16 Oct
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
The last few years have shown more than anyone that the retail and the ecommerce industries are not stagnant. Consumer requirements and expectations remain high as pick and pack fulfillment warehouse services remain a crucial part of the flow and supply network of many businesses. In generating high order volume rates one of the most difficult issues that they experience is being able to manage periods of time that have lots of orders.
In this blog, we’d be looking at how companies such as UK Fulfillment, and UK Fulfillment Services like Meteor Space, position and forecast operations to make sure that customers’ orders are appropriately fulfilled despite high traffic.
An Aspect on Preparing For Peak Periods!
One of the key aspects pick and pack fulfillment warehouse services focus on well in advance is workforce planning. They need to forecast order volumes accurately for the upcoming periods and staff their warehouses and customer service teams accordingly to meet demand. At Meteor Space, the operations team analyzes sales data from previous years to determine volume patterns. They also factor in anticipated changes to prepare the optimal workforce.
In addition to staffing levels, warehouse space and inventory levels also need advance planning. Meteor Space strategically uses their 250,000+ sq ft of space and fully automated storage systems to accommodate seasonal bulks. Critical products are stocked higher to avoid stockouts. They also work closely with clients and vendors to plan replenishments well in time.
Advanced technology plays a big role too. Meteor Space’s in-house developed Warehouse Management System (WMS) allows real-time tracking of inventory, orders, shipments and more across locations. This helps them be nimble and scale resources on demand.
Managing the Surge: Strategies for Success
Despite the best preparations, unexpected surges do occur. That’s where the experience and expertise of UK fulfillment services like Meteor Space in flexible, large-scale operations come into play. Here are some of the ways they ensure order fulfillment remains seamless:
- Leveraging Automation: Automated sortation systems and conveyor belts within the warehouses help sort and route picked items much faster than manual methods. Robotic arms integrated with the WMS also speed up put-away of replenishment stock. This boosts throughput.
- Dividing Workload: The workload is divided intelligently across multiple shifts and geographic locations equipped with the same processes and technology. This allows scaling to meet any volume level.
- Reallocating Resources: Resources like equipment, manpower and space are reallocated dynamically based on evolving priorities within minutes using the Warehouse Control System. Non-essential tasks are also suspended to focus only on fulfillment.
- Enhancing Support Channels: Additional customer service agents are trained and deployed to handle any spikes in queries. Communication channels are also scaled to ensure quick responses and minimize waiting times.
- Prioritizing Orders: Workflow is adjusted to focus on processing orders of critical business items or those of customers within specific delivery timeframes first to maintain high service levels. These optimized strategies and tools ensure pick and pack warehouse services can reliably fulfill even 10X volumes compared to regular times while maintaining efficiency and minimizing errors or delays. The end customers have a seamless experience throughout.
Key Performance During Peaks
While smooth operations are the goal, UK fulfillment services must also track important metrics to monitor their effectiveness. Here are some of the KPIs that companies like Meteor Space focus on during peak periods:
1. Order Accuracy
Maintaining 99.8%+ order accuracy ensures customer satisfaction. The WMS, automated sortation, quality checks, and trained workforce help achieve this target even at high speeds.
2. On-time Shipping
Despite volumes, over 95% of orders are processed and dispatched within committed timeframes through diligent planning and real-time tracking.
3. Inventory Accuracy
DCs maintain 98%+ inventory record accuracy by cycle counting and exception management despite fast-paced put-aways and picks.
4. First-time Pick Rates
Optimized warehouse zones and worker training drive 95%+ first-time pick rates for order lines, reducing fulfillment costs.
5. Productivity Per Employee
Automation, tech, and process expertise help workers maintain higher productivity levels and stay close to targets despite pressure and overtime.
By closely monitoring these and more metrics, pick and pack fulfillment companies like Meteor Space ensure their rapid scaling up maintains consistent service excellence for all customers. This builds trust for long-term partnerships.
Closing Out:
As ecommerce evolves and expands throughout the international market, the part of the fulfillment services will become even more important from a strategic point of view. However, success will depend on how it is possible to effectively and efficiently change the scale of operations up or down based on real demand signals. Meteor Space provides the outline of how UK Fulfillment can adapt in the future, addressing these challenges through a culture of constant improvement development and, primarily, addressing the Fulfillment employees and clients as its ultimate end-users.
This vision of empowering brands by emphasizing relationships, community, and sharing of knowledge is the only thing that will help sustain dependable fulfillment services even beyond unexpected peaks.
Author:
Colleen Ballantine
Colleen is a marketing specialist at Meteor Space , writing in-depth blog content on warehouse management, inventory control, and logistics. With extensive industry experience, Colleen focuses on delivering informative and insightful posts
UPDATED ON: 16th October 2024
