The main objective of ‘going green’ is that it’s good for the environment, but when it comes down to it; businesses generally have their focus on creating greater efficiencies throughout the organization.
Paperless environments are important to all facets of the business, but one area that would benefit greatly is the warehouse.
Consider the following facts about the paper and ink industry (from GoPaperless Solutions, 2010):
- Paper consumption has tripled since 1960 and Americans generate 85 million tons of paper into the waste stream
- The U.S. pulp and paper industry is the 2nd largest consumer of energy
- The average U.S. officer worker prints 10,000 pages per year
With new technologies emerging, our business culture has changed. More people are obtaining information they need online (order status, shipment tracking, chat, payment transactions, etc.) to satisfy their need for faster, accurate information in real-time. Hardware technologies such as tablet PCs and PDAs allow for the creation, manipulation and distribution of electronic documents. Email has drastically reduced the amount of paper we use. Cloud computing and ERP solutions allow us to store, manage and process data we would normally process as paper during the workflow process.
A number of benefits are achieved by going paperless through warehouse automation:
- Controlled costs (i.e., office equipment, office space, labor)
- Reduced overhead
- Increased accuracy of inventory
- Increased accuracy of order picking
- Improved customer service
- Increased customer loyalty
With the proper Warehouse Management System (WMS) in place, along with bar code scanning solutions and quality bar code printing technology, the ability to increase productivity in the warehouse means reduction (and even elimination) of most manual, paper-driven processes.
A WMS is an easy to use and highly configurable solution providing end-to-end inventory and tracking control. It provides total warehouse functionality in one package, including receiving, inventory control, order fulfillment and shipping. An effective solution will increase employee productivity by automating processes that historically were handled through a manual, paper process. Increased productivity means higher volume capabilities – which results in higher sales revenue and margin profitability.
With the challenges we face today (higher employee turnover, increased on-boarding training costs, and an increase in smaller order quantities to name a few), a solution that will help you decrease warehouse costs and increase margins is key. With the right automated solution, and the use of bar coding systems in place, companies may achieve a 15% – 25% increase in productivity, with a decrease in total labor costs, as well as an increase in task accuracy to as much as 99.99%.
Greater efficiencies on the floor result in processing more orders in less time, allowing for increased customer satisfaction due to improved order picking accuracy, improved shipping accuracy, and on time deliveries.
From software solutions to handheld and mobile bar code data collection devices, L-Tron can guide you through your transition from a manual, paper-based operation to a cost-effective, automated solution that will increase productivity, profitability and overall customer satisfaction. Contact us today for a free consultation!