Maintaining scalability and efficiency in an omnichannel-driven world is difficult at best. Warehouse managers face constant pressure to move more products, reduce damage, improve order cycle times, boost employee morale, and more. Legacy systems traditionally used for warehouse management are inefficient in the modern era; even systems in the 5- to 10-year age range. Warehouse managers can work to gain executive-level support by making the right business case for a modern warehouse management system.

The Problem: Warehouse Managers Are Stuck in an Age of Antiquated Systems With Mountains of Data That Could Be Lost

Warehouse managers have grown accustomed to older systems containing enormous stores of consumer, supplier, and supply chain partner information. Migrating data to new systems without researching prospective systems or taking care in planning could result in catastrophic loss and damage to a company’s database. Such losses may act as a reset to marketing, supply chain management, and demand forecasting, forcing the company to configure new systems and enter data from the ground up. However, today’s systems have greater capability and compatibility with newer systems through cloud-computing technology.

The Solution: Today’s Level of Technology Eases Concerns Over Downtime, Loss of Data, and More

Modern warehouse management systems are built on the principles of flexibility, scalability, and automation. Since they’re designed to allow for rapid expansion and changes, warehouse managers can focus on the here and now, rather than on the what if scenarios. Furthermore, today’s warehouse management technologies have a significantly shorter implementation timeline. As a result, a full-scale migration can take place in the background, and automated testing ensures a smooth data migration. Simultaneously, an optimized system configuration can be used as a template for moving massive amounts of data to the new system. Instead of risking the loss of data, warehouse managers can put stakeholders’ worries to bed, while boosting productivity, says Eric Allais of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

The Reward: Top Benefits of Modern Systems Are Key to Business Survival

When it comes time to garnering support to investing in a modern warehouse management system, supply chain executives should focus on the key benefits that will be provided by the system. Benefits must focus on effects on warehouse operations and product cycles, as well as the following:

• Decreased staff turnover. Performance metrics can be used to provide real-time feedback, which helps keep employees motived and focused on continuous improvement.
• Fewer instances of employee theft. Greater accountability into inventory reduces the risk of theft, which is estimated to cost the industry up to $80 billion each year.
• Improving network-wide inventory visibility. Companies that have an accurate, real-time picture of their inventory have an increased opportunity to sell products at the highest possible price and distribute products from the optimal facility.
• Bolstering competitive advantage. Optimizing fulfillment systems can enable a company to meet the constantly increasing expectations of today’s consumers in terms of price, quality, and timeliness.

Return to Profitability With a Modern Warehouse Management System Today

By creating a logical, well-thought-out business case for implementing a modern warehouse management system, you can garner stakeholder support, streamline operability, and take advantage of the benefits a modern system will provide. Since everything depends on your ability to present a business case with a high return on investment, fill out the form below so that you may get started with your new system selection and implementation today.

Veridian can help you realize your supply chain success. Fill out the contact information below in order to schedule a consultation call with one of our supply chain professionals.