Shopify 2023 E-Commerce Report: What It Means for Your Warehouse

The present economic situation around the world has caused many businesses to review their operations and identify areas where inefficiencies and expenses might be reduced. Warehouse operations is one area where organizations can save significantly. 

According to Shopify’s 2023 report, McKinsey highlights that the competition for warehouse and fulfillment labor has made automation in warehousing a necessity for sustainable growth. The global workflow automation market will have an estimated compound annual growth rate of 23.4% from 2022 to 2030. Set-it-and-forget-it workflows based on relevant triggers, conditions, and actions simplify processes, reduce the risk of human error, and free up resources.

One of the key ways that companies can take advantage of this trend is by implementing a warehouse management system. Businesses can use this system to create "set-it-and-forget-it" processes based on relevant triggers, conditions, and actions. This streamlines operations, lowers the risk of human mistake, and frees up resources that can be used elsewhere in the company. 

Implementing a WMS can be a strategic move to survive the economic downturn and emerge stronger after it, as more brands aim to cut inefficiencies and processes that don't serve their objective. With the global workflow automation industry expected to develop significantly in the next years, e-commerce companies should consider investing in a warehouse management system. 

Why You Need a Warehouse Management System for Your Business in 2023? 

👉🏻 To be able to pick multiple orders simultaneously: Multi-order picking is a warehouse strategy that involves picking multiple orders simultaneously, instead of one at a time, to increase productivity and reduce labor intensity. This feature can reduce the time and effort spent on traveling between picking locations, as pickers can pick multiple orders at once. This results in reducing the number of trips they need to take and time spent on moving around the warehouse. Additionally, multi-order picking can minimize idle time by allowing pickers to work on multiple orders simultaneously, rather than waiting for one order to be completed before starting the next. 

👉🏻 A warehouse management system can decrease the time that warehouse staffs spend while controlling the inventory through various features such as: 

1- Automated Inventory Counting: A WMS can automate the inventory counting process by tracking items as they are received, stored, and picked using barcode scanning technology. By doing away with manual counting, time can be saved and the possibility of mistakes decreased

2- Real-time Inventory Tracking: A WMS can offer real-time inventory tracking, making it simple and quick for warehouse workers to locate and count the number of items in the warehouse. This gets rid of the need for manual searching, which can speed up warehouse operations and save time.

3- Inventory Optimization: By evaluating sales data and determining which products are in high demand, a WMS may aid in the optimization of inventory levels. This enables the warehouse employees to move and store those products in the order that is most important, which can enhance the warehouse's general flow and cut down on the time needed for inventory management.

👉🏻 A WMS can help to reduce the training needs of warehouse staff by providing an easy-to-use interface, automating repetitive tasks, providing real-time inventory tracking, guided workflows, detailed reporting and analytics, and accessible from multiple devices, which can help to streamline operations in the warehouse.

👉🏻 It also decreases the manual input needs in the warehouse by automating many of the time-consuming tasks as it integrates with other systems and automatically transfers data and eliminates the need for manual data entry and increasing productivity.

What to Consider while Choosing a Warehouse Management System for your Business? 

A warehouse management system is the digital heart and brain of a warehouse. Due to increasing complexity of logistic processes, a powerful WMS with integrated optimization strategies are indispensable. Therefore the decision for the new "heart and brain of logistics" should be made carefully. 

The main goals and arguments for a WMS should be: 

✅ Transparency of inventories and processes 

✅ Error minimization, e.g. picking errors, shipping errors

✅ Increased efficiency, e.g. in terms of delivery quality and utilization of resources (storage locations and technology) as well as the efficient deployment of warehouse staff in the face of increasing shortage of skilled workers. 

✅ Flexibility to adapt to changing customer requirements and and to be able to adapt processes as quickly as possible 

Stay ahead of the competition and achieve sustainable growth in 2023 and beyond by taking advantage of the benefits that a WMS can provide.