Tips for the warehouse floor and shipping dock to scale operations efficiently and flexibly without overextending staff, space, or capital.
Over the last two years, peak season parcel volumes overwhelmed carrier capacity by several million packages per day, forcing carriers to increase staffing, throttle shipper parcel volumes, raise rates, and increase surcharges. However, this year it looks like capacity could outstrip demand. During the pandemic, shippers faced the “Great Resignation” and ongoing labor shortages with historically low vacancy rates making warehouse expansion difficult and expensive. Now a softening economy has caused the first increase in vacancy rates in two years. An uncertain and challenging time for warehousing and shippers.
Meanwhile, market ebbs and flows aside, ecommerce continues to grow in total value and as a share of all retail sales. So how can warehousing scale fulfillment and parcel shipping to preserve margins, avoid over investment, and maximize ROI while maintaining service level agreements and meeting high consumer and customer delivery expectations?
What you will learn:
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The common challenges warehouses face as monthly order volumes grow from zero to four thousand, to 10 thousand, to 25 thousand, and beyond
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How to maximize existing warehouse staffing and square footage and optimize parcel shipping to meet and adapt to large fluctuations in demand
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The practices, processes, and technologies that will handle rising shipping costs and capacity concerns today and profitably scale for growth tomorrow
Ideal for:
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3PLs, retailers, and manufacturers who rushed to add ecommerce fulfillment during the pandemic and are now ready to perfect it
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Online sellers at all stages of growth, from startup through to tens of thousands of orders per month, who want to avoid the growing pains that erode margins, cost customers, and negatively impact the bottom line
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Mature shippers looking to drive efficiency and profitability
Speakers:
Mike Graves, Vice President of Product Management at Pierbridge
Martin Hespeler, VP Americas at Microlistics
Hosted by Bob Bowman, Editor-in-Chief, Supply Chain Brain