You may have realized it already, but eCommerce is competitive. It’s growing more so every single day. However, you can get ahead of the competition by utilizing a warehouse management system (WMS). Think of a WMS as a system upgrade for your entire eCommerce store. Let’s learn how to integrate a warehouse management system to make your business more productive and efficient.
What is eCommerce Warehousing?
First, you might be wondering why an eCommerce store would need a warehouse. Whether you are dropshipping or selling your own products, the more your business grows, the more storage becomes a necessity. Unless you are selling things straight from your home, inventory has to be kept somewhere.
Commonly, eCommerce warehouses engage in the following operations:
- Safely and securely storing inventory
- Receiving and stowing inventory until it is sold
- Warehouse and inventory audits
- Organizing items with SKU, as well as shelves, bins, and pallets
- Monitoring inventory turnover and stock numbers
- Running inventory reports
- Preventing stock-outs with automated reordering
Because of that, the operational expenses of an eCommerce store can be rather high. If you are looking to generate a substantial profit, you are going to need to cut down operational costs, enhance productivity, and also eliminate human errors. The best way to do that is by implementing a warehouse management system (WMS), such as Agility from Wisys.
How to Use a WMS to Maximize eCommerce ROI
Wondering how the functions of a WMS assist with your return of investment (ROI)? Here’s how:
Enhanced Inventory Management
At its core, a WMS is designed to improve inventory management practices. Even if your eCommerce store has limited physical stock, knowing the levels of your inventory and receiving accurate data on what is coming, going, and in the process of being fulfilled is important. Not only do you reduce the chance of out-of-stock situations and backorders, but you also improve the satisfaction of your customers.
Better inventory management also reduces operating costs. For example, since you can form strategies for moving items, you decrease the risk of certain products expiring.
Better Item Validation Saves Time and Frustration
As per the Wisys motto: Validation, Visibility, and Velocity. With better item validation, you gain more visibility. Since you can track your stock from the point of origin all the way to the end-user or distributor, your business gains greater velocity. Plus, when mistakes are eliminated, such as picking the wrong item, you can move ahead without any need for concern.
By using a WMS like Agility from WiSys, you get real-time data tracking and automatic reports. If you integrate Agility and an ERP like SAP Business One, the data recorded through a scanner or input into the system is synchronized throughout the entire business, including accounting and sales.
Accelerated Picking Practices
An eCommerce business runs much differently than a traditional one. Often, your employees will need to select a single item from the warehouse instead of multiple ones. Obviously, this is far less efficient than having a team member plot a course around the warehouse to pick up a large order. It gets even more complicated when you have a variety of products in the store that vary in weight, size, and shape.
A warehouse management system can accelerate your picking practices by helping you assign tasks to employees who are close to the desired item, as well as chart courses for more productivity. You can send alerts and notifications to your team so everyone remains on the same page. Furthermore, you can eliminate redundant tasks, like manual data entry, giving your employees time to focus on more important objectives.
Connect to Different Sales Channels
If you have a WMS connected to your eCommerce store and a variety of sales channels, you can use it to stop overselling. Your WMS will automatically sync real-time data, so the inventory information is available on every single marketplace or customer’s shopping cart. As mentioned earlier, this information also enables better forecasting of supply levels.
Additionally, connecting to a variety of sales channels through the WMS ensures that every client receives the same information on their confirmation or invoice.
Improved Cybersecurity
Here is another way a warehouse management system increases eCommerce ROI: security. You can use a WMS to assign various credentials to team members in the warehouse, for example, so they can only access specific transactions. You can also assign certain duties to individuals to improve accountability. This also reduces the number of security issues within the warehouse or storefront (both digital and physical), as users can only see the information permitted for viewing.
Get a Flexible, Scalable WMS From WiSys
Now that you know how to maximize eCommerce ROI with a WMS, it’s time to receive those benefits, too. Agility WMS from WiSys is an excellent option for eCommerce businesses that are looking for a flexible, customizable, and scalable solution. Ready to learn more? Give our team a call at 770-955-3550 today.