With internet retailing rapidly expanding and placing increasing pressure on retailers, warehousing and distribution centres need to optimise the efficiency of their processes to respond quickly and flexibly to peaks and troughs in demand.

Omni channel retail is now a reality for consumers, who make purchases online, in-store and via their mobile devices. This increased number of orders means retailers need more staff and more devices to cope with demand. Typical devices used in a warehouse have included scanners, walkie-talkies and tablets.

However, an increasing number of new mobile devices are now used for picking and packing such as voice headsets and Google glasses – the cost of which can quickly add up!

These critical devices must be managed correctly to protect retailers’ investments and to ensure staff are operating most effectively by always having the equipment they need to do their job, available and charged.

Ineffective management of these kinds of devices can cost businesses a significant amount in terms of asset repair and replacement as well as lost productivity, not to mention the issues created by these delays.

Furthermore, many companies keep extra devised in reserve in case of damage or loss and employ people specifically to manage devices, adding to operational costs when these employees can often be better deployed elsewhere.

That’s not all. Although most companies own their critical devices many can find themselves in a position where they need to rent extra devised to cope with increased demand, or even bring in additional agency workers. This can have a knock on effect on efficiency and finances with the cost of renting devised adding up and significant penalties being incurred if these items are lost or damaged.

This can be further exacerbated by the fact that these agency workers may not be fully trained on the processes in place to manage these devices and need time to be brought up to speed.

As the modern consumers shopping habits change, so should the processes used by warehousing and distribution centres to meet demand. The logistics sector is moving more towards an automated approach and a key element of this is the asset management.

By implementing automated lockers to manage critical assets, businesses can expect to see a noticeable changes in employee behaviour, once they realise their actions are being monitored. The lockers track when assets are checked out and back in, as well as who is using them via a cloud-based platform. This results in reduced asset downtime as well as asset repairs and replacement. In addition, the incidence of lost and misplaced assets is reduced which minimises the ‘walk and wait’ time of employees searching for these assets, boasting the efficiency of operations and employee morale.

Charging and calibration can also be integrated in to the lockers to enquire the assets are always ready to use when needed, significantly increasing productivity and in turn helping to deliver on Omni channel retailers’’ promise of a seamless and consistent shopping experience.

Automated lockers are easily redeployed and can be relocated as needed, particularly to cater for peaks and troughs in demand due to seasonality.

Get in Touch with Advanced Handling & Storage Ltd

If you want to maximise your warehouse space through the use of second hand or new pallet racking, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 0800 345 7088 or send an email to [email protected]

Make sure you follow #TeamAdvanced on Social media for all our latest news and offers.

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Our YouTube channel

Follow us on GooglePlus

Read our other blogs on Medium

Follow us on Instagram