2023 Gartner® Market Guide for Retail Store Inventory Management Applications
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The holidays might seem like a distant glimmer on the horizon, but for savvy retailers, preparations for peak season are already well underway. While visions of sugarplums may dance in your customers’ heads, behind the scenes of your warehouse, a logistical nightmare can unfold if you’re unprepared.
During the 2023 peak season, online consumers set a new record, spending $222.1 billion, a 4.9% jump over 2022. If the rising trend continues, and your fulfillment center isn’t optimized for efficiency and speed, you could face many holiday meltdowns – from customers and employees.
This blog will delve into the hidden costs of peak season and how multiagent orchestration can transform your peak operations from a stressed-out mess to a competitive advantage.
A surge in orders during peak season is a double-edged sword. While it translates to increased revenue, it also exposes the cracks in your warehouse systems. Here’s what you might be facing:
Slower, less accurate fulfillment: Delayed or inaccurate orders lead to unhappy customers who take their business elsewhere. According to industry research, a disappointed customer is likely to tell 12-15 people about their negative experience.
Increased costs: Overtime pay, temporary staffing and inefficient processes can significantly inflate operational expenses during peak season.
Employee burnout: The pressure to fulfill a surge in orders with limited resources leads to exhausted and stressed employees, impacting morale and retention.
Space squeeze: Warehouses face a double whammy – a surge in orders and limited storage space. This can lead to disorganization, picking inefficiencies, stock damage and even safety concerns.
RELATED READ: Handling Peak Season with Hybrid Picking
Throwing more people at the problem isn’t the answer. Finding qualified temporary workers can be challenging, and manual processes are prone to errors. So, what’s the solution? A three-step approach to peak season preparation: Looking at previous peaks, evaluating your automation readiness and strategically applying the right technology.
What’s the solution? A three-step approach to peak season preparation: Looking at previous peaks, evaluating your automation readiness and strategically applying the right technology.
Here’s how to analyze past peak seasons and assess automation readiness:
By analyzing order volume fluctuations, picking trends and labor needs from past peak periods, you gain valuable insights. This data helps you anticipate future demands and identify areas for improvement.
Was your warehouse layout optimized for peak-season order fulfillment? Did specific tasks cause delays? Uncovering the answers to these questions will help pinpoint bottlenecks and areas where automation can have the biggest impact.
By quantifying the cost of peak season inefficiencies – lost sales due to delays, overtime costs and employee attrition rates – you can build a strong case for a warehouse automation investment.
Multiagent orchestration (MAO) is the continuous optimization and management of heterogeneous robot fleets in tandem with other agents such as doors, elevators and even people. It involves movement and path orchestration and task assignment driven by AI and the real-time analysis of warehouse conditions, demand fluctuation, orders and activities.
MAO doesn’t replace your employees – it empowers them. Here’s how:
Investing in a peak-proof warehouse is an investment in your company’s future. Now is the time to get prepped to transform peak season from a stressful burden to a competitive advantage.