Companies navigate many challenges to maintain optimal inventory levels and meet demand in today’s highly competitive business landscape. Warehouse inventory must be efficiently managed; one way to stay ahead of the competition is by partnering with a third-party warehouse. Businesses often choose a third-party warehouse over an in-house team to reduce expenses, increase efficiency and accelerate operations.
Third-Party Warehouses Can Provide Accurate Inventory Tracking
Leveraging technology to automate inventory tracking allows for accurate inventory levels. Tracking is crucial for companies to maintain adequate stock levels and minimize the risk of overstocking or running out of stock. Inventory count errors can become a huge roadblock; miscounts create problems at all stages of order fulfillment and warehouse management.
With the right third-party warehouse partner, your company can comfortably outsource the responsibility of inventory management. “Cycle counting” ensures the customer’s inventory is tracked as accurately as possible, by physically counting inventory and comparing it to recorded quantities. This helps identify any discrepancies, find improvement opportunities and allows customers to track inventory accurately and make informed decisions at any stage of the product’s journey.
Fulco Fulfillment Inc. (FFI) tracks product information like the SKU, description, location, minimum understock levels and pricing. All of this data is stored in barcodes on printed labels. Fulfillment warehouse staff scans items for accuracy of customer orders.
Third-Party Inventory Management Utilizes Good Warehouse Layout
Warehouse layout impacts business efficiencies. Assessing our warehouse space and ensuring each point of the fulfillment process has logical, well-stocked workstations reduces touch points and the number of steps our team needs to complete the picking and packing process. Figuring out the fast movers and strategically organizing the warehouse inventory so these items are the easiest to get also improves pick time.
Good Storage Impacts Efficiency
How inventory is stored in a warehouse can significantly impact the picking and packing process and the overall efficiency of warehouse workers. FFI organizes storage space with clearly marked bins, labels, and racks to help pickers locate items quickly and reduce mistakes. FFI’s robust warehouse management platform makes these activities more efficient and reduces the risk of errors and bottlenecks. Our customers use their online portal to the Order Management System (OMS) to access a quick, digestible view of inventory.
Another benefit of outsourcing inventory management is its flexibility for storage space and handling. When you partner with a 3PL, you can easily scale up or down as needed without worrying about your in-house warehouse capacity, software limitations, or employee availability.
Forecasting for Increasing Demand with Warehouse Inventory Management
Effective inventory management is crucial for companies. Although it is difficult to predict customer demand, it becomes easier with a warehouse management system. Forecasting demand can be done by tracking stock movements using warehouse inventory systems and physical inventory. You can set inventory thresholds to re-order and replenish stock when needed. Using FFI’s OMS, checking on a product’s history by month or season is simple.
Using a proactive approach and forecasting demand helps FFI’s customers manage their inventory more efficiently, reducing the risk of overstocking or depleting stock. The OMS continuously receives data from your sales channels and ordering platform. It reports on inventory levels, sales trends, cost of goods sold, and provides tracking of freight. The WMS can use this data to adjust reorder points, signaling when it’s time to replenish stock.
Managing Returns with Fulco Fulfillment
Organizing returns management and tracking is crucial to maintaining accurate inventory levels. FFI’s OMS utilizes the software’s integrated returns management features to track returned items and update inventory levels. We maintain transparent and timely communication with customers about their returns, increasing customer satisfaction.
Strategic Inventory Management Leads to Success
Optimizing inventory is a delicate balance, especially during peak seasons. At its most basic level, inventory management refers to monitoring the items a business has on hand. It includes ordering, replenishing, sorting and forecasting inventory. Businesses must ensure they have sufficient stock to meet increased demand without excess inventory after the peak subsides. Demand forecasting, safety stock management, and real-time inventory tracking ensure the right balance.
Fulco Fulfillment Inc. Provides Excellent Inventory Management
Outsourcing warehouse inventory management to the right third party ensures that the complex blend of techniques, technologies, and training will all be leveraged for your business. It’s an advantage that can lead to significant benefits. Contact Fulco to get started at 973 361 1700 or fill out our contact form.