/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • • • • • / 0 Comments

Benefits of a Transportation Management System

Companies dependent on retail chains and ecommerce solutions usually deploy TMS or Transportation Management Systems for simplifying certain fulfillment based tasks. A functional TMS plan is highly beneficial to businesses as it allows them to transport products in a very cost-effective manner. In addition to that, Transportation Management System also involves intermodal freight movements, comprising of inbound, outbound, domestic, international and commercial shipments. The best thing about TMS is that it can seamlessly function with the concerned company or even with an outsourced fulfillment or logistics partner.

Why Companies are Emphasizing on TMS Solutions?

TMS or Transportation Management System is the only supply chain tool that reduces additional freight costs. Having this strategy on-board helps organizations immensely as they can pair up logistics with functional analytics and optimization techniques. TMS solutions work way better than some of the more conventional supply chain management techniques and in the subsequent sections, we shall enlist some benefits which set them apart from the usual ones.

Better Customer Satisfactions Levels

Improved Warehouse Efficiency

While some might argue that a transportation management system has nothing to do with warehouse management, there is a direct correlation between the two. With a functional TMS solution on-board, companies can quickly dispatch the shipments; thereby saving a lot of time for performing warehouse duties. Moreover, with the TMS module integrated alongside the ERP, data entry issues and associated errors can be readily avoided. In a nutshell, TMS and WMS work together for improving the efficiency of the concerned supply chain framework. The inadequacies are duly minimized followed by higher levels of cost savings.

 

Better Delivery Options

Transportation Management System helps optimize the shipping techniques of the companies; thereby offering a host of exciting fulfillment options to the customers. Be it the inbound shipping programs or the pool-point shipping ideas, having a robust TMS module can open a door of opportunities for the customers. In addition to that, this approach to shipping and fulfillment also covers multiple locations and serves as a precursor to the Omni-channel customer experience. Lastly, one person with remote access can easily manage the entire delivery schema for multiple networks.

Reduction in Inventory

Organizations dealing with surplus inventory issues are best served by a TMS module on-board.  As companies can now ship products at a faster rate, it becomes easier for them to plan out the stocks in a better manner. This eventually minimizes the issues related to surplus stocks and can help businesses improve productivity.

Improved Cash Flow

Needless to say, a functional transport management system can also help an organization improve the overall cash flow. With freight accounting made easy, improved cash flow is something businesses can expect going into the future. Moreover, a TMS module offers a leeway to the shippers as they can now save a lot of money by tweaking the structure of inbound logistics. For those who are interested in facts and figures, companies can easily save something in the ballpark of 2 to 5 percent by cutting out duplicate payments, inaccurate charges and other logistical pitfalls.

Advanced Analytics

While we have addressed this aspect in some of the previous sections, it’s only appropriate to discuss more about the analytical side of transport management system. The associated analytics identify low-cost shipping options for businesses; thereby helping companies save a lot of money. Moreover, with shippers having fewer issues to worry about, the entire management team can concentrate more on warehouse and inventory control.

Inference

Over the past few years, it has become easier to implementing TMS solutions to the entire process of warehousing, fulfillment and inventory control. The best part about using this business strategy is the backhaul support and consolidation opportunities where companies can save a lot of additional costs without having to compromise on customer satisfaction levels. What makes most sense is to link a robust TMS module with a highly efficient warehouse management system. While this promotes better visibility of the entire supply chain, it can actually improve the process of inventory forecasting and minimize the data-specific errors.

/ By Karan Mudliar / Blog • Uncategorized/ • • • • • / 0 Comments

Decoding the Basics of Retail Warehousing and Fulfillment

The retail industry is getting hugely benefited by ecommerce and major ripples are being felt by the concerned supply chain management systems. With the entire retail ecosystem getting updated, it’s only fitting that businesses start focusing more on warehousing and fulfillment solutions for skyrocketing productivity. Moreover, the retail ecosystem is also witnessing a paradigm shift with companies increasingly focusing on an Omni-Channel customer experience. In addition to that, increased focus on decentralized fulfillment and distributed warehousing solutions are some of the potent strategies which the retail industry is integrating within its framework.

Addressing the Concept of Retail Warehousing

Customers within the retail industry prefer availing their products from random channels without having to wait for the stock to arrive at specific locations. If the logistical aspect is concerned, the retail industry primarily requires an agile and dynamic warehousing plan to thrive. Inefficient logistics can cause some serious damage to productivity and reputation of a retail chain and it’s important that distributed warehousing becomes a norm in this sector.

However, it is important to get well versed with this concept before looking in to the technical details. Distributed warehousing solutions help customers by fulfilling their requirements without making them dependent on the store inventory. Unlike the traditional warehousing techniques where the stock needs to be picked up from the warehouses in case there is a demand at the stores, distributed warehousing allows fulfillment from almost anywhere.

While distributed warehousing is a highly innovative concept, its implementation within the retail sector requires higher levels of expertise. Majority of retail stores aren’t capable of handling critical ecommerce orders and therefore using them as portable warehouses, isn’t the best possible solution. In addition to that, stores managing fulfillment via distributed warehousing must also have the technological expertise to make things happen. Deploying a fully functional distributed warehousing module takes time and requires the concerned retailer to opt for BOT solutions.

Advantages of Distributed Warehousing in Retail

Now when we have addressed the premise and underlining issues related to Distributed Warehousing, it’s important to enlist the benefits of the same, especially for the retail sector. An efficient strategy minimizes the overall freight costs and renders higher levels of controllability to the shipments. The ecommerce landscape associated with retail can be improved with functional warehousing strategies on-board. Moreover, majority of sales occur online and Distributed Warehousing takes performance and productivity to a whole new level. One such example would be the aspect of same day shipping, adopted by some leading online retail chains. This innovation is possible only with functional warehousing techniques added into the scheme of things.

Fulfillment Solutions for the Retail Industry

While retail stores with sufficient levels of technological expertise can be used for addressing the warehousing requirements, the retail industry needs to be way more selective regarding the fulfillment solutions. Having a multi-channel partner for handling the fulfillment requirements is important, especially for the retail sector. Some of the important aspects which need to be taken care of include:

1.       Excellent Inventory Management

The fulfillment partners must be proactive and look to address the aspects of inventory management. While warehousing is a completely separate section, modern day fulfillment service providers are trained to handle certain aspects of the same. Inventory management, however, looks to maintain order accuracy by offering real-time stock monitoring.

2.       Seasonal Demands Covered

An exceptional fulfillment partner stays on top of the demands and helps improve the overall structure of a retail management plan. This includes accommodating periods of massive order volumes.

3.       Reporting Capabilities

An efficient fulfillment strategy is also capable of sending out real-time reports regarding the granular, retail-specific insights. This aspect is highly resourceful when it comes to adapting and even improving the varied warehouse processes.

Benefits of Omni-Channel Fulfillment Strategies

Fulfillment strategies pertaining to retail can improve the revenue model of an organization. In addition to that, warehouse productivity also gets a boost as the shipped inventory reaches the concerned customer base, without fail. Customer satisfaction levels increase and the brand perception also gets a much required boost.

Inference

The retail industry is evolving constantly and businesses can be seen emphasizing on the aspects of warehousing and fulfillment for improving their chance of growth, better sales and improved productivity.