Ecommerce is growing at an unprecedented rate in the world. Having said that the need for warehousing is emerging more than ever before. For all those selling physical products, warehousing is one of the most fundamental aspects of the business. You java to store your physical products in a warehouse if you want to continue doing business. Obviously, it’s different when you’re dropshipping. But, for all other cases the role of warehousing in supply chain management is very crucial.
Growing Warehousing Needs
While warehousing is not just limited to ecommerce, it is a substantial part of ecommerce. A large number of ecommerce businesses need warehouses, due to which the warehousing space is also growing more than ever before. As a result, the value of warehousing in supply chain management is increasing day by day. Moreover, in the coming years, its importance is only expected to increase.
One of the main reasons behind is the increase in ecommerce interest of the people. More and more customers today prefer shopping online than going to the retail store. This behaviour was already increasing around the world. However, the advent of the pandemic has accelerated it even more. Since customers are avoiding all sorts of rush, they are shopping online. As a result of this, the e-commerce opportunities for sellers are expanding. When they have to cater to the need of more customers, it is only natural the storage space will only increase.
However, if you are one of the sellers who is just starting out in the market, warehousing might seem like a new term to you. You might not feel the need for investment for warehousing in supply chain management. But, remember that when you’re selling to the customer, your ultimate goal is to grow your business. Spooner or later you will have to find a way to store your inventory effectively and manage it. This is where you’ll need warehousing in supply chain management.
It is natural to have a lot of questions at this point of time. You might be wondering if warehousing is something you really need. Or whether your existing warehousing practices are sufficient? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Read on to find out everything you need to know about warehousing in supply chain management.
What is the Concept of Warehousing?
You’re an ordinary online seller who is making good enough money. You might sell on a few channels including your website, some marketplaces like Amazon and even social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. So, when everything is going right, why do you need warehousing in supply chain management.
When you’re selling online, supply chain management becomes a crucial aspect of your business. It begins before the time you start receiving the supplies from the customers. And then it goes until you deliver the product to the customer’s doorstep.
The idea is that warehousing can mean different things to different people. If you are a small seller who is just starting out with a few products, your spare room can be your warehouse. On the other hand, if you are a large enterprise, a large facility with several square feet of space can fulfill your needs of warehousing in supply chain management.
The next part comes in understanding what constitutes a warehouse. A warehouse can be an enclosed area which has shelves and racks. These are primarily used for storing products. Additionally several other elements of a warehouse can be-
Weather Control System
A weather control system in the warehouse ensures that your products are kept at adequate temperatures. When you are storing inventory, this can be one of the most important factors. Some of your products might be sensitive to light, temperate, humidity and other climatic factors.
If you don’t maintain a suitable environment in the warehouse, chances are that the quality of these products will get impacted. For example, if you are storing perishable items, they might be split if the proper environment is not maintained in your warehouse. Thus the importance of warehousing in supply chain management is diverse.
Warehouse Management Software
Another important component of the warehouse is a warehouse management software. A warehouse management software is a complicated tool that helps you manage your warehouse. It is important to realize that the inventory is only one component of your warehouse. Other parts of the management include space optimization, warehouse slotting among others. Moreover, in case you have multiple warehouses, a warehouse management system ensures that you are able to manage your warehousing in supply chain management easily.
Inventory Control System
A part of the warehousing in supply chain management is inventory. If you’re selling physical products, inventory management becomes inevitable in your business. Therefore, it becomes necessary to manage it effectively. Therefore, a component of warehousing in supply chain management is inventory control system. It helps you monitor the inventory of a particular warehouse more closely.
Transportation Facilities
Many warehouses also provide sellers with transportation facilities. Usually, distribution centres do this job. But, warehousing also encompasses a distribution centre. Therefore, transportation facilities ease the task. Warehousing in supply chain management when combined with the lament of transportation helps the sellers in many ways. It will help you deliver the goods to the customers. Moreover, it will also help you bring any return orders back to your warehouse.
Packaging Facilities
Packaging facilities also constitute another aspect of warehousing in supply chain management. When you have products stored in your warehouse, you pick, pack and dispatch them from there. Therefore, warehousing must have packaging materials and the required support.
Why Do You Need Warehousing in Supply Chain Management for Your Business?
Streamlined Fulfillment
When you are leveraging warehousing in supply chain management, you are streamlining your order fulfillment. All your products will be at one place of your business so, when you receive an order, you just pick the inventory, pack it in the warehouse and ship it straightaway to the customer. The warehouse becomes your pick up point for the courier company.
Better Management of Inventory
Another importance of warehouses comes in managing your inventory more effectively. With inventory in your warehouse, you need to take measures so that it is properly taken care of. In other words, you want to effectively manage your inventory so that you are able to deliver the best products. Remember that when the customer sees your products online, they want the exact same experience when the product is delivered at their doorstep. For this you need to have your inventory of high quality.
Leveling of Price
If you have a warehouse, this means you are storing some stock in it. In turn, it implies that you have some inventory to look forward to. Maintaining stocks on your warehouse can be an added advantage, it safeguards you from the price changes going on in the market. So, let’s say that if due to some reason the price changes. This means that a good becomes costly, but since you already have the inventory in your warehouse, you can stay afloat. Price chances can have the least effect with warehousing ins supply chain management.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Customer experience gets enhanced to several degrees when you’re selling the best products. But, for that you need to be competitive in all areas of ecommerce right from storing inventory to shipping and processing orders quickly. With warehousing in inventory management, you can do all of it, with ease.
Superior Market Reputation
With warehousing your business becomes efficient. You deliver products on time as well as ensure that customers get exactly what they had hoped for. Therefore, the superior market reputation comes into the picture with warehousing in supply chain management.
Effective Packaging
Effective packaging is yet another crucial component of warehousing. It involves several details. For example, you need to take care of dunnage and where to add it in your products moreover if you are shipping fragile items they have special needs. When your warehousing in supply chain management is sorted, effective packaging happens for your products.
Timely Deliveries
One of the most crucial benefits of warehousing in supply chain management is effective logistics. A warehouse helps you ship effectively from one location to another. Moreover, it streamlines your shipping. You can ship anything from your inventory from one place to your customer’s delivery location. This essentially eliminates any confusion in the business process.
Conclusion
If you want to get started with warehousing in supply chain management, it is not necessary that you hire one. As a small business, you might have several constraints in your business. Therefore, investing in a warehouse might seem like a tedious option. But, you don’t need to worry. Today, there are several options in the market that provide you a warehousing space depending on the quantity of your products. So, you only have to pay for what you use. Moreover, with this scalable option you can grow your business effectively. Remember to partner with an effective logistics provider like Dash101, that helps you ship to 26000+ pin codes at the most comfortable rates.
