An effective warehouse management solution can transform your business, says Mark Hughes, Regional Vice President UK and Ireland for Epicor Software. PEW spoke with the software developer to see how a digital connection can improve your stock management.
For many electrical wholesalers, paper-based stock control may be the norm, but relying on pen and paper, or even an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of sales and stock, is time inefficient. It also opens a business up to human error, lost or duplicated documents and an inability to see precisely what stock you have and where it is.
Stock accuracy is crucial to forging long-lasting, strong customer relationships. Without it, staff could promise a customer unavailable stock, or worse, the customer could receive the wrong item. Even a short delay in delivery can cause frustration and the chance a valued customer will look elsewhere.
Paper trail
If your business has more than one site, problems multiply. For example, how do you track exactly where the products are at any one time if they’re transferred between warehouses? A paper-based system can turn finding your best-sellers into a time consuming challenge.
With no clear real-time overview it is difficult to know if your sales data is completely up to date, and it is impossible for multiple employees to have access to the same overview of what is happening on the shop floor.
These issues are the key drivers behind wholesalers moving towards stock management software solutions such as Epicor BisTrack Advanced Stock Management (ASM).
BisTrack
The ASM module in BisTrack gives electrical wholesalers enhanced stock accuracy and improved customer service. It does this by combining real-time picking and stock control functions with the accuracy of bar code scanning carried out in the warehouse or yard, so you know exactly what you have and where it is. This means the right stock can be delivered faster, raising customer service, and reducing credit notes – delivering the right stock means you won’t have to collect it and credit the invoice. As all tasks are carried out on a handheld scanner that records both the user who performed the task, and when the task took place, ASM also allows you to monitor the performance of the picking teams. It is ideal for businesses of every size, from large warehouses with vast volumes of stock to track, to small enterprises where tight control of sales and finance is imperative.
Digital connection
Wholesaler customers expect to be able to compile an order in seconds, even one worth thousands of pounds, and wholesalers can only achieve this if the yard is digitally connected to the trade counter.
The BisTrack ASM solution enables this to happen and suggests reorder quantities based on trends rather than using predictive stock replenishment. Wholesalers can see how the business is performing by branch and product, and reorder quantities are suggested based on this information.
It gives you “dashboard reporting”, meaning that you can see all aspects of your business growth and figures on one screen, and it helps you make investment decisions going forward.
When a product is unavailable for a customer, ASM gives counter staff the ability to swiftly see if a product is available in another branch.
The product can then be transferred to the customer’s nearest branch or even delivered straight to their home. This high level of service prevents the loss of potential sales and improves customer loyalty.
Moving to a modern, efficient system need not be daunting – the BisTrack solution is easy to deploy, access, learn, use, and upgrade. Adding the BisTrack ASM module reduces costly errors and offers improved inventory management, greater stock visibility and enhanced cost control. Employing BisTrack ASM generates outstanding customer service, getting your business fit for growth and ahead of competition.
For Further Information
Find out more about how Epicor can help you manage your warehouse at: www.epicor.com
