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The dynamics of warehouse management have certainly changed in the last couple of years . A recent study , conducted by VDC Research on behalf of StayLinked Corporation , titled ‘ Making Supply Chain Resilience Work : Keeping Up with Ever-Demanding Warehouse Operations ,’ indicates that Covid forced renewed investment in modernizing warehouse operations and technologies , but maybe not in the way you might expect .
Published in March 2024 , the report builds on the previous 2021-2022 research study , which began by asking businesses what their top warehouse improvement initiatives were . The 2021-2022 study , titled ‘ Warehouse
Operations 2022 : Streamlining Technology Investment Time to Value and Overcoming New Technology Investment Challenges ’ found that respondents ’ number-one priority was on-time shipments and getting shipments out faster – a goal that surpassed other initiatives by almost 50 percent .
The 2021-2022 research also showed that only 30 percent of companies were running the latest version of Warehouse Management System ( WMS ) software available . The remaining 70 percent were either running older versions or had custom software .
Quality versus quantity
In comparison , the March 2024 report shows that while on-time shipments and getting shipments out faster remains the top focus for warehouse improvements , there has been a big increase towards achieving the ‘ perfect order rate ’. This suggests that whilst Covid forced businesses to focus heavily on getting more boxes out of the door , the emphasis has now shifted to getting the right boxes out of the door .
The latest report also sheds light on the evolving strategies that are centered around improving warehouse management . While the focus on timely shipments has persisted , companies have increasingly embraced a balanced approach that also emphasizes achieving the perfect order rate . This signals a shift from merely speeding up deliveries to ensuring accuracy and precision in every shipment .
The impact of technology
Another interesting trend uncovered by the March 2024 report is that a WMS has an outsized impact on an operation ’ s ability to adopt new technology .
Pre-Covid , supply chain organizations faced challenges associated with the availability of labor . During the pandemic , companies grappled with the risk and liability of having too many workers in close proximity within a warehouse . The efforts to address this issue
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