The global pandemic that raged across the months that have gone by has changed the way we viewed and gauged the world. Certain actions and paradigms made an inroad into the humdrum life of all humans. Fear, disdain, and hopelessness pervaded throughout the world. However, in the all-consuming hollowness of the pandemic, the thing that stayed afloat was the supply chain industry.

Albeit it must be mentioned that the supply chain industry also received a fair share of brickbats in the initial months of the pandemic because of the shutdowns and closures in various parts of the world that came to being with institutional lockdowns being implemented. Owing to this unprecedented situation, shipments did not commute and hence many of the warehouses had to face a conspicuous amount of shortage of goods. On the other end, certain warehouses came to a standstill with good sitting idle.

What added to this woe was the erratic customer behavior. A huge number of consumers worldwide veered towards online buying. And the demand for pharmaceuticals, food products scaled up drastically. With the warehouses getting depleted with lack or excess of inventory due to the breakdown of activities, meeting the consumer demand and keeping life moving became a huge challenge.

Additionally, warehouses being labor-intensive places, posed a huge threat to the resistance of the disease. Managers had to skillfully divide the warehouse into clusters and the working hours into shifts so that one-way traffic in the aisle could have been made possible, without resorting to the harrowing thing called layoff. With a considerable number of workers and their families getting infected, the operations indeed had to be run with less manpower than usual. All this and more became a recipe of a veritable nightmare for the managers. However, as resilient as the sector is, warehouses soon came over the hindrances. With the vaccination drives getting rolled out across the world and the world coming back to wheels gradually, the operations of the distribution centers soon hauled up. However, the pandemic introduced certain norms in the fabric of the warehouses that have stayed back even after the eye of the storm has passed. It is safe to say that all these actions and trends are going to remain a part of the corpus of warehouse operations, just the way wearing masks and maintaining distance would stay back as the inseparable parts of our routine lives for the longest time to come. Let us have a granular view of the means that warehouses have adopted and that are going to control the way warehouses process themselves.

1. Balance between Inventory in Hand and J.I.T: Lean manufacturing was in vogue before the pandemic hit in. Hence, just-in-time delivery of goods gained popularity. Manufacturers received raw materials in the amount that they needed. This efficacious method proved to be ineffective when the business operations slowed down and the manufacturers wallowed due to a shortage of goods. This gave rise to the importance of buffer stock. Warehouses and manufacturers realized how safety stocks are significant in backing up productions in the time of need. Hence, the trend of maintaining inventory in hand shot up. However, the balance between J.I.T and buffer stock should be maintained and the warehouse layout must be adjusted accordingly.
2. Warehouse Automation: Though warehouse automation was slowly making its presence felt throughout, it is the pandemic that has accelerated its growth and has made everyone aware of the effect it can bring to the floor. Several challenges are to be met within the space, namely dealing with the shortage of manpower, increased space for the buffer stock, clustering to ensure little to no human interaction. Automation in the form of automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), carousels, and other equipment are effective solutions to these problems. These tools can optimize the warehouse space to a great degree and can speed up the work to meet the fluctuating customer demands fruitfully.
3. Decentralization: With the surge of e-commerce, modern consumers have taken to the habit of same-day or next-day delivery. Delay or disruption in the process of delivery can be very detrimental to the supply chain and the bond between the customers and the companies. Hence, warehouses have come up with the plan of satellite warehouses. Instead of a centralized warehouse to meet the demands of consumers in the whole region, various warehouses near the customer-intensive areas can work wonders in speedy delivery and tackling disruptions.
4. Near-shoring of Manufacturing: Manufacturers that had off-shored their operations suffered massively during the COVID surge. Their operations stagnated, warehouses got depleted. In order to avoid getting trapped in this vortex all over again, many manufacturers have decided to bring their operations on-shore or near the shore. This not only brings down the operational cost significantly but also greater control can be exercised over the functions. 
5. Social Distancing within the Floor: As mentioned earlier, warehouses are spaces that are susceptible to the transmission of diseases due to their layout. The pandemic has changed the way operations were carried out in a way so that social distancing norms are complied with. Shifts are divided for different operations, sanitizing stations for workers and tools are installed, more space is required for inventory in-hand and automation tools, one-way traffic in the aisles is ensured. All these measures are instrumental in bringing down the footprints within the floor and also in making sure the jobs and the health of the workers are not at stake.
6. Increased Dependence on 3PL Logistics: Due to all the aforementioned issues and the decentralization of operations, there is a glaring need to increase the warehouse capacity. Because of this and the unpredictable pattern of demands, many companies have leaned towards the 3rd party logistics in warehousing. These logistics companies professionally deal with the disruptions that distribution comes across. Such partnerships to upscale the existing infrastructure can prove to be extremely beneficial in the times to come.
7. The Impetus gained by E-commerce: Though e-commerce is a phenomenon that existed way before the pandemic, the impetus it gained during the pandemic is outstanding. The sector has gone a few years ahead, over the past few months due to the jump it made in terms of expenses made on it. With fear raging big on the human minds about going out, e-commerce platforms brought their facility to the doorsteps of the consumers. Consumers felt empowered, omnichannel platforms gained prominence, and prompt delivery and reverse logistics came into vogue. Therefore, many buyers prefer buying online instead of going to brick-and-mortar stores. With this, the profile of orders has changed from being boxes picked for retail stores to individual orders picked for end-users. The complexity of orders has increased, and thus different picking methods are being leveraged to comply with the changed sales velocity.
8. Inventory Visibility: The knowledge of the status of their orders constitutes an integral part of the repository of power that consumers enjoy due to the rise of e-commerce platforms. Add to it, the decentralization of warehouses. Hence, warehouses now need to be completely in command of the location and the status of their goods. There is an increased demand for the visibility of the products and to attain the same, smooth coordination amongst the distribution centers is extremely important. The transparency in operations has become a sine qua non in striking durable customer bonds.
9. Omnichannel Logistics: Omni-channel logistics have come into being as the by-product of the booming e-commerce platforms. Omni-channel distribution strengthens consumers by allowing them to explore any channel; be it online or offline; to buy products and letting them choose any place to deliver their products to. To meet the heightened expectation and sales dynamics rendered by omnichannel logistics, warehouses must rely upon superior techniques, technological solutions and scale up their business.
10. Cold Logistics Gaining Prominence: It has already been mentioned that buyers these days do not wish to visit brick-and-mortar stores to buy goods as e-commerce has brought facilities to their doorsteps. One of the most imperative things to form a major part of the buyers’ buying list is groceries. Because of the increased demand for groceries and food items, talks related to the cold supply chain have also come to the fore. To store perishable goods like food products, we need cold storages, which are expensive spaces and need to be commissioned on prior notice.
11. Warehouse Management Solutions: The pandemic has blatantly pointed out the pitfalls that existed within the gamut of the entire supply chain. One of the major issues has been the lack of interest in technological solutions out of apprehensions. However, if the unpredictable demand patterns are to be met, then warehouses need solutions that are in sync with technological advancements. This includes a warehouse control system to handle materials, inventory, and warehouse management systems so that various picking strategies can be adapted according to the suitability of the demands. Such solutions offer flexibility in the picking speed and are highly scalable as various adjustments can be done via them.

The accursed days of the pandemic are slowly waning. However, the memories of uncertainty about jobs and lives are still fresh. Thus the supply chain verticals and especially warehouses must be prepared to face any kind of disruption that may unpredictably come across its way. With the flexibility offered by warehouse management systems, 3PL must be used to hilts to optimize warehouse capacity. Use RattusWMS, the highly configurable, multi-warehouse SaaS developed by experienced professionals of supply chain and IT sectors to see how operations become seamless in a cost-effective way.

Warehouse operations, just like the larger gamut of the supply chain, are dependent on each other. The success and efficacy of one operation determine how efficiently the other tasks would be performed. Putting away the received stock is a very important cog in this wheel as it directly controls the cost, the accuracy, and the purported time for picking. Put-away refers to the storage of goods to warehouse locations and if it is done haphazardly, it is surely going to take a lot of time for the pickers to retrieve those items. A proper pick-path can never be generated which would lead to utter chaos on the warehouse floor. Pickers would run the extra distance in the warehouse and sometimes empty-handed and this would surely amp up the labor cost. It is needless to say that this faulty put-away can lead to wrong items being picked and would strain the business relationships among the partners. Hence, it is of utmost importance that warehouses follow a proper and methodical approach towards the put-away process.

The mainstay of modern put-away is not only managing the ware but also managing the locations. The success of the modern put-away lies in the warehouse executives’ knowledge of the aisles, the racks, and the bins, that are to be found at every nook and corner of the warehouse. This constitutes a wholesome grasp over the storage location, their capacity, and their size et al. Therefore, it is the foremost job of the warehouse executives to optimize the storage locations to felicitate picking. It is only when products are put-away scientifically that an efficient picklist can come as an aid.

Objectives of Effective Put-away

The core of put-away consists of certain goals that need to be achieved to curtail the time and the labor cost as well as to optimize the further proceedings. They are as follows:

1.  To move the cargo from the dock to the optimal storage area as fast as possible.

2.  To ensure the security of the cargo as well as the employees.

3.  To optimize the warehouse space.

4.  To store items in such a way that traveling time within the warehouse while picking and put-away is reduced significantly.

5.  To store items in such a way that an efficient pick-list is generated and goods are retrieved without much of a hassle.

Best Practices of Put-away

1.  Training and Accountability: Most of the time it is the incompetence of the warehouse workers that leads to the fallacious put-away. They are unsure of the optimized storage location. They do not have proper training and route mapping at their disposal to carry out the work efficiently. Due to this negligence, a lot of product gets damaged and misplaced and this results in unexpected delays in shipment. So it is of primary importance that warehouse workers are properly trained, instructed, and guided as to how the operations can be carried out without making any significant error. A proper route map of the warehouse should be made available to all and sundry so that everyone gets to know where and how to store items. Unless accountability is imposed upon the employees, there will always be space for errors. It is only when the employees know that the responsibilities of their assignments lie entirely on them that we get to see a drift from the lackadaisical approach.

2.  Data Collection and Analysis: To have a practical and scientific outlook towards the put-away process and to utilize the business intelligence wisely, a consistent process of data collection and data analysis must be carried out without any failure. With efficacious data analysis, the most optimal storage locations of particular items can be determined. In this process, multiple factors related to the cargo and the locations must be taken into consideration. These include the cargo type, sales velocity, storage capacity, cargo dimensions, and receiving/shipping frequency etcetera. This process can either be done with the help of a warehouse management system or the entirety of the process can be automated so that the best results are yielded. However, relying on technology is inescapable here. Otherwise, manually, such complex and error-free analysis and data collection are tedious and next-to-impossible.

3.  Monitoring Storage Availability through Barcodes and RFID: Warehouses must monitor the storage capacity and the availability so that workers do not run extra distance empty-handed or come back without accomplishing the task. Barcode scanners and radio-frequency identification devices (RFID) can come up to be extremely helpful in facilitating optimal storage and monitoring the warehouse locations through sensors. These ultra-modern gadgets can faithfully appraise the warehouse executives of the capacity and the free space available in storage locations so that products can be placed judiciously over there.

4.  Create Timeline: The warehouse is a very busy space where products are received and shipped in bulk daily. If the work is put off, then backlogs are piled up, congestion takes place on the floor and unnecessary hassle is invited. Thus a strict timeline must be followed by all means so that workers stick to it and over time this adherence to deadline becomes a habit.

5.  Direct Put-away: Direct put-away is a method that enables the movement of consignment from the receiving dock to the shipping dock without the product going through a staging process. Direct put-away is an extremely beneficial means of put-away as it significantly reduces the storage time and doesn’t allow many touchpoints. This method greatly eliminates the scopes of errors. However, to make this process exist, warehouses need an effective WMS that can assign the final destination right from the process of generating ASN or the receipt of items. In this scenario also, we get to see how technology can significantly aid the operations.

6.  Classification of Products: There are multiple inventory management processes available and warehouses can stick to some of them according to their needs. ABC analysis, FEFO, FEFO are some of the most popular means. Warehouses should categorize their ware according to their sales velocity and put fast-moving items near the receiving area so that workers do not run the extra mile while picking and traveling time can be saliently reduced.

7.  Task Interleaving: Task Interleaving is the process wherein different warehouse operations are yoked together and assigned upon an individual at the same time so that they do not travel a fallow distance. This method brings down the fallow time that gets unnecessarily wasted in the business days.

8.  Usage of Fixed and Dynamic Locations: Based on the types and sizes of ware that are being stored and the capacity of the warehouse, fixed and dynamic locations in storing products can be judiciously juxtaposed. Fixed locations are the permanent locations that are associated with a particular type of item or a store. Fixed locations are useful in the sense that they expedite the entire warehousing process. Since workers know very well where they would store a product, there is little chance of mistakes, and the warehouse is governed in a very organized manner. Dynamic locations, as the very name suggests does not ensure to be the permanent location of any product. Workers put away the goods in the nearest or the first available location. Dynamic locations offer the flexibility that is needed while storing high-volume products. The products stored in dynamic locations can be replaced with different items as other locations are emptied and require replenishment. However, it must be noted that without a competent inventory management system that can track and trace products, this juxtaposition of fixed and dynamic locations can be a very confusing affair and can lead to a very clumsy state.

This preceding discussion has highlighted a point that technology is the saviour in the current competitive scenario. Without resorting to digital transformation, warehouse operations and especially the put-away of things can never be done effectively. The warehouse management system assigns locations according to the demands of the products and renders help in doing away with the mistakes that can occur along the process. WMS comes as the greatest help in tracking and tracing products with their service of providing end-to-end visibility. So it must be concluded that an advanced warehouse management system is an ultimate need in any distribution center and the DC's must adapt themselves to this digital transformation if they haven’t done already or if they have at all, the system must be upgraded for good to accommodate all the things necessary to cater to the contemporary demands.

With the exponential rise of the e-commerce platforms in recent years, the importance of warehouses has taken the centre stage in the supply chain network. From a layman’s perspective, a warehouse is nothing but a space where products and raw materials are stored before they are finally dispatched to manufacturers or consumers. However, those who are insiders in the industry know how warehouse is that significant cog in the wheel of the supply chain that keeps the balls rolling. Unless there is an optimized, efficient warehouse at the helm, the whole process of manufacturing and distribution would receive flak. The whole supply chain is dependent on the efficacy of warehouse that demands special attention in the 21st century.

Since the sales velocity and the operational complexity have increased and multiple layers have been added to the supply chain network, warehouses across the world have gone for a digital overhauling. Warehouse management systems that monitor the end-to-end operations of warehouses, coupled with measures taken in favor of automation have changed the face of warehousing for good. However, there are managers who are either still cynical or nonchalant about strengthening their operations. This is mainly because either their business is too small to afford the digital boon or they are skeptical about the expenses they would incur. It must be noted that the fear of expenditure is nothing but a myth as properly implemented digital transformation always leads to handsome ROI in the due course of time and because of that even the small and medium business organizations are also taking the baton forward. Hence, in this article, we would try to highlight the limitations that a traditional warehouse would have that can be easily overcome with the sensible adaptation of digitalization.

1.  Accidents and Mishaps: Warehousing is a heavily labor-intensive process. A lot of workers serve the warehouse floor and they are susceptible to accidents. They need to handle items of various sizes in copious amounts. If they handle it manually, a lot of physical strain occurs that can dwindle their productivity. Additionally, the mental strain of recalling the exact locations of all items and pick-paths and accomplishing multiple targets in a stipulated deadline can be strenuous mentally. Moreover, improper handling of forklifts can be disastrous for the workers and can lead to fatal injuries. Warehouses that resort to automation processes employ AI/ML that can perform plenty of tasks at a greater speed with little or no human intervention, causing little threat of unfortunate occurrences.

2.  Problem of Space: Warehouse is an expensive space and every inch of it counts. Since traditional warehousing is intensely manned, a lot of errors can crop up in the course of operations. One of them is faulty space utilization. Due to the miscalculations on the part of the executives, many times items are stashed wrongly which leads to stockpiling at one place and stock-out at another. Warehouse management system is a software solution that efficiently deals with this problem of space and helps in the seamlessness of operations.

3.  Wastage of Time: Traditional warehouses do not leverage resources and picking options optimally. Resultantly executives run extra distance empty-handed and a lot of fallow time creeps into operations. Warehouse management system generates the most useful pick-path for the workers and introduces various picking options like wave picking and batch picking. Additionally, through features such as task-interleaving, various operations are yoked together so that optimum results can be achieved. Workers just have to follow the instructions given by WMS and it frees them from the hassle of registering all the routes and locations mentally. The operational time that is freed up can be sensibly utilized in other constructive work such as getting trained and upgraded. Traditional warehouses with human planners have a tough time routing and re-routing paths that get completely eliminated in tech-savvy distribution centres.

4.  The Rut of Documentation: Warehousing is a process that entails a lot of documentation. Most of these documents are manually registered and maintained. This huge pile of documents can easily get misplaced or can be manhandled. The misplacement can not only lead to delays and demurrage, but also pilferage that can incur huge losses for the companies. Again a lot of useful time and resources get grossly wasted in locating the exact documents from the heaps of papers. Furthermore, an overt dependence on paper-based work can be detrimental to the sustainability missions of the companies. And it is a proven fact that the organizations that have clear eco-friendly objectives earn goodwill in the contemporary markets.

5.  Issues Related to Scanning: Most of the traditional warehouses do not have scanners to single out items and that can cost workers a lot of mental and physical strain. Even those warehouses that have barcode scanning systems harbor their own set of problems. Barcode scanners cannot scan items that are placed at a particular distance or have any other object hindering their view. Moreover, these scanners cannot scan multiple items at the same time and takes a lot of time in scanning all the consignments collectively. This wastage of precious working hours can be eradicated entirely with the smart application of Radio Frequency Identification Devices.

6.  Inventory Inaccuracy: The single biggest problem that traditional warehouses face is the complications that arise out of inaccuracy in knowing inventory level. Without a thorough grasp over the level of stock that a warehouse has, overstocking and stock-out are extremely common. In such scenarios, warehouse managers do not have a proper idea when their shelves would need replenishment. Concurrently, purchase orders are not served timely and then shelves go empty for days causing disruptive tremors across the entire supply chain. Moreover, without proper adherence to FEFO, FIFO rules, fast-moving products can get damaged. All such traditional warehouses conduct the annual audits of stocks manually and that causes shut down for a few days. However, in smart warehouses with efficacious inventory management systems, cycle counts are conducted at an intermittent period and that too simultaneously with the everyday operations, without causing breakage in the productive timeframe.

7.  J.I.T and Cross-Docking: This point can also be clubbed with the compromised warehouse spaces. E-commerce platforms have empowered consumers in such a way that they prefer same-day delivery or promptness in delivery to a greater length. Modern warehousing methodologies of just-in-time delivery or cross-docking completely corroborate to the efficiency in dealing with warehouse spaces. Without a competent workforce enabled by technology, this magnitude of proficiency would always remain elusive.

8.  Forecast and Analytics: One prime feature that WMS-enabled modern warehouses provide and traditional paper-based warehouses don’t is the privilege of business analytics. Business analytics is a powerful set of tools that analyses business trends in predictive and descriptive ways. These methods are extremely fruitful in presenting a strong business case. Additionally, they present a tentative forecast of the future trends that can help businesses stay afloat in times of disruptions and renders resilience to the fabric of the enterprise. This is an especially practical aspect of warehousing where customer demands have become exceedingly volatile and disruptions, both seasonal and unprecedented, have become the order of the day. The post-COVID scenario of uncertainty has cemented the need for formidable data analytics. In the traditional warehouses, where there is no scope of data curation, BI does not even exist in the whole purview. On the other hand, WMS stores individual data pertaining to manufacturers, sellers, product details, locations, shippers, and all the necessary stakeholders that create a huge pool of data that can be utilized to its hilt.

9.  Lack of Transparency: Traditional warehouses do not offer end-to-end visibility into their operations due to the lack of technical expertise. But in the modern day and age, stakeholders need complete transparency in the entire distribution cycle and thorough knowledge on the statuses of their consignment. The zilch of it takes away the reliability and credibility of the warehouses. Not only does WMS fulfills this age-appropriate need, but with the help of AR/VR tools, multiple parties would also be able to go through the entire process in the days to come.

This discussion attempts to prove how traditional warehouses have started losing their sheen in the light of digital transformation and recurrent disruptions. Though a digital revamp may seem to burn a hole in the pocket, it is an extremely important and even a necessary facet of the modern supply chain. With the resurgent importance of warehousing operations, one would definitely not afford to lose sight of profitability. Spending on WMS, AI/ML, WCS etcetera are good investments. They reap the fruit of labor consistently and in their own sweet time. Thus, it is time to shrug off the slumber of indifference and adapt to the changes to keep up with the pace of time. Otherwise, obsolescence and redundancy loom large over businesses.