As distribution channels continue to evolve, wholesalers and distributors are facing increasingly fierce competition and higher customer service expectations, forcing them to implement advanced technological solutions to maintain their competitive parity.

With the introduction of mobile technology at the warehouse floor, the warehouse operations team would be able to meet the increasing demand for higher productivity. Aimed at improving supply chain operations, such a technology solution enables shorter cycle times, whilst cutting down on inventory costs and contributing towards the overall profitability of the entire business.

A fully-fledged mobile warehousing solution will allow for seamless integration between the warehouse and the rest of the business operations. Employees on the warehouse floor are empowered by handheld devices to record any items coming in and going out of the warehouse. At the same time, employees at the back-office receive updates in real-time, so they can deliver a punctual and more effective service to clients.

Specifically designed for inventory-intensive organisations, the solution allows for the optimisation of warehouse space, simplification and speeding up of data capturing systems, punctuality of order deliveries with maximum accuracy, and drastic improvements in planning and decision-making capabilities.

With efficient warehouse management methods, the organisation can tightly integrate order processing, manufacturing and warehouse processes to optimise layout and space utilisation and, at the same time, manage replenishment processes.

Inventory management processes form an integral part of any warehouse operations. By allowing easy access to inventory levels and order statuses, employees would be able to utilise effective picking methods and maintain accurate records of any stock movements.

Scanning capabilities, powered through the hand-held devices, allow the warehouse operations team to register items arriving at the warehouse, register their shelving position, track internal movements within the warehouse itself and also pick items for orders to be prepared for shipment. Item tracking enables the tracing of shipments and deliveries to quickly determine from where items were purchased, processed or sold.

The solution eliminates bottlenecks at the warehouse floor, making redundant data a problem of the past. As opposed to having multiple people handling multiple pieces of product information, the solution will automate any processes that follow the item scanning procedure.

Moving the warehouse, together with the organisation at large, from a paper-based approach onto a fully automated mobile solution will significantly reduce the number of errors as human intervention will be kept at a bare minimum.

Implementing a “zero tolerance for errors” approach, the solution delivers greater peace of mind to customers. With potential return-on-investment delivered in months, wireless technology on the warehouse floor is proven to deliver effective processes that boost efficiency both at an individual as well as at a company level.

Enabling the company to choose the level of sophistication that it needs, management will commit to the level of functionality that fulfills current business requirements. This can be done with confidence that the solution can be scaled in line with business growth to easily adapt to new processes, products and technologies.

This article has been compiled by Exigy, a local ICT company specialising in the delivery of strategic software solutions, and is aimed at providing customers with an effective bridge between business and technology.