Page 22 - Logistics News - September October 2022

W A R EH OU SE M A NA G E ME N T

Warehouse management:

Are you as efficient

as you think you are?

By Tennille Bell, General Manager: Sales
at Programmed Process Outsourcing (PPO)

Is your warehouse management system (WMS) efficient? Is it
supporting your e-commerce business or only slowing it down?

hese are critical questions that companies because there’s simply no reason for complaint.
need to ask themselves; but without Efficiency sounds simple, but putting it into practice
T proper data to support a conclusion, is no small feat. Once a business process is designed
companies can only make assumptions. By analysing and in place, there is rarely continuous evaluation of
warehouse efficiencies, e-commerce businesses that process and its impact on the system as a whole.
can determine which processes are working and That process is used as is without adjustment or
which require improvement. Through exhaustive enhancement in the long term.
data analysis, business process outsourcing (BPO)
providers can assist e-commerce businesses to see Always room for improvement
whether margins are slipping, where expenses are Rarely is a company as efficient as it would like to
unnecessarily high as well as identify and rectify think and there is always room for improvement.
costly warehousing inefficiencies. Bringing on When productivity and output lag, it is tempting
board the right BPO provider facilitates cost and to increase headcount, but this is counterintuitive.
performance efficiency throughout the entire Output might increase, but so too will costs. People
warehousing process – right from supplier ordering and businesses get stuck in their ways and only
through to product shipping – which essentially once the process breaks or becomes unavoidably
means that these exercises in streamlining the problematic is it revisited. It can also be tough for
business pay for themselves. companies to stay on top of technology developments
and keep up with the pace of change in the world
Telltale signs of inefficiency around them. Before they find themselves in a make-
Without looking at data, businesses can tell or-break situation, it is necessary for e-commerce
whether they’re efficient based on factors such companies to evaluate efficiency as a whole and
as customer satisfaction levels and production seek out ways to reach that sweet spot between
targets. Red flags for inefficiency include backlogs in maximising output while minimising cost. This
productivity, unmotivated or complacent staff and
is where a BPO provider can make an enormous
L O GI S T I CS NEWS in addition to other warning signs such as increased BPO with benefits
difference.
key performance indicators (KPIs) not being met,

customer returns. On the other hand, efficiency is
As experts in their chosen fields, BPO providers
seamless. There are no delays in business processes
bring more than mere labour outsourcing to the table
and customer complaints are few and far between

20 SEP T E MB E R/O CT O B E R 2022 www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a