Other Voices: Perspectives on shipshape distribution with a WMS

Editor’s note: The following column by Eric Allais, president and CEO of PathGuide Technologies, is part of Modern’s Other Voices column, a series featuring ideas, opinions and insights from end-users, analysts, systems integrators and OEMs. Click here to learn about submitting a column for consideration.

With the rise of Amazon and two-day (and now one-day) shipping, people are accustomed to receiving their orders at a pace proportionate to how quickly they were requested. These organizations work tirelessly to identify the right technology to boost productivity in their warehouse facilities and significantly enhance shipping speed and accuracy to customers of all sizes and industries.

We asked our customers a few questions to understand their perspectives on using a WMS that offers an integrated, easy to use, highly customizable manifest and shipping system software solution.

Q: How did you prepare for your WMS’ manifest and shipping system implementation? Did the process disrupt your day-to-day shipping operations?
A: “We had prepared by assigning locations to each SKU, so we were able to get up and running in both receiving and shipping from the very first day. To help smooth out the process, we assigned our shipping supervisor and the warehouse manager to ensure that everyone was ready.” – Jim Hostetter, President of PaulB Wholesale

Q: In what ways has your WMS’ manifest and shipping system elevated distribution efficiencies beyond your original expectations?
A: “We now get incredible visibility into our operations, from the time the customer service representative sends the order for processing, to the time it’s loaded onto the truck. It’s all in real-time now, from start to finish.” – Dave Campbell, Vice President of Operations at Cascade Orthopedic Supply

Q: When did you realize your warehouse’s paper-based receiving, picking and shipping processes were overdue for a replacement?
A: “We were at a point where the accuracy of our outgoing shipments to customers was not at an acceptable level. If customers received incorrect products or incorrect quantities, we would do our best to fix the problem, but the damage was already done. This was not only creating additional overhead for us in terms of freight costs, we were losing customers due to frustration.” – Kyle Sutter, VP of Operations for Fisheries Supply

Q: For distributors with unique warehouse processes, how important was the ability to customize your WMS’ manifest and shipping system?
A: “Out of the box, our manifest and shipping system was going to require some fairly extensive modifications to have it fit us perfectly. After a few iterations and further customizations, the system worked perfectly for us. Our business has indeed changed and evolved as we knew it would, necessitating a few more changes to the manifest and shipping system.” – John Hanna, Atlanta Dental

Q: Considering some of the products that your company ships are classified hazardous materials, like acid-based cleaners that are used to clean boat hulls, what was one specific pain point in your manual shipping process that required more precision? 
A: “The information on hazmat paperwork has to be filled out per very specific specifications that are set by the department of transportation. This is difficult to do in a world of manual shipments; even a misspelling or missed punctuation will violate the very specific documentation requirements and cause the shipment to be rejected by the carrier.” – Tom Lorenz, Vice President of Lorenz & Jones

Q: What problem in your shipping process were you able to resolve with the use of your WMS’ manifest and shipping system capabilities?
A: “Missed carrier origin scans don’t happen very often, but when they do both our customers and us get very concerned. Our first thought is that we may have loaded the package to the wrong carrier. We will note the manifesting transaction timestamp in Latitude and then review our security camera footage of the shipping area to follow the package onto the carrier cart or trailer it was loaded to.” – Tom Lorenz, Lorenz & Jones

Q: How has your WMS’ manifest and shipping system boosted productivity in your warehouse?
A: “Our teams now have a stronger sense of ownership that has helped to improve productivity. By tapping into our WMS’s database, we created a ‘ticker’ that displays the status of open orders on a big screen inside the warehouse. We promise to ship same-day on orders that come in by 2 p.m. on weekdays, so if picking starts to fall behind, everyone knows about it. This lets team members see that they’re not operating in isolation, and it has created a really strong sense of working toward a common goal. If we know, for example, that ten more orders need to go to customers today, our teams have shown that they can kick it into a higher gear.” – Kyle Sutter, Fisheries Supply

Q: How important is ease of use in a WMS’ manifest and shipping system?
A: “Personally, I like that the manifest and shipping system is user friendly. Changing carriers, shipping methods, reprinting labels or documents, having visibility of shipping charges, cancelling shipments, all made simple to the user.” – customer wished to remain anonymous

Q: Lastly, did your business reap any other significant benefits in the shipping department from the flexibility of your WMS’s manifest and shipping system?
A: “Having the ability to quote shipping prices to customers upfront through our online store was game-changing for us.” – Kyle Sutter, Fisheries Supply

“Increased visibility lets our shipping department look at in-progress orders and alert carriers if any orders are remaining — before they shut that truck door and pull away.” – Dave Campbell, Cascade Orthopedic Supply

“When we ship orders on behalf of web-based companies, the products go straight from us to the customer. We strive to be anonymous in the transaction. We want the consumer to assume the product came from the internet retailer’s own warehouse. Without a WMS, there’s no way we could have been in e-fulfillment. You have to have a level of speed and accuracy that’s just not possible in a manual paper based warehouse.” – Tom Lorenz, Lorenz & Jones

“Even with our small e-Commerce engine driving line orders out all day, we’re experiencing better receiving and shipping with a 99.75 percent accuracy rate on our shipping line count. This level of accuracy would not have been possible without the tools provided in our WMS.” – Jim Hostetter, PaulB Wholesale

Whether printing hazmat or e-Commerce labels, bills of lading or third-party shipping papers, each of the distributors we spoke with requires a WMS in which all data is automatically transmitted to the appropriate carrier for billing. Each relies on a WMS flexible enough to accommodate their unique business practices that can also automate all operations from manifesting and pre-manifesting to truck route and stop management with delivery confirmation.

For these distributors, a WMS with user-friendly parcel shipping integration software simplifies warehouse shipping, package tracking and route management in order to get products to customers quickly, securely and affordably.