With 2024 on the horizon, distributors are recognizing that competition levels have only continued to increase. This has sparked companies to seek innovative ways to improve top and bottom-line revenue, while also differentiating themselves from competitors. What quickly becomes apparent as a barrier to these improvements is the disconnect between back-office and frontline workers. Everything from the flow of information to the actual processes in place can easily become disjointed without the right solutions supporting you.
Distributors are looking to mobility programs to bridge this gap, tightening up processes for improved efficiency and data accuracy, while also enjoying the flexibility these solutions offer for companies with unique processes in place. In this article, we will explore key scenarios where mobility programs can drive tangible results across your operations.
Mobility programs maximize your space and workers, synchronizing day-to-day activities in your warehouse through automation. Every extra trip a worker makes, unnecessary movement of inventory, or superfluous click on an app are all non-value-added steps that could make a meaningful difference in the volume of orders your team can fill in a day.
Consider a scenario where a received item is damaged. The typical process may involve storing the damaged item in a staging area and conducting a manual inspection before initiating the return process. Mobility streamlines this process by prompting documentation at the time a received order is marked as damaged. Custom workflows can automatically trigger a return order, saving time and reducing the hassle associated with quality issues.
Mobility drives increased collaboration and communication within your warehouse, and across your operations, coordinating your workforce to execute order fulfillment and receipt with precision and speed.
Imagine your warehouse team is picking inventory for multiple orders. In any given order, there are a variety of different units of measure, one of which that requires a forklift operator. Paper-based systems might encourage the forklift operator to pick an entire order – even units that don’t require a forklift. Now, this team member is being paid a specialized rate to do what your less specialized
workers could be doing. Smart mobile technology can promote a more collaborative approach that accounts for the varying skillsets of those performing the picks. The forklift operator only picks crates, while other members of the team pull the rest of the order. This mobile-enabled collaboration leads to a more effective use of resources.
While paper-based processes rely on word of mouth, mobile-enabled solutions proactively disseminate relevant information.
Stock shortages are common in warehouses, and without immediate access to real-time stock levels, personnel may be unaware of stockouts, leading to delays in order fulfillment. Mobility solutions provide real-time inventory visibility, logic to manage alternative inventory locations, the ability to reorder on the spot, and notifications to your entire team regarding stock availability.
Distributors looking to stand out in a competitive landscape often rely on value-added services. However, many enterprise systems lack out-of-the-box support for services like kitting, labeling, repacking, or even 3rd party logistics. Mobile solutions can be tailored to accommodate the unique ways in which distributors choose to differentiate themselves through value-added services.
For instance, a distributor is leveraging a 3rd-party logistics model and leasing out extra warehouse space that they manage. The customer wants to pay on a consumption basis every month as opposed to a fixed price because the amount of space they need varies month over month. Leveraging configurable mobile technology to track events at the point of activity, the distributor could track square footage consumed based on the size of the customer units and volume of inbound and outbound activity each month. Mobile programs make unique customer requests simple and easy to manage.
Fulfilling orders for big box customers can be both a significant opportunity and a challenge. They often have distinct requirements regarding order prioritization. Mobile technology, coupled with an intelligent inventory system, can be configured to give priority to big box customers, streamlining order processing.
For a distributor seeking to prioritize big box orders, advanced mobile technology, with the support of intelligent inventory management, ensures these orders take precedence in the processing queue and that big box customer orders are always filled first.
In scenarios where reliable Wi-Fi is scarce or operations extend to areas with limited cellular coverage, advanced mobile solutions can function offline. This means data can be captured at the point of activity and automatically synced with the system once the mobile device regains connectivity.
Consider a lumber distributor operating in a large, remote yard. Despite being equipped with mobile devices, workers may need to return to a specific spot for network coverage to complete tasks. Advanced mobile programs with offline functionality enable data capture in disconnected environments, updating the system when connectivity is restored.
There is a widely held set of expectations among professionals who are new or just entering the talent pool about the technologies a company leverages. Millennials, who will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, have spent most of their lives in the presence of fast, easy internet access; smart, portable devices; and constant connectivity to each other and the world at large. It’s no wonder this population expects this same level of access and connectivity in the workplace.
Workforce expectations for technologies are quickly outpacing the reality of what’s available at many organizations. This imbalance creates an opportunity for the mobile technologies you choose to become a competitive asset for keeping and attracting talent.
