Whether you currently employ parcel automation technology or you’re still manually processing packages, making the investment in an additional or new system makes sense more than ever. You may be aware of the reduction in labor costs and requirements as well as potentially reduced shipping costs that automation provides, but there are wide range of other reasons that make automation a compelling investment. Here are a few...
Staying competitive is today’s ecommerce climate is essential. According to a Zebra Technologies study, 80% of organizations are planning to invest in technologies that make them more competitive. Consumers want their packages fast, they want to be able to track them, and they want shipping at little to no cost. Automation helps facilitate this. If you can’t deliver on these demands, your competitors will, and that difference has the potential to make or break an operation.
When you have an automation system in place you have access to a range of data at your fingertips. This information can give you a clearer understanding of shipping variables that can provide the information required to negotiate better shipping rates. Data provides better cost per piece information for pricing your services. Data tracking allows you to track packages to shipping containers and identify the location, condition, and status of your shipments in real time. This is essential in today’s get it now shipping environment. The data provided by automation systems, when coupled with route planner software, allows you to make adjustments so that shipments are taking the optimal path towards their destination and your able to better plan for your capacity requirements to meet customer demand. These are just a few of the benefits of automation data.
Repetitive motion is one of the leading causes of ergonomic related workplace injury, particularly musculoskeletal disorders, that include carpel tunnel, tendinitis, and lower back injuries. Manually processing parcels often requires repetitive motion. Workplace injuries are extremely costly and disruptive to an organization, now more than ever. Employee downtime leads to a loss of productivity, higher insurance, medical and retraining costs, and more. Automation decreases the number of employees required to process packages and parcels, thereby limiting risk and lowers the number of manual steps for processing.
To Err is Human - and that is exactly what happens when parcels are manually processed. In this hyper competitive marketplace errors have ripple effects across your organization more than they ever have. The issues that result from errors today are exacerbated by technology. When a customer has a poor experience they often leave poor online reviews. Reviews are being relied on heavily when customers make purchase decisions. Goods that are picked incorrectly or packages that are labeled improperly, or misplaced, can lead to delays in delivery. These types of errors can lead to poor online reviews. Automation can help dramatically reduce errors.
