How Many Warehouses Can You Manage?
If you are a small retailer, you might only have one warehouse. On the other hand, if you have a large chain of retail stores, you could have multiple warehouses. You may even have a tiered warehouse system where you have a large receiving station where imports and other merchandise enter into your supply chain then are allocated and distributed to regional warehouse facilities where they will be further divided and allocated among the individual retail stores in that region. The key to efficient and profitable management of this warehouse system is the right software to handle all aspects of warehouse management from top to bottom.
Let’s start with warehouse layout. Do you lay out your warehouses by product and vendor? Or maybe your central warehouse is organized by regional center, or you may even have sections of your warehouse for each retail store you deliver to. However you do, you’ll need to work your layout in a way that makes sense for your business. The right tool will allow you to create multiple layouts, one for each level of warehouse (or individual warehouse) in your system.
You’ll also need a way to manage your receipts and shipping manifests. A good warehouse management solution can make this easy as pie.
One of the biggest challenges for large retailers is product tracking through the entire supply chain. If you have multiple warehouses and your products move through several layers of facilities, you need to be able to track each piece throughout the supply chain.
Store transfers is another challenge. If you send product from one store to another, either intra- or inter-regional, then you’ll need to track that product and transfer it from one inventory account to another. This cross-dock processing becomes elementary with the right management system.
Track and report in real time so that you know where your product is at all times and when to expect it on the shelves at the ultimate destination to which you are sending it.
Even wholesalers need to be able to manage inventory and warehouses. With the right management solution, your wholesale operation can run as efficiently as any retail chain. The sames goes for thrift stores, discount stores, and outlets.
Learn more about warehouse management from ChainDrive.
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