The US Department of Commerce recently released the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for Q3 2023. Retail e-commerce sales in the United States made up 15.6 percent of total sales, amounting to $271.7 billion. This marks a 7.6% increase from the third quarter of 2022.
From an Operations perspective, pallet-in/pallet-out is evolving and probably changing faster than the heady growth rates reported by the WSJ’s eComm reports and other sources around the globe.
While some organizations continue to leverage existing solutions, previously optimized for pallet-in/pallet-out processes, many firms have been able to reduce (but not maintain) cost metrics with Voice-Enabled workflows supporting eCommerce and Omni-channel strategies in a variety of business models.
Why Voice-Enabled Workflows?
- Productivity – eventually, all distribution operations begin to focus on metrics. Picks per hour (PPH) or similar derivatives, is a common metric used in many organizations today. Voice-enabled selection processes allow the selector to spend less time at the pick face. Like a race car in a 200 loop event with 4 turns – shaving fractions of seconds off each turn is a winning formula.
- Accuracy – over the last decade, the tolerance for inaccuracy has grown significantly. Many organizations have added bodies, and processes to make sure the receivers get exactly what’s ordered. The economics behind improved accuracy are compelling. Voice-enabled workflows tend to be orders of magnitude more accurate than other selection technologies. When comparing the investment to the results and flexibility – the ability to respond to the changes that will be inevitable, the value proposition quickly distances itself from the alternatives.
- Better supervisory control – while a majority of the workforce doesn’t require a labor chaperone, supervisors and front line managers can leverage visibility to workflows, rush orders and real-time changes in demand signals and re-organize work on the floor without the traditional delays most operations have come to expect.
- Complete visibility – line item selection visibility provides insights into operational data that is often unavailable today. In many cases, these insights are more granular than ad-hoc LMS solutions or data warehouse alternatives.
Why Are Voice-enabled Workflows Important Today?
Ecommerce growth rates continue to rise year over year, even after the massive jump of 2020. Leveraging yesterday’s tools and processes for today’s realities is an invitation for competitors to gain a foothold and shift the customer preferences. As e-Commerce continues to grow at this robust pace, the case for voice-enabling the selection processes in your DC are too compelling to ignore. Want to make sure you can stay a step ahead of competitors? Contact us to learn how a Mountain Leverage voice solution could be just the thing you need.