How long does each of your pack stations take to pack and ship orders? Cutting a mere 12 to 13 seconds off throughput time per order can save an eCommerce company significantly; a compelling competitive advantage.
Most Supply Chain Managers don’t believe it. Most believe 12 seconds is only 12 seconds, no big deal.
Let’s say your D.C. fills 20,000 orders per day. Assuming an employee’s hourly wage is $15 per hour and there are 3,600 seconds in an hour with 300 work days, saving 12 seconds per order at the end-of-the-line Pack Station can save you up to $300,000 per year, close to $1 million in three years.
Shipping orders on time has become a top priority for most eCommerce companies.
Every second counts when delivering orders to customers
There is a correlation between how long a customer waits for their order and the likelihood of being a returning customer. Usually a catalyst prompts people to purchase. If an order takes too much time to be delivered to the customer, they may lose the initial catalyst of their order. The heat and joy at time of purchase has cooled.
Manual pack stations in mid to high volume distribution centers often reach capacity during peak order fulfillment times. Throwing more people on the line can cause errors during the filling and packaging of orders which may increase order returns and negative online reviews. The more employees you have on the floor the harder it is to manage the line, labor efficiency and control productivity. Today’s customer is very social. When they encounter a negative experience with your brand they are likely to complain online. In an online study, more than three-quarters of Americans (78%) will read customer reviews before making a purchase, and nearly half (44%) submit product or service reviews online.
(Source: King, Robert Allen, Pradeep Racherla, and Victoria D. Bush. ‘What We Know And Don’t Know About Online Word-Of-Mouth: A Review And Synthesis Of The Literature’. Journal of Interactive Marketing28.3 (2014))
A practical solution to cutting time and reducing cost is automating order fulfillment lines.
Automation increases efficiency and productivity, eliminates bottlenecks and human error rates. Technology today allows multiple component warehouse order fulfillment software that fully integrates into a fulfillment operation requiring minimal IT resources. Connecting with the right automation supplier can make automation installations streamlined to allow for minimal downtown. Drop-in automation solutions that are pre-tested in live simulations offer the most seamless in-line integration.
Contact us for more information on time-saving automation solutions for your distribution centers.