Enhanced warehouse efficiency is essential to many processes, from in-house asset management to the delivery of goods. An organised warehouse is an efficient one, enabling streamlined day-to-day operations, unbroken workflows and the efficient product delivery customers expect.
A sound asset management scheme is the key to these processes as it’s the support network of tools like thermal label printers, barcode scanners or tables that help to enable a fast-moving warehouse.
The same set of tools and processes also ensure warehouse pickers can find and move goods and equipment quickly around the warehouse on demand, saving time and frustration.
Accelerated expectations
Overnight turnaround times are becoming increasingly important to the emerging hordes of online consumers in Australia. While online retail was slowly but steadily becoming a factor in the marketplace, hundreds of thousands of Aussies began shopping exclusively online during the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down in-person stores across the world starting in March, 2020. These customers increasingly demand accurate and quick fulfilment of their orders.
Australians spent $44.2 billion on online retail in the 12 months leading up to December 2020, roughly 13% of all total retail spend.
The purchasing power of online shoppers can’t be ignored. A 2021 report from NAB estimates that Australians spent $44.2 billion on online retail in the 12 months leading up to December 2020, roughly 13% of all total retail spend, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. This is a 44% increase over the 12 months leading up to December 2019.
If small- to medium-sized enterprises are going to benefit from increased online shopping, they must be able to keep up with order fulfilment, says a report compiled by Australian marketing research firm Contevo.
Still additional consumer reports indicate that online customers are becoming more discerning, researching purchases carefully with a focus on quality and locally sourced products, says Bit Australia. Reading product reviews can be a big part of that research, and consumers who experience delayed deliveries or bad customer service can now easily leave negative reviews. Investing in basic systems like an asset tagging scheme is one way to help ensure your business creates a positive consumer experience.
A look at customer service benefits of asset tags from start to finish
Asset tagging and tracking ensures the tools your warehouse relies on day to day are properly situated and maintained, to prevent lag time in fulfilling a customer’s order due to a malfunctioning piece of equipment. The barcodes and labels can also help reduce the human errors bound to occasionally happen and also support the temporary warehouse staff, so that at the end of each shift, all equipment are accounted for and ready to be used the following day, any malfunctions or faults could be logged as workers can simply scan the barcodes and log fault reports.
Staying on top of working warehouse equipment can help prevent costly, time-consuming errors such as a client receiving a late or wrong order is valuable. Such mistakes are a damaging issue in consumer-facing environments and only compounded further in a B2B environment where the error ripples across several businesses. Such mistakes necessitate a drawn-out returns process or order cancellations.
In addition to warehouse equipment, your inventory could also be part of your overall asset tagging solutions. Tagging assets can enable a better equality inventory management scheme, preventing understocking which can delay deliveries and disappoint customers. Product expiry dates can also be tracked; if your business sells perishable goods it can be wise to offer discounts ahead of expirations. Ordering necessary supplies is also easier with an asset tracking system in place warning managers of upcoming shortages.
Your asset tracking system will also allow you to anticipate surge times such as holidays and price your wares according to increased demand, so you can plan and move the faster moving stock to an area where it’s easier to access to pick and pack.
How a Brother labeller can help
Mobile label printers enable your warehouse team to make sure any item leaving your warehouse is properly labelled and shipped. Labels can be printed right in the warehouse and affixed to products as soon as they leave your packaging area.
A good system of asset tracking will allow you to position items in demand close to where staff are packaging and labelling goods for transport. Each moment saved assures a speedy delivery; unbroken workflows should be the goal of any warehouse. Your system of organisation will also make it easier to make sure you don’t run out of packaging supplies or labels themselves. After all, with no shipping label, your items can’t go into the post and your entire operation will grind to a halt.
Brother offers mobile labellers for all environments. Some of our portable Brother label makers are designed to be hand-held and easy for staff to carry across the warehouse. Able to print both barcodes and written words on the same labels, these are essential tools for both your warehouse pickers and the management team’s tracking ability. Affixing labels is often the first step in the customer’s tracking ability, too.
Brother also offers software solutions so warehouse staff can realise the benefits of reformatting labels on the warehouse floor as needed.
We love to talk workflows and work with you to imagine an asset tagging system that will allow you to take full advantage of the boom in online shopping. Contact us today so we can learn more about your needs.
