How to Handle Physical Inventory in a Digital World

Shipping and logistics are among the oldest industries in the world. Yet supply chain lead times, inventory storage, order fulfillment, tracking, and shipping are often the trickiest challenges for online businesses to master. Why is that?

The short answer is that $*#t happens in the physical world. Moving merchandise means contending with hurricanes, pandemics, geopolitical events, unexpected demand, human errors, labor shortages — and the list goes on. Fortunately, digital technology has evolved to mitigate most of these risks, from inbound freight to return authorizations.

Freight Shipping

Whether you’re shipping goods to your own warehouse, a third-party logistics company (3PL), or a retailer or marketplace, look for a freight shipper that embraces digital technology.

Labeling — Barcodes, QR codes, RFID sensors and other technologies eliminate manual entry and human errors on shipping manifests and customs forms.

Tracking — Once entered into the carriers’ tracking system, all stakeholders are immediately notified if a shipment misses and expected checkpoint.

Single-source Shipping — A 3PL like ShipMonk can handle both incoming freight shipping as well as DTC or B2B shipments to end customers. By handling both, they can make sure everything is packaged, labeled, and prepped for receiving.

Section 321 Imports — Goods bound for the US can be shipped to a near-border fulfillment center, such as ShipMonk’s facility in Mexico, thereby eliminating import duties on customer orders under $800.

Distributed Inventory — At ShipMonk, inventory can be distributed to twelve owner-operated fulfillment centers in the US, Mexico, Canada, UK and Europe and managed in real-time through a centralized warehouse management system (WMS).

Receiving Automation

Dimensional Scanners — Individual SKUs are counted, then sent through a dimensional scanner to be photographed, weighed, and measured. This information is used for quality control and to optimize storage locations, packaging materials and shipping costs.

Barcodes — Every SKU is labeled with a barcode and matched to a slotting location so it can be easily located and tracked throughout the fulfillment process.

Automated Slotting — Systems integrations enable ShipMonk to automatically assign each SKU an optimal storage location within our warehouses, based on the item’s size, expected order volume, and warehouse technologies available.

Fulfillment Automation

Tech-forward 3PLs invest in automation and digital solutions that increase fulfillment efficiency, speed and accuracy.

Warehouse Management System — ShipMonk’s world-class WMS enables 100+ integrations with shopping platforms, shopping carts, marketplaces, retailers, and third-party solutions. Its robust features serve omnichannel DTC fulfillment as well as B2B retail distribution and provide complete transparency throughout the fulfillment process.

Barcode Scanners — Barcode scanners are used at multiple checkpoints to make sure the right items are picked, packed, and loaded onto the right truck. With each scan, order status and inventory levels are automatically updated in the WMS.

Pick-and-pack Automation — Trained pick-and-pack team members work side by side with digital technologies, automation, and AI robots including pick-to-light systems, sortation robots, case sealers, automatic labelers, and parcel sorters.

Shipping Integrations

The physical world of ecommerce relies on digital technology to route and track millions of small packages to customers’ doors, and to monitor and control shipping costs.

Software Integrations — Each shipping carrier has its own software system and/or app for scheduling pickups, creating labels, tracking shipments, and invoicing.

A WMS that integrates with multiple carriers is essential for comparing and negotiating rates.

Shipping Aggregators — Third-party shipping platforms help large online retailers compare rates and shipping methods when managing their own fulfillment.

Automatic Carrier Selection — ShipMonk’s Virtual Carrier Network automatically selects the optimal shipping carrier and method for each order, based on the package’s size, weight and destination as well as carrier rates, availability, and reliability.

Cross-border Solutions — Third-party software automatically figures taxes, duties, fees and currency exchanges on international shipments.

Order Tracking — Integrations enable merchants to track shipped orders within the WMS and receive notifications whenever there is a delay or delivery exception.

Proof of Delivery — To reduce theft and fraud, carriers may collect digital signatures or send photographs to prove packages were delivered

Real-time Inventory Management

Omnichannel sales strategies, which may include multiple shopping carts, marketplaces, B2B/retail partners and warehouses, make it difficult to know precisely how much inventory you have, where it’s located, and who’s filling which orders. Digital technology reduces the need for frequent physical audits.

Single Source of Truth — When inventory is coming and going from all directions, order and inventory data is synced to a central platform for easy monitoring and analysis.

Real-time Data — A cloud-based platform continuously updates inventory levels as merchandise is restocked and orders are fulfilled, providing accurate data for strategic decision-making.

Automated Calculations — Robust features make it easy for inventory managers to track inventory costs and make critical calculations such as economic order quantity (EOQ) and reorder points.

Forecasting — Third-party data analysis and AI tools combine current inventory and sales data with historical data, competitive data, and current trends to improve forecasting.

KPI Dashboards — Robust systems allow ecommerce merchants to easily track KPIs, such as order volume, on-time deliveries and return rates, while identifying areas for improvement.

Customer Service

AI-enabled chatbots and self-service help platforms greatly reduce the need for labor-intensive call centers.

Return Solutions — Third-party apps facilitate exchanges, enable drop-offs at nearby locations, and eliminate the need for repackaging.

Automated Tasks — Automated return authorizations and fraud detection greatly speed up the returns and ticket resolution processes.

Data Collection — When human interaction is necessary, CS reps have easy access to customer data, resulting in faster resolutions.

We’ve Come a Long Way

It’s true, we can’t control hurricanes, but we can harness technology to keep inventory flowing through it all. If your fulfillment center is missing the boat when it comes to tech integrations, order accuracy, or managing growth, it’s time to find a 3PL that is committed to optimizing your business. Contact ShipMonk today.