One thing that’s really been driven home in recent weeks is that warehouses need to be adaptive to deal with changing business patterns.
Many retailers, such as Crew Clothing and Joules have modified, their businesses. With fewer people visiting their retail shops, they have had to increase their e-commerce operations to create extra income. The coronavirus pandemic closed shops selling non-essential items, meaning the only way some retailers have survived is by selling online.
The need for adaptability
When online sales jump from a few a day to many hundreds, this presents logistics challenges for warehouses that process the orders. Extra shelves have to be added and room found for more packing stations. Staff need to be recruited and additional warehouse trolleys purchased.
Order processing software and apps need to be able to cope with an increase in business. Systems should track all the movement of goods, from when they arrive at the warehouse, are put on shelves to be picked, packed and delivered to the customer.
Mobile packing tables
An essential part of the packing station are the packing tables. They should be flexible to cope with fluctuating business. When designing a packing station, the future needs to be considered. A packing station may be sufficient to handle present order levels, but what happens if orders double?
The table’s shelves and other equipment that are part of the packing station need to be mobile so that the packing station can be extended to respond to increased order volumes. Mobile tables have wheels that can be locked in place when the table is operational and freely moved when the table needs relocating.
To be ready for an upturn in business, more mobile tables should be bought and stored until they are needed. One lesson to be learned from recent history is that business is unpredictable. Online sales were predicted to rise, but no forecasters could provide accurate figures for how much it would increase during lockdown.
Warehouses need to be ready to act quickly to extend packing stations and not have to wait for the tables to be delivered before modifying the packing station. This can cause delays in processing orders. Amazon and other large retailers have pioneered fast next-day delivery and this is what customers expect from all retailers. Delays mean that customers start shopping with competitors.
Strong mobile tables
Mobile tables get a lot of heavy use, with items lifted on and off them all day. This is why they need to be made from strong and durable tubular steel. The wheels on them must enable one person to easily move the table.
UK manufacturers are known for using skilled metalworkers who make sure that all welded joints are strong. They make tables to custom sizes to maximise the use of the space available for packing stations. Unlike overseas manufacturers, UK-based ones have quick delivery times.
Meeting the challenge
The coronavirus has created great challenges for retailers, and not all will survive. The ones that do have adapted their businesses and their warehouses to cope with changing business patterns.
If you’re faced with change right now, why not contact us via the form below for advice on how our custom-built mobile tables can help?
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