If you’re formulating an ecommerce fulfillment strategy, there is something you should know:
The software you choose to run your ecommerce operation will be the largest contributing factor to the success or failure of that operation.
Don’t Get Distracted by Shiny Objects.
Equipment costs are typically the highest ticket item when it comes to investing in an automated fulfillment solution, so they not only tend to command greater attention by those involved in the decision process, but also tend to shift the focus away from other critical considerations like the software that will run the system. Consequently, software is often a secondary consideration.
That can be costly.
Equipment systems are only as good as the software that runs them. And given the multitude of systems in a typical automated fulfillment operation, seamlessly orchestrating those systems in a way that keeps customers satisfied while preserving profit margins is what matters most.
Focus on the Software First.
No doubt there are a multitude of factors to be considered when developing an ecommerce fulfillment strategy. To develop a solution that will yield a market advantage, those factors should include:
- A data-science-based approach to analysis of your company data that reveals the secrets hidden in the data.
- A modeling and simulation process that tests design options against multiple future state scenarios.
- An inventory storage, handling, and allocation strategy that minimizes touches and pick efforts while maximizing warehouse flow.
- An in-depth analysis of equipment technology options that weighs contributions versus costs for each item considered.
But the real key to any successful ecommerce operation is the intelligence that runs it. System performance, payback, and ROI are all directly tied to the software that runs your system versus the hardware from which it is built. And the better the software, the greater the returns — often in spite of the equipment used.
Why Ecommerce Fulfillment Demands Peak Software Performance.
The logistical burdens of ecommerce are hobbling many retailers with missed customer commitments, diminished profit margins, and eroding market share. The reasons for this are simple:
- Ecommerce complicates the fulfillment process.
- Changes in consumer expectations have left retailers no margin for error.
In fact, the ecommerce fulfillment process requires a level of performance far above what was needed for traditional retail distribution in the past, demanding:
- Seamless integration between processes
- Millisecond database query and decision-making capabilities
- A sophistication in computing capabilities that factors in handling costs, shipping costs, and customer promise dates when determining the best processing method for each order.
This is why the success of your operation will be tied to the capabilities of the software you choose to orchestrate your system.
Why Software is Your Most Valuable Player.
A comparative look at the roles of fulfillment automation equipment versus the software that governs it may paint a clearer picture of the link between software and success.
| Roles of Automation Equipment | vs | Roles of Automation Software |
| Achieve machine rate on individual equipment systems. | vs | Manage work in progress (WIP) levels, balance productivity zones, and maximize equipment and labor resource usage to optimize overall system throughput rate while minimizing handling and shipping costs. |
| Place and remove totes/cases from ASRS. | vs | Manage ASRS inventory slotting strategy, schedule ASRS pick-up and drop-off tasks, and coordinate shuttle and lift behaviors. |
| Drop-off items in sortation chutes. | vs | Use just-in-time decisions to assign inventory to optimal chute locations to maximize shipping savings while ensuring customer commitments are met. |
| Illuminate light panels on put wall. | vs | Assess system-wide order profile and assign goods to put locations to consolidate order line items in one place. |
| Utilize mobile robotics to transport goods throughout warehouse. | vs | Develop routing strategy for entire fleet of mobile robots. |
| Weigh, label, and convey packages onto truck trailers. | vs | Use multiple variables to determine the best shipping method and carrier, create appropriate shipping label information, and manifest shipments. |
Automate Logistics, Technology, and Humans… as well as Your Success.
At MSI Automate, we have helped some of the industry’s leading retailers grow their brands in the Ecommerce Economy. In doing so, we have developed a software platform specifically geared for the rigors of ecommerce and omnichannel fulfillment.
Here is what makes it unique and what you should look for in choosing a software for your ecommerce fulfillment strategy.
Advanced Functionality:
Seamless processing is key to maximizing efficiencies between tasks in an ecommerce fulfillment operation. That means the best software will offer the kind of comprehensive functionality that requires no handoffs between disparate software packages and minimal handoffs between databases.
MSI Automate’s Automate Software Platform does away with the alphabet soup of warehouse software offerings (WMS, WCS, WES, TMS, LMS, DOM, and WFA) and replaces it with one comprehensive solution that controls all the logistical, equipment, and human functions in a retail distribution center from receiving through shipping.
Operational Visibility and Intelligence:
The best fulfillment software enables you to exploit insights of operational complexities and relationships and use that knowledge to manage operations.
Automate continuously captures and processes millions of operational data points for use in real-time decisions, system-wide visibility, business insight, and continuous improvement. This enables a level of operational awareness not previously possible.
Analytics, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence:
Great ecommerce software is born of an analytics process and honed in a system design process where its algorithms are formulated and then strengthened through modeling and simulation. It then relies on a data-driven AI process to manage your operation.
Automate’s scientifically derived algorithms use real-time data and resource/time-based priorities to reach decisions that optimize productivity on the fly in widely fluctuating operational conditions. Artificial intelligence drives decisions for how orders are filled, based on operational and time-sensitive criteria.
Real-time Optimization of Workload, Workforce, and Equipment Systems:
The complexities of automated fulfillment systems require a level of relational understanding and decision capabilities that are beyond human performance. That’s where software comes in.
Automate empowers managers with the ability to reshape operational assets in ways that optimize resource usage. This includes a workforce automation application that automatically reassigns the best qualified labor resources to specific jobs as needed and a warehouse execution functionality that repurposes and reroutes robotic technology on an as-needed basis as well.
Continuous Systems Improvement:
Equipment is generally considered to be an asset with diminishing returns. But software with machine learning capabilities can turn that scenario on its head, because it will use continuous systems analysis to improve performance over time. This will be especially true with emerging robotic technology.
Automate lets you profit from continuous improvement of existing technology, so the return on your investment will actually be more productive in the future than the day it went live.
Technology Enablement:
Some software providers believe that technology enablement is not in their best interest, because technological improvement generally results in fewer laborers and hence requires fewer software user licenses. This puts software providers in the role of gate keepers between technology providers and their customers and often results in software clients having limited access to new technology.
At MSI Automate, we’ve chosen to empower our customers to use technological change to their advantage. Our Automate platform is committed to enabling, integrating, and supporting any technology that can enhance efficiency with plug-and-play capabilities. So as new technology emerges, the only barrier to using it will be whether you choose to or not.
Ensure Ecommerce Success with a Software Platform that Delivers.
Whether you have a single omnichannel distribution center or a complex network of facilities, and whether you prefer a standard software license or Software as a Service (SaaS), Automate ensures you can increase ecommerce success while decreasing fulfillment costs.
So if you’re considering an ecommerce fulfillment strategy, consider software first.
Walter High is VP Marketing at MSI Automate, where he has worked since 2012.