First, let’s discuss the meaning of warehousing. To put it simply, warehousing is the process of storing goods.
This means having a space where you can keep your products until you need to distribute them to customers. Your warehouse can be a dedicated section of your existing premises. Or you can engage a warehousing business that provides an external storage facility. This can depend on the size and nature of your business. This form of business operations is very different to dropshipping.
Dropshipping is a retail fulfilment method where the business doesn't warehouse the products it sells. Instead, when a business sells a product, it purchases the item from a third-party and has it shipped directly to the customer. In other words, the business acts as the middleman.
Generally speaking, when dropshipping, business don’t physically handle or stock the products they sell.
Warehousing management goes beyond storing goods. It encompasses the systems and processes you put in place to help oversee your warehouse.
Warehouse management can empower you to achieve desired business outcomes. It can include taking action to help you:
Warehouse management can be a valuable aspect of business operations. We explore this in more detail below.
To put it simply, inventory management refers to the process of storing, ordering, and selling inventory.
Effective inventory management is an important aspect of warehouse management. It can better position you to keep track of your stock. Being out of stock or overstocked can create issues for small businesses. This could potentially lead to reduced sales, customer dissatisfaction and increased costs.
Inventory management can:
Successful warehouse management can also help enhance customer experience. When products are readily available, it’s easier to fulfill orders quickly. And improve delivery timeframes.
This can lead to happy customers and help encourage repeat business. Learn more about how to improve customer experience and boost customer loyalty.
Warehousing can support you as your business changes to meet customer demand. By being strategic about your warehouse management it can help make it easier for you to scale your business.
You can also leverage economies of scale. This is the situation where, as the quantity you buy goes up, the cost per unit goes down. Warehousing can help enable you to make bulk purchases at better prices.
There are many different elements that you’ll need to consider when it comes to warehouse management. Let’s break some of these down below.
How will you manage receiving stock to your warehouse? And how will you distribute goods to your customers? Learn more about how to choose a shipping cost method that suits your delivery process.
You’ll need to decide how you’re going to manage both inbound and outbound shipments.
Inbound handling can include things like:
Outbound handling can include things like:
It’s important to keep your warehouse organised. This can help increase efficiency and help you maximise space.
There are many different storage strategies to help keep you organised, for example:
Storage strategies can help you arrange products in a way that minimises the time and effort required to retrieve them.
Climate control is another important aspect of warehousing management. A controlled climate can help preserve the integrity and quality of your goods. Temperature, humidity, air quality and air flow are all important aspects of warehouse climate control.
It’s important to protect the safety of your products. Consider taking adequate security measures as part of your warehouse management. This can include things like security cameras, surveillance, locks and access control.
There are many different types of warehousing technology available. These tools can provide real-time insights such as the quantity and location of each item in a warehouse.
This software can help automate processes. Plus, help reduce the need to complete manual or mundane tasks. For example, counting inventory items. This can help save time and improve accuracy.
By integrating your warehouse with your eCommerce platform you can enjoy many benefits. We discuss how an eCommerce warehouse can help both you and your customers below.
With automated order processing, orders placed on your eCommerce platform are automatically sent to your warehouse. This reduces the risk of errors associated with manual order entry.
Automated order processing can be an important component of your eCommerce warehouse. It can help streamline order fulfilment, without the need for manual intervention.
Automated order processing software can also help generate shipping labels. These labels can capture the chosen shipping method, delivery address and other useful information. This can help speed up the delivery process and reduce the probability of making mistakes when shipping your products.
Consider facilitating an online returns process that integrates directly with your warehouse.
With the right setup in place, your warehouse and eCommerce platform can help you process returns and update inventory. A seamless returns process can help enhance customer satisfaction and help you recover stock.
Learn more about how to create a returns policy for your online business.
Integrating your eCommerce platform with your warehouse is a great way to help improve customer experience. And enable effective communication with your customers.
You can set up automated status updates to provide transparency and help build trust. This can include sending an email or SMS message to customers upon order confirmation, shipping, tracking and delivery.
Consider connecting your customer support system with your eCommerce platform and warehouse. This means you’ll be able to provide accurate responses to customer questions. And answer enquiries about orders, shipping and returns.
Learn more about how to manage your eCommerce supply chain as an online business.
Warehousing management can be a powerful tool for small businesses wanting to thrive. It can help optimise your supply chain while enhancing customer experience and business operations.
Originally published November 2023, updated March 2024.
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