable system
See for yourself by requesting a demo online.