7 Tips to Manage Your Warehouse Logistics Over the Holidays

The holiday season is a busy time for many distribution and retail companies. Instore and online shopping means shipping packages to commercial and residential places all over the globe. This is a very profitable time for companies, but it can also be a very costly season as well. Insufficient or poorly trained staff, disorganized methods, and poor record keeping can quickly drain the profits and increase the customer dissatisfaction.

Hiring a third-party logistics company can make your increased workload run more efficiently so you do not lose valuables during the hectic time. There are many benefits to hiring a professional logistics company to help with your business operations.

1. More Efficient

Professional logistic services have sophisticated computerized systems to organize and maintain your distribution data. Everything you need to know about your inventory, staffing, shipments, finances, and deliveries are kept in a computerized database.

2. Maintaining Inventories

During the busiest seasons, inventory will fly off the shelves very quickly. With traditional methods, keeping track of what is going in vs what is going out can be difficult, especially if you have a large volume of merchandise.

Computerized logistic programs can keep real time records of the inventories for every product you move. Simple scanning methods can automatically update the data, and alerts can be sent to inform you when you need to order new shipments.

3. Track Deliveries

Computerized programs can quickly track all deliveries, so you know where every package is all the time. This is especially crucial when a lot of stock is being moved to different locations everyday. By keeping clear and current records of each package, you will reduce the amount of loss that occurs during this high-volume time.

4. Costs

There are always high costs associated with distributing merchandise from your warehouse to external parties. Computerized logistics will record all expenses and provide up-to-date data on the expenses associated with moving your stuff. Through built-in graphing and analytical tools, you can quickly find any discrepancies or wasteful spending habits that are hurting your profit margin. The system will help you streamline your mailout protocols to create a more streamlined, faster, and cost-effective service.

5. Management Reports

The logistic software will provide managers with a range of reports and tools, so they are always up-to-date with all activities and services being handled in the warehouse. Management can utilize pre-drafted reporting methods, or customize the spreadsheets to access vital information.

6. Distribution Locations

Knowing where parcels go was never easy with the older methods. But today’s software has built-in programming so staff can quickly find a distribution station anywhere in the world. This is especially helpful if you are shipping to international clients in areas that you are not familiar with.

7. Order Taking and Shipping Information

The holiday time is a very busy time for order taking. Keeping track of the high volume of orders coming in and going out every day is not an easy job. With logistics programs, tracking incoming and outgoing orders, returns, deliveries, and cancelled shipments is not only easier, but more accurate than traditional ways.

The Christmas holiday season is an especially hectic time for distribution warehouses. The volume of outgoing orders and shipments can be hard to keep track of, especially if you do not have an effective record keep system in place.

Computerized logistics can provide you with all the information and data you need to operate your warehouse service efficiently. Sophisticated, easy-to-use data bases can help you track your information using real time reporting methods, so you can save time and money, while providing a more fluid and efficient service.