Modern warehouses are under more pressure than ever. Consumers expect lightning-fast delivery times and tend to be less understanding of delays. To adapt to shifting consumer expectations and keep pace with leading distributors, warehouses should upgrade their tech stack to include cloud-based warehouse task management software.
According to Global Newswire, the market size for global warehouse management systems is expected to reach a value of $51.36 billion by the year 2030 and experience a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.3%. This growth has led to countless innovations, resulting in warehouse task management software that meets the needs of modern businesses.
You may wonder what warehouse task management software is and, more importantly, how it might help you oversee warehouse tasks and build your business more effectively. Let’s take a deeper dive so that you can take your operational efficiency to the next level.
What Is Warehouse Task Management?
Warehouse task management is the process of ensuring that the right warehouse tasks are assigned to the appropriate team member at the correct time. Traditionally, you are responsible for manually creating, assigning, and overseeing the completion of these tasks, but you can optimize the process using warehouse task management software.
How Can a Warehouse Task Management Software Help?
Leading warehouse task management software automatically creates tasks, which you can then assign to workers based on factors such as:
- Priority level
- Task type
- Equipment type
- Employee proximity to the work zone
Facilitating the assignment and prioritization of tasks optimizes operational efficiency and helps your team get more done. Additionally, the software tracks the performance of the team and its individual employees, compiles that data, and provides real-time insights into the status of your warehouse tasks. At a glance, you can see which tasks are still pending and ensure that mission-critical work is performed on time.
One of the most notable logistical benefits of these systems is that they support task interleaving — the process of merging multiple tasks and performing them on a single trip. For instance, instead of performing a putaway and pick in two separate trips, a worker could carry the putaway stock with them, stow it on the appropriate shelf, and then pick items while they are in the vicinity. This interleaving process saves time and eliminates the need to make multiple trips.
You can also use your software to generate detailed performance reports and identify potential bottlenecks in your workflow. In turn, you can proactively address them and promote operational efficiency.
8 Benefits of Warehouse Task Management
Integrating warehouse task management software into your facility management strategy will allow you to unlock benefits such as:
1. Increased Productivity
Once implemented, warehouse task management software will automatically create and queue tasks for you. You can then ensure that each task is assigned to the appropriate team member based on need, priority, and other factors. As such, these technologies reduce wasteful employee downtime and accelerate decision-making, for as soon as an employee completes one designated task, they are assigned another in the queue.
2. More Efficiency
Managing warehouse tasks with automated technology and tools can increase efficiency. You will no longer have to spend entire workdays creating tasks and following up with employees to ensure all assigned work is completed on time.
Instead, you’ll gain a high-level view of your entire operation via your warehouse task management technology, where you can also track in-progress tasks, address delays or other issues, monitor team performance, and redistribute work as needed to maximize your overall efficiency.
3. Eases the Need to Hire Qualified Workers
When your existing team becomes overwhelmed with work, the traditional solution is to hire more staff members. This is a bigger issue since the industry has had challenges hiring qualified workers for a long time, according to the latest MHI Annual Industry Report.
Warehouse task management software can allow you to complete more tasks with your existing resources, removing the need to hire more.
One way your new tech tool can help do this is by task interleaving, which combines warehouse tasks so they are completed in one trip. Additionally, you can use your warehouse task assignment tools to maximize staff and equipment utilization rates, thus reducing waste.
4. Complete Visibility
Losing sight of your warehouse tasks and processes can cause major bottlenecks to go unnoticed. Before you know it, your team will be in the hot seat as they scramble to make up lost time and correct mistakes.
Warehouse task management software makes these nightmare scenarios a thing of the past, providing you with complete visibility of task statuses, due dates, and more, and you can access that data from your office or while on the go using an intuitive mobile app. With the right warehouse task management solution, you will always be in the know.
5. Fewer Disruptions
When you assign warehouse tasks manually, certain pieces of work can get stuck in limbo. Warehouse task management software prevents that from happening, as it automatically creates and queues tasks for your team members.
The task distribution capabilities of leading software solutions make delegating work effortless. If an employee fails to complete a task by a set deadline, you will receive an automated notification so that you can address the issue and prevent disruptions to your workflow.
6. Easier Task Prioritization
Warehouse task management software uses advanced algorithms to automatically prioritize tasks so you don’t have to, and tapping into such capabilities allows you to increase operational efficiency and promote continuity. You can avoid task backlogs and ensure that the most critical tasks are completed on time.
7. Improved Customer Satisfaction
When you modernize your warehouse management processes, everyone wins, especially your customers. Your team will become more efficient and achieve a higher perfect order rate, meaning your customers are less likely to encounter an issue with their deliveries.
Improving customer satisfaction with warehouse task management software will, in turn, support the long-term growth of your business. You will set the stage for greater retention rates while strengthening your brand’s reputation within your industry.
8. Increased Employee Satisfaction
In a poorly managed warehouse, high-performing employees often end up with an unfair share of responsibilities. This can lead to burnout, low morale, and high turnover. To prevent this, it’s important to ensure that the workload is evenly distributed. Warehouse task management software can help achieve this. You can assign tasks to team members based on skill level, equipment availability, and other relevant factors.
Summary
Warehouse task management software can be a true game changer for your organization. By integrating such a solution into your workflow, you can:
- Increase productivity
- Improve efficiency
- Reduce hiring needs
- Achieve end-to-end visibility
- Minimize disruptions
- Prioritize tasks more effectively
- Improve customer satisfaction
- Increase employee morale
Are you ready to automate key workflows, modernize your warehouse, and elevate your productivity? If so, try out our solutions finder tool.
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