It’s hard to believe that a few weeks ago none of us had heard of Coronavirus. Fast forward and its global impact is unprecedented in modern history.
It’s a curveball many businesses could do without, but for those with a nimble, dynamic approach and in particular an online sales offer, such as direct to consumer (D2C), are likely to survive or even come out stronger as a result.
Recent data from the US and UK shows there has been a surge in online shopping with supermarket delivery slots reaching capacity. This, coupled with panic buying and supply chain issues due to so many goods coming from China, means careful warehouse management is core to survival.
As China recovers its productivity, due to peak demand for some goods out of fear, there is a backlog of orders that could not be serviced as they were out of stock, which now must be fulfilled. Plus, there’s the challenge of handling sick labor resources: It could be very complicated!
For businesses, the key is to not be thrown into panic by this unexpected disruptive force but to keep calm, plan and adapt accordingly.
At SnapFulfil we are working with customers to help them meet this crisis head on in terms of data and warehouse planning, to optimize both space and resource, in order that business as usual can be maintained in these exceptional circumstances.
In fact, it’s at times like this where cloud-based WMS, such as SnapFulfil, comes into its own.
We are finding that our rich functionality and management software is proving invaluable when it comes to our customers accessing the necessary real-time data from their WMS so they can optimize inventory, space and labor. When warehouse staff are at a premium and self-isolation is a reality, coupled with a sharp rise in orders, then having the data at your fingertips to optimize the efficiency of your available workforce is critical.
We’ve badged it SnapData, and it gives customers a single view of the warehouse by amalgamating data from various sources and locations into a single RAG-based central dashboard. The data can be drilled down to produce granular reports such as shipping reports, warehouse heat maps, as well as order, delivery and location maps, operator tracking and picking performance – useful at the best of times and critical during a crisis.
Through data, managers can plan and operate an ultra-efficient warehouse and fulfillment operation. Hosted on a replica database, it means reporting can be achieved any day at any time without running the risk of impacting the WMS operation.
And if you haven’t invested in a cloud-based WMS such as SnapFulfil – don’t panic. It’s possible to have it up and running in just 45 days and it’s not expensive to set in motion, or difficult to reconfigure.
So, while Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc, our advice is stay calm and measured, because you can carry on with a cloud-based WMS.
