4 Ways Warehouse Management Software Increases Customer Satisfaction

When shopping, customers have various needs they expect to fulfill. As a warehouse owner, it becomes your responsibility to meet and surpass these needs. Warehouse management software (WMS) is an integral part of this responsibility among the various business tools you use.  

With the right warehouse management software, you can streamline your operations and ensure optimum workflow, labor management, and productivity. This can help you meet your customers’ needs and expectations and, in so doing, create a good reputation in your industry. While obtaining its operational benefits, the customer-oriented advantage helps you improve customer satisfaction. 

Below are some ways the right WMS can help increase your business’s customer satisfaction. 

 

1. Enables You To Forecast And Plan Your Inventory Levels 

 

The demand for your inventory will change from one period to another. However, you may not know the exact time when this change happens. As such, sometimes you may find yourself with stock-outs, making your customers turn elsewhere. But with warehouse management software, you can use its historical data to identify demand levels of products and stock accordingly. 

Proper anticipation of the increase or decrease of demand facilitates the correct stock levels. As this helps you avoid shortages, it builds your reputation in terms of reliability. Thus, customers know they’re assured of getting the particular product every time they shop with you. 

Additionally, WMS can help forecast changes in the supply chain. You can then prepare for a low product supply even though there’s still a reasonable demand. Thus, you can adequately pre-stock in anticipation of the low-supply period. This can put you ahead of your competition. Consequently, your customers can rely on your ability to have stock no matter the season.  

Given that WMS gives you real-time stock levels, you can use this data to monitor stock movement and evaluate Periodic Automatic Replenishment (PAR) levels. Knowing your PAR levels helps you create a lead-time that cushions you against stock-out. Thus, you can know when to place your re-stocking orders for timely delivery, depending on your purchasing process. 

Overall, WMS helps you anticipate supply and demand fluctuations, thereby maintaining the right stock as per season. This anticipation means you eliminate customer frustration when the product is out-of-stock or if they wait for another week or two. 

 

2. Enables You To Maximize On Storage Space

 

As mentioned earlier, a WMS enables you to determine stock re-order levels accurately. Therefore, it helps you avoid excessive or over-stocking. If you don’t use a WMS, excessive stock can mean that you may not have space to store new product versions and product ranges. If customers visit your warehouse, they may not get the latest products they want. As a result, you can lose your customer base that values new product ranges.

 

3. Helps Your Team Fulfil And Deliver Orders Faster

 

Without proper warehouse organization, it may take a little longer for your team to locate stock items. The few extra minutes it takes for an order to reach the customer can make some customers impatient and irritated. Some customers may take a one-time delay as a one-off. However, if they experience the same delay more than once, it could signal that you’re slow and paint your organization as such. As a result, it lowers your customer experience and turns others away from your business.

A warehouse management software lets your team know the exact location of inventory items. This reduces their walk and search time, thereby delivering faster orders. This efficiency also means that they can process more orders in less time. In the end, you’ll increase your customer turnover as they experience a quick and precise visit to your warehouse. 

As most customers value their time, a swift order delivery on your end helps put them at ease. Reducing the time between order and delivery can make a lasting impression and help retain your customers. Some customers may even refer others to your business if they feel satisfied with your timely services. 

 

4. Improved Order Accuracy

 

A warehouse management software improves not only the delivery speed but also accuracy. Even if a customer receives a product on time, having the wrong product specification can ruin their shopping experience. Sometimes, it can only take one such incident to turn away your customers. 

When using warehouse management software, you get to label and code your products, improving warehouse organization. Using barcode scanners, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and batch numbers, your team members can quickly and accurately pick products. Thus, it ensures your business dispensed a customer’s order accurately. 

Conclusion

Customer satisfaction revolves around speed, accuracy, and availability in most cases. If you can deliver to your customers within a short period and accurately, you earn yourself a satisfied customer base. Additionally, ensuring you are well-stocked helps in avoiding customer frustration. You can attain these key customer satisfaction pillars with warehouse management software.