With the rising trend of online shopping, the demand for quick delivery is skyrocketing! For faster delivery, retailers are holding larger quantities of inventory at warehouses and shipping it as soon as an order is placed – making it more important to manage stock levels. Since 2007, the average size of the US warehouses has increased by 143%.
As warehouses grow, it can become challenging to store, sort and manage the inventory. This article discusses five key reports that a warehouse manager can utilize to boost the efficiency of warehouse operations and minimize the overall cost.
#1 History By Supplier Report
Checking the history of suppliers can help you ascertain those who supply your best-selling products and those who supply your poorest selling products.
Suppose you utilize customer relationship management (CRM) software. CRM data can supplement customer purchase data from supplier history to pinpoint specific customer segments purchasing from each of your vendors. This data can be leveraged to identify similar products which may interest customers, helping you to generate more revenue from existing customers.
Thus by carefully observing the history by supplier report, you can find your key suppliers and work towards fostering better relationships with them.
#2 Vendor/Supplier Report
Just like your customers rely on you to offer them products and services, you rely on your suppliers to get the materials for selling. As the demand for your products rises, you will need more stock from your suppliers, often on short notice.
In March 2020, 70% of global electronics manufacturers reported 2-4 week delays by their suppliers due to COVID. Supplier delays lead to delivery delays to customers. This is why it is crucial to select the right suppliers as your reputation depends on them.
But how does one find the right suppliers with a good reputation? The supplier report can help with this.
The supplier report helps you by:
- Disclosing the customer complaints against a specific supplier
- Ascertaining the punctuality of the suppliers
- Analyzing product returns data
This report helps you decide whether to continue or terminate relationships with suppliers based on your company’s vision.
#3 Inventory On Hand Report
In the USA, 43% of small retailers don’t keep track of their inventory or rely on a manual system.
Inventory tracking can become cumbersome as your business scales and SKUs multiply. Investing in a good warehouse management system can help you save time and errors by automating the tracking process.
Inventory tracking can help warehouse managers ascertain the shelf time per item and identify items being held too long. This data can help with setting inventory levels (maximum and minimum) such that you neither face the problem of overstocking inventory that sits too long nor understocking items that are high in demand.
With the accurate inventory on hand report, you can also adjust the stock mismatch arising from theft, miscounts, or other mishaps.
#4 Empty Bin Report
The empty bin report allows warehouse managers to find space that can be used to store incoming shipments, saving time that may have been wasted finding empty bin space in the warehouse.
Putaway refers to all the warehouse processes that occur right from the moment of receiving goods from vendors to having them stored in the right place. The empty bin report can reduce the putaway time by clarifying the empty space available.
The empty bin report is a lifesaver for 3PLs, as they use a common warehouse to store goods for multiple tenants. This report helps them use warehouse space efficiently, contributing to operational savings.
#5 Expense Control Report
Profit can be increased either by decreasing expenses or increasing revenue. The expense control report reflects the cost of operating a warehouse. The expense control report contrasts warehouse costs to sales totals.
Leveraging the expense control report can help CFOs find areas to cut costs or invest in assets that improve the efficiency of the warehouse.
Warehouse Management with DEAR Systems
You can streamline your fulfillment and warehouse management using DEAR System’s cutting-edge Warehouse Management System (WMS). Utilizing the DEAR Warehouse Management System can increase your productivity and reduce warehousing costs.
By adopting DEAR WMS, here are some benefits that you can reap:
- Real-time visibility of inventory with the precise location at any moment
- Immediate, real time alerts on order discrepancies
- Wireless barcode scanning to improve the order picking process
- Accurately pack goods using an order validation system
- Printing shipping labels
Schedule a call with DEAR Systems to learn how we can help with your warehousing needs.
