THE FUTURE OF THE WAREHOUSE
amount of online B2C business being fulfilled from a retail outlet ( shop floor or back of store ) as opposed to a distribution centre , which further emphasises the need for agility and enterprise visibility . It ’ s also increasing the pressure on the ‘ back room staff ’ to execute faster to shorten fulfilment times even further and promise a sub 24-hour service .
No wonder more and more retailers are turning to 3PLs to create innovative solutions to help address this challenge .
3PLs : The pressure to deliver Increasingly 3PLs are expected to be centres of excellence , bringing gamechanging solutions to a contract . It ’ s true that the very nature and focus of their business means they are able to run a more dynamic operation ,
‘ B2C worldwide e-commerce sales will reach $ 1.471 trillion in 2015 , an increase of 20 percent over the previous year ’ segmenting and sharing shelf space across multiple clients giving them the flexibility to utilise their capacity .
But , let ’ s not underestimate the planning and forecasting headaches involved here .
The level of innovation required to be successful takes both time and money . Yet , at the same time , contract lengths are getting shorter . Historically terms of up to ten years were commonplace , this has shortened over the years to terms of 3-5 years but today they can be as brief as six months .
Such complex operations need optimised , yet standardised processes to manage all these scenarios ( different customers , multiple products ( with varying sales volumes ) differing materials handling , various health and safety needs ) and all in one concurrent workflow whilst offering real Value- add services .
Flexibility is paramount
People remain at the forefront of the solution . Staff who are equipped with one technology which can be used for any customer , any product and in multiple locations and environments . It shouldn ’ t matter whether the product is heading for a shelf in a
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