7 tips to improve your order picking | RAJA x Cubyn
7min read
03/06/2021
En tant qu’e-commerçant, votre objectif est d’enchanter votre client du début à la fin de son expérience. On pense toujours aux optimisations à faire sur son site, mais le dernier point de contact entre votre marque et votre client, c’est votre colis !
Voici nos 7 conseils pour optimiser la préparation de vos commandes, étape par étape, et sans diminuer la qualité de votre service.
[Cet article a été initialement rédigé par Adrien Fernandez Baca, CEO de Cubyn, et mis à jour en mai 2021]
Le colis est parfois négligé par les acteurs de la logistique, et pour cause ! La livraison peut être un vrai casse-tête et demande plus de préparation qu’on ne pourrait le penser. Faire vite et bien, réduire au maximum le risque d’incident, et satisfaire vos clients de bout-en-bout, c’est possible ? Oui ! Suivez le guide.
1. La gestion des stocks : Connaître ses capacités pour anticiper
Avant de mettre quoi que ce soit
en
- Dedicate a space to order picking: be careful not to mix the steps of order composition, picking or checking before the packages are taken out for example. Each action/step to be carried out by the order picker needs its own space.
- Use everything available around you to separate the different logistics flows: mark the floor with tape or move tables to create separate areas for the logistics operator in charge of packing.
- Make picking easier for your operators, by placing appropriate signage in your warehouses (labelling of shelves and racks, for example). You can also use different colours of spouted bins to distinguish different references of the same product stored in bulk.
- Place the necessary equipment (supplies, tools, etc.)in each space so that your picker does not waste time looking for it as he goes along. The picker’s job already requires a lot of attention on a daily basis: make it easier for your teams!
- Group orders by batch (by carrier, by type of product or by level of urgency, for example) to speed up the processing of each order and limit errors in order to improve your logistics transport.
3.
Optimise the storage system
Keeping control of your stock storage is essential for your e-commerce activity. To do this, it is useful to calculate and count stocks in real time over the period
- If you use a logistics management software (CMS or WMS type), do not hesitate to look at the complementary applications that are proposed: many functionalities will allow you to keep an eye on your stocks, from the reception of the goods to their routing.
- If you sell your products on several platforms (e-commerce site, marketplaces, price comparison sites, etc.), we advise youto plan different storage areas according to your different sales channels. Each of these locations will allow you to keep a precise overview of the items stored according to the channels.
- Finally, don’t forget to note in your inventory when a product leaves your stock (and from which sales channel), or you risk spending a long time updating your stock status.
4. Facilitate the preparation of your orders
At this stage, the challenge is to choose the right object to associate with the right order. To do this, you can proceed in two ways
- First of all, you can group the orders to be prepared by handremember to note that item A has been assigned to order number 1 on your purchase order, as you will be relying on this list for the next steps.
- If you are equipped, your pickers can perform the composition of your orders with the help of a scan some warehouses have also chosen to use voice picking in the transport and logistics sector.
- We also recommend working in pairs, to increase vigilance at all stages: person A can take care of assembly and packaging, while person B checks against the order forms.
- Don’t skimp on checking at this critical stage it reduces many of the errors that could harm youlater on.
| Do you have all the equipment needed to improve order picking for your operators? From basic equipment such as cutters, rolls of tape and packaging, to handling equipment (forklift trucks, simple trolleys, pallet trucks, etc.), check that your order pickers have everything they need to pick the goods efficiently. |
5.
Pack your package well
Once you are sure that you have put the right product in the right package, you need to pack it… But not just any old way! As your packages pass through the hands of several service providers and travel in many trucks and places, the packaging must be strong and suitable
- To limit incidents, we recommend that you choose cartons as close as possible to the size of your product(even if you have to buy several references).
- Remember to carry out tests to optimise the process and choose the most suitable formulayou can even take the experiment further by sending orders to yourself to see the condition of the parcel on receipt (time, condition of the box and the product, etc.).
- Once you have found the right way to pack your packagesyou can establish standardswith these standards, you will be able to order the right packaging supplies regularly and always have them on hand But most importantly, the packing stage will be easier to perform,even for new staff (they will get the hang of it quickly).
asyou can see, efficient order picking is good… but well-protected shipping is better.
6. Generate labels efficiently
Any order picking system requires good order label management. To print your labels, you can..
- either print everything at once,
- or print the labels in batches (as for orders, by carrier for example) This second option increases your efficiency and limits human error.
you can then choose a place to place your label (and stick to it for all parcels), such as on the widest side so that it is easily readable by the various machines that read barcodes.
7. Check (and double-check
)We cannot repeat it enough: frequent checks at each stage of the order preparation process are absolutely necessary to
- Increase efficiency and reduce order preparation timeof orders
- Reduce errors and avoid unhappy customersor litigation to manage
some mistakes can be very damaging to customer relations, and thus to your reputation, so caution is the better part of valour, even if you have implemented some automation of order preparation!
8. Bonus: Don’t over-promise
if it is important to know your logistical capacities (see point 1/), it is also to be able to announce to your customers the most realistic delivery times possible
Making promises that are impossible to keep can be detrimental to your business: it is better to announce the shipment of the package 1 day later to ensure the quality of the shipment of the customer order,we therefore encourage you to be as transparent as possible on your website.
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La préparation de votre commande est l’étape qui vous prendra le plus de temps, et s’il est important de gagner en efficacité, la qualité du service ne doit pas en pâtir.
Tous ces éléments pour optimiser votre processus de préparation de commande pourront de prime abord vous paraître longs et fastidieux à mettre en place. Pourtant, ils vous rendront plus rapide et efficace à terme, et réduiront les erreurs humaines. Ne perdez pas de vue que la gestion d’un incident est beaucoup plus chronophage qu’il n’y paraît (relation avec le client, enquête auprès du transporteur, dédommagements…) et que votre image pourra être impactée.
Cubyn est la solution logistique qui simplifie vos expéditions de colis. Nous collectons, emballons et expédions chaque colis au transporteur adapté, le jour même. Grâce à notre interface centralisée, programmez vos collectes et suivez vos commandes en temps réel. Plus d’info su
