As your business grows, keeping an eye on your inventory becomes an increasingly difficult task. With more products coming in and out of your warehouse, it’s easy for items to get lost, mishandled, or stolen in any stage of the order fulfillment process. Damaged items cause shrinkage, which is the term used to describe the reduction in inventory resulting from unfavorable situations or errors.
It’s easy to think that shrinkage is a typical scenario when running a big company. However, this problem is preventable if you have an efficient warehouse service provider helping you out.
The Benefits of Warehouse Services
- Simplifies the Process
Before a product reaches its destination, it first goes through the following procedures:
- Receiving
- Inventory and storage
- Order processing
- Shipping
- Returns
Although these procedures may look straightforward, each phase comes with several stages. For example, during the receiving phase, products that are received are checked to ensure that the number of items coming in matches the number of items ordered from the supplier. In the inventory and storage phase,each package is shelved to their individual storage bin, and so on and so forth.
With so many steps involved, you’ll need an efficient team to manage this aspect of your business to make sure nothing gets lost along the way. This is where warehouse service providers shine.
Warehouse services companies have the storage, equipment, and manpower you need to track all your items with ease. Many providers are also willing to handle the receiving, inventory and storage, order processing, as well as the delivery. With their help, you’ll have an easier time monitoring the status of all your products. You’ll also cut down on operating costs since you don’t need to create an in-house warehouse service team.
- Boasts a Tight Security
Reputable warehouse service providers know how valuable your products are, so they’ll do everything to safeguard your items from theft, vandalism, and other forms of damage. Their warehouses are equipped with a variety of high-quality security devices to monitor every activity that occurs in the building 24/7. Some of these systems include:
- Surveillance cameras
- Warehouse door locks
- Access control systems
- Security alarms
They’ll also give each member of their warehouse team a certain level of access to limit authorized entry and control. With their warehouses’ security bolstered, you can rest easy knowing that your products are stored in a safe and secure place.
- Utilizes a State-of-the-Art Facility
Many warehouse services providers run their operations in state-of-the-art facilities. They also boast the latest distribution automation systems to reduce product errors and shrinkage. By using high-quality scanners, barcoding software, and warehouse management systems, they’re able to track your products in a quick and organized manner. Should anything go wrong during the order fulfillment process, they’ll immediately spot losses and unaccounted items by simply looking at your inventory’s data.
Hiring an efficient warehouse provider is an investment you should consider getting for your business. With the help of the company’s high-tech facility, impressive security, and excellent services, you’ll experience minimal to no shrinkage, giving yourself greater peace of mind as a result.
Of course, it’s important to team up with a reputable and trustworthy warehouse service provider to further reduce the odds of shrinkage and company losses. To help you with your search, your potential warehouse services partner must have the following qualities:
- Flexibility
- Has a good track record
- Has an organized tracking and monitoring system
- Offers a Strong security
- Meets and exceeds industry standards
With the perfect warehouse services team, your business will have an easier time accommodating more suppliers and consumers, allowing your business to grow in a hassle-free pace.