The annual rush to grab a bargain is set to break all records as Black
Friday fever lets rip on 27th November.
The predictions follow a continuous upward trend for ecommerce sales
with the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce revealing
that, from July to September, consumers spent $199.44 billion online
with U.S. retailers, up 37.1% from $145.47 billion for the same quarter
the prior year. That means nearly $1 in every $5 spent came from orders
placed online during Q3.
With demand unprecedented, the spotlight is well and truly on
distribution centers to meet consumer expectations and get packages out
on time and accurately – according to SnapFulfil CEO, Don White.
And with the added pressure of social distancing within fulfillment
operations, easily accessible information data is paramount to improving
efficiencies warehouse-wide, as well as having the ability to
self-configure the software program, creating a more nimble and
cost-effective solution.
“The long Black Friday into Cyber Monday weekend, hotly followed by
Holiday Season, means fulfillment centers not only have to juggle much
higher levels of activity, but also find a way of maintaining a safe and
healthy working environment for workers,” White explained.
“It will be those forward thinking operators that have invested in
their technology infrastructure, in particular their warehouse
management system (WMS), who will thrive under the pressure and not find
themselves in a black hole come Black Friday weekend.
“This is where a best of breed cloud-based WMS comes into its own. Such
technology allows operators to modify their processes seamlessly and
quickly meet the challenges without incurring additional costs. A
technologically advanced WMS also allows operators to simply track
progress and reconfigure changes to achieve the best results and most
efficient fulfillment operations.”
“Apart from facilitating much more educated decisions, it also
eliminates onerous and time-intensive paper-based processes, giving
employees the time and flexibility to streamline procedures.”
But for every bargain to be bagged, there are also those that want to be
returned.
What is a cumbersome, manually controlled process can be both simple and
speedy using functionally rich technology. Automating the operation
with a cloud-based WMS, featuring return management functionality,
allows tracking and material flow processes, which can optimize returns
from the dock to final dispositioning. Such software can also drive the
transition from manual to digital returns tracking, enabling a more
accurate and automated way of tracing returned products.
“Capturing the maximum value from goods sold around Black Friday will be
down to those who have already implemented a cost-effective and
efficient full service WMS operation. But the appetite for ecommerce is
predicted to stay, with the pandemic changing the way we shop forever,
so it’s never too late to take action. The technology is readily
available, and the net result should be a significant increase in
customer satisfaction leading to a much healthier bottom line,” White
concluded.
