Your warehouse management system (WMS) is instrumental in managing everything from order fulfillment to keeping on top of your inventory. That means your WMS has an impact on many aspects of your business, including efficiency and cost-effectiveness, accuracy of order fulfillment, customer satisfaction and how much profit you make!

If your warehouse management system is lacking, your business will suffer. Is it time you looked for a new warehouse management solution? Here are 7 signs to watch out for:

You’re In Paperwork Hell

A WMS should reduce the need for paperwork and make managing your warehouse much easier. Drowning in paperwork slows down your operations in several ways. Do any of these sound familiar?

• Order confirmations are delayed while you wait for the right paperwork.
• You have to deal with filing and storing all those pieces of paper.
• Things get misplaced or end up with the wrong person.
• Your staff has to waste time hunting down the right piece of paperwork.
• Doing accounts takes a long time because you have to gather all the right paperwork first.
• Inaccurate or incomplete records because no one could find the right paperwork.
• Lost or delayed orders.
• Incorrectly filled paperwork leading to a chain of frustrating events.

If paperwork is taking up your time and energy, then your WMS isn’t doing its job. Investing in a WMS that eliminates all but the most necessary paperwork is a solid investment in the efficiency and productivity of your business.

2. Your Workers Aren’t Time Efficient

The picking, packing and receiving processes are prime spots for time wasting and inefficiencies. It’s so easy to keep doing things the way you’ve always done them, without realizing how much that’s costing your business. Your workers should be able to pick, pack, receive or shelve items swiftly and efficiently without wasting time or effort. If they’re making redundant trips, wasting time going back and forth, or doubling back on their route, then they’re not time efficient. A new WMS will make managing your worker’s routes so much easier. The right WMS makes it easy to streamline systems and routes for the best possible use of your workers’ time.

3. You’re Seeing Far Too Many Lost Packages Or Customer Complaints

If you want your business to thrive, you’ll want to avoid these problems:

• Orders going missing.
• Orders getting delayed and going out late.
• Incorrect orders getting shipped out

Wrong, late or lost orders reflect poorly on your business and will make your customers frustrated and unhappy with you. They won’t be so likely to do business with you in the future – and if they start talking about their experiences on forums or social media, your reputation could suffer. Happy customers who are delighted with the speed and efficiency of your service are the kind of customers who will order again. They’re the ones who will leave you five-star reviews and recommend you to their friends and colleagues.

4. Your Business Is Expanding

Expanding your business is an exciting time It’s also the best time to take a look at your current WMS and make sure it’s up to the challenge of serving your expanding business. Perhaps you’ve recently added online ordering. Maybe you’ve increased your inventory or added a whole new product line. Or perhaps you’ve started finding and taking advantage of lots of new opportunities for your business. All of these are exciting developments – and all of them need a WMS that’s up to the task.

5. You Need To Simplify Your IT

IT is there to serve your business and help everything run seamlessly. If your current IT is giving you a headache, it’s time for a change. Here are some common indications that it’s time to simplify your IT:

• You’re opening a new location and your current IT doesn’t have the capacity to expand to include it.
• Your current system is old and inefficient and leaves you standing around while you wait for it to do what you want it to do.
• Carrying out IT tasks is time-consuming and counter-intuitive.
• You’re current IT doesn’t play well with other IT systems in your business.

The right IT solution supports your business and makes it easy to streamline your warehouse processes. If your current WMS isn’t doing that, your business will benefit from upgrading to a system that does.

6. You’re Working With New Technology

As your business grows and new technology becomes available, you might find your current WMS struggling to keep up. Whether you’ve changed the way your staff clocks in and out or upgraded your ordering system, if your WMS isn’t equipped to handle it you could run into problems and frustrations in the future.
Whenever you implement new technology, ask yourself if your WMS can handle it. Check thoroughly to see if your current WMS jives well with the new technology you’re using, and whether or not your current set up is ready to handle it.

7. It’s Just Not Efficient

This one is straightforward. The role of your WMS is to save you money, save you time, make your warehouse processes the most efficient they can be, make picking, packing, inventory management and all the other day to day tasks as effortless as possible, and cut down on human error.

Ask yourself if your WMS is doing all of those things. If it’s not, it’s time to find a WMS that can do all those things for your business.

Your warehouse management solution is the glue that holds your warehouse together and keeps everything where it’s supposed to be. If things are looking a bit ragged around the seams, an upgrade will give your warehouse a much-needed boost of productivity and efficiency; something like a pallet racking solution like those found at prq.com.au.

Do some of these 7 signs fit your current situation? Let’s discuss how ilinkONEpro could be the rit fit as your warehouse and order management solution. Contact us Today!