E-commerce sector: How warehouse management works in the online age.

Efficiently solve omnichannel logistics - with functions for returns, shipping and inventory management.

Online retail is booming and has been the new normal for years. The e-commerce business is fast, dynamic, versatile and merciless. Customers want everything. Immediately, flawlessly, sustainably, transparently and at the best price. The expectation? An all-round wow experience with no ifs, ands or buts.

Behind every successful online purchase lies a logistical masterpiece. If you want to be successful in this business, you not only need a good product, but also a logistics system that thinks along with you, or rather, thinks ahead.

Countless mini orders arrive every day, customers want next-day delivery, returns flood the warehouse and everyone wants to know exactly where their parcel is. And please also with the option to return and purchase via store, app, social.

The good news: with the right warehouse management system, logistical pressure becomes a real competitive advantage. It's not just a tool, it's like a smart co-pilot.

Our e-commerce customers - including Lampenwelt, Good Time Holding, Stihl, Thomas Sabo, NKD, Husqvarna, Bachmann Elektrotechnik and Breuninger - all have one goal: the perfect supply chain, from the first click to the happy customer.

The challenge: complexity at all levels.

The requirements in the warehouse are not without their challenges - here are the biggest pain points:

• Returns, exchanges and complaints: What goes out often comes back faster than you think. Returns management has long since ceased to be a marginal issue and has become a logistical heavyweight. This is where it is decided whether customers return to the brand or abandon it.
• Acyclical flood of orders with many small orders: Nothing happening on Thursdays, the system bursts on Mondays. Nevertheless, every customer expects fast delivery. Slow processes are a no-go. Smart processes and automation can help.
• Sustainable and cost-effective shipping process: everything should be as resource-friendly as possible, and of course at low cost. Every centimeter of packaging, every gram of weight - hard cash. If you pack cleverly, you not only save costs, but also improve your ecological footprint.
• Expectation of flexible delivery options & fast shipping: Same-day delivery? Click & Collect? Desired time window? Yes, please. Customers have high expectations and they compare. If you don't keep up, you lose. The warehouse thus becomes the control center for customer satisfaction.
• Channel-specific requirements for multi-, cross- and omnichannel: Customer orders online, picks up in store, complains via app. Each sales model has its own logistical requirements. If you don't have everything in one system, you quickly lose control.
• High turnover of large quantities of goods: Large quantities, little time, high demands. Whether Black Friday or summer sales: when pallets are rolling, everything has to be right. From goods receipt to dispatch, you need speed, transparency and a warehouse that thinks ahead.

But there is a solution for every challenge and we are now providing it.

Challenge 1: Returns, exchanges & complaints

Returns are part of everyday working life. And they cost time if they don't fit. Mountains of parcels are returned every day, often acyclically and unexpectedly. This requires structured processes, lightning-fast checks, reliable quality checks and transparent processing for your customers and your team.

‍Oursolution : Returns management with quality inspection

A clear workflow guides your employees step by step through the returns process - from identification including the usage decision, storage and stock correction. Two variants cover all cases - from simple returns to complex quality control in the test warehouse. Everything runs hand in hand with your ERP system. This turns returns into systematic returns.

‍Step-by-step: This is how returns processing works.

1. Identification: It all starts at goods receipt. The returned goods are identified by article number and delivery item.
2. Record & assign: The return is recorded directly in the system and assigned to an existing order.
3. Usage decision: The goods are checked and classified. There are two variants:
   • Option 1: Scrap → can be disposed of. B-goods / 2nd choice → back to the warehouse or first to the workbench for cleaning or repair.
   • Variant 2: For complex products, it's off to the test warehouse. The QA process is waiting there. A trained team checks the items, classifies them and releases them for further processing.
4. Store & update stock: Everything has its place. As soon as it has been decided what to do with the return, it is returned to the warehouse. Including automatic stock correction, of course.
5. Customer communication via ERP: Whether replacement delivery, exchange or repair, the entire process runs via the ERP system.

Technology: How the returns system works in the system.

To process returns via the goods receipt process, the notification data (notification) is required to ensure that everything runs perfectly digitally.

1. Option: The basic data for the returns item is created directly after the parcel is loaded. This means that the returns option is activated in the warehouse management software for each item when a delivery item is shipped. This is valid for six weeks, for example (can be adjusted). If a return is made within this window, it can be processed immediately.
2. Option: Creation of an ad hoc return. The customer announces a return via the returns portal, an app or via customer service. The notification is created directly in the ERP system and automatically transferred to the warehouse management system. There, the system checks whether there is already a pre-announcement - if yes, nothing is created twice. If not, it's done.

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Challenge 2: acyclical flood of orders with many small orders

E-commerce ticks differently. Orders arrive at irregular times. What happens when half of Germany stores at the weekend? The warehouse explodes on Mondays. Lots of small orders, hardly any lead time, maximum hectic. All of this coupled with a highly dynamic stock situation. This requires good warehouse organization, coordinated resource planning and coordinated material flows.

Our 1st solution: Real-time inventory management

Imagine always knowing exactly what is going on in your warehouse. No outdated Excel lists and no nasty surprises. Instead, full transparency in real time. Our system monitors every single item, from goods receipt to dispatch. It not only knows how many items are in stock, but also how many are in stock:

• How many of them are reserved.
• Which are currently being picked.
• And what is actually still available.
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Example: If there are 10 items in the system, 2 reserved and 3 in the picking process, the system shows: 5 items are available. Spot on.

What's the benefit? No stock shortages. No disappointed customers. No loss of sales due to out-of-stock items, but a shopping experience that inspires and creates repeat customers.

Our 2nd solution: efficient warehouse management - with "Warehouse Healing" for top performance

An intelligent warehouse layout, optimized picking processes and smart resource distribution are must-haves in the digital age. Our "Warehouse Healing" strategy offers all of this.

The result: faster order processing, higher productivity and happy customers who get exactly what they ordered, and quickly.

Challenge 3: sustainable and cost-effective shipping process

Every order should be delivered safely, quickly and with as little packaging as possible. At the same time, customers want everything delivered together. Not an easy calculation. Every unnecessary box costs time, money and environmental points. Precise planning is the be-all and end-all. Identify, combine and ship orders - without compromising on delivery time.

‍Our1st solution : Order consolidation

Picking is not a one-man show - it requires teamwork. Between different warehouse areas, employees and the software. Individual parts from orders that come from different areas are parked in the buffer warehouse until they are complete. This means that nothing ends up at the packing station too early or too late - but exactly when it makes sense. The dashboard provides an overview. You can see at any time where each order is, what is still missing and when it will be packed. As soon as the order has been fully picked, the employees retrieve the goods from the buffer warehouse.

Our 2nd solution: smart package planning

Package planning is linked to order consolidation. After all, what good is the best order picking if the goods end up packed in five cartons that are half empty? Exactly. This is precisely why we think one step ahead - with automated package planning. This is where logic and master data come into play. Our warehouse management software analyzes the shipping method, quantity, volume, dimensions, weight and other relevant information in order to plan in advance how many packages are needed and how they should be filled.

Goal: As few boxes as possible and as full as necessary. Less filling material = less waste. Fewer boxes = less shipping costs. All together = more sustainability.

Now comes the famous "but". This only works if the master data is properly maintained. Dimensions and weights must be correct - otherwise the software plans into the blue. Modern volume measurement systems help to record the correct data.

Challenge 4: Expectation of flexible delivery options & fast shipping

Customers love freedom of choice. Standard shipping? Lame. Today, next-day, same-day, click & collect and preferably a large selection of shipping service providers apply. All without compromising on quality or timing, of course.

Our solution: next-day delivery processes

Our software recognizes potential bottlenecks at an early stage and automatically adjusts priorities, picking and resources dynamically. So that the orders that really need to go out urgently are processed and every delivery arrives as promised. This is how smart order management works and next-day becomes the standard, not the exception.

Challenge 5: Channel-specific requirements for multi-, cross- and omnichannel

Selling via websites, online marketplaces, Insta & Co. is commonplace today. Customers see shoes on Instagram, click through to the online store, order them and pick them up in store later. And if they don't fit after all, they are sent back by post. It's all easy for customers, but what happens in the background is anything but trivial.

What good is the best online store if the warehouse doesn't know that someone wants to buy the same shoes in the store? This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. Multichannel strategies are standard, but if you want to create real customer experiences, you have to do more.

Multichannel means selling via different channels, for example online store, stationary retail and perhaps even social media. But each channel works independently. This means that the customer can order online, but cannot return or exchange anything in-store.

With cross-channel, the sales channels are linked together. The customer can store online and pick up the goods in store - keyword: click & collect or vice versa. Returns, exchanges and advice are possible across all channels.

Omnichannel is the expansion stage. Here, the boundaries between channels are completely blurred. The customer moves freely between the app, web store, store, hotline and social media - without any noticeable differences. Everything is synchronized, everything is integrated. From purchase to tracking to returns.

Our solution: multichannel, cross-channel and omnichannel management

The software consolidates orders across channels, intelligently manages storage locations and delivers exactly where the customer wants to be - store, packing station or front door. The control and coordination of orders across the various channels is automated and efficient. This means less stress for employees thanks to clear instructions and a seamless shopping experience for customers.

Challenge 6: high turnover of large quantities of goods

When you think of e-commerce, chic online stores and lightning-fast deliveries probably come to mind. But what often slips under the radar is logistics. Containers of goods arrive every day, and not in short supply. For many warehouses, this means constant stress in incoming goods. Constantly new goods that have to go somewhere before they go straight out again. Short-term storage costs time, space and money.

Our solution: cross-docking process

The goods come in and go out again immediately. Directly to the customer without any detours. This is called cross-docking. And this is exactly what our warehouse management software is made for. The goods are not put into storage. Everything is sorted, packed to order and sent to the dispatch or routing area. Our software controls the process smartly and individually configured.

Summary: In digital commerce, the customer's click is the starting signal. The reality behind online stores? Logistics centers that work under high pressure, systems that communicate in real time and processes that are unforgiving of errors.

It needs technology that thinks for itself, processes that adapt and partners that follow suit. Our warehouse management software gets the goods exactly where they need to be - quickly, efficiently and sustainably.

Ready to rethink your warehouse? Get in touch.

Further blog article: Next level in e-commerce: The software automatically calculates the best storage strategies.‍