In the warehouse, combining in-store replenishment and e-commerce picking is a major challenge, particularly when it comes to managing the complexities of omnichannel inventory management, fluctuating order volumes and the need for rapid order fulfilment. However, by overcoming these obstacles, it is possible to unlock substantial operational benefits, particularly for companies offering a wide range of products.
Let’s take a look at how Exotec®‘s Skypod® system, capable of integrating shop replenishment and e-commerce order fulfilment, can make a difference to your omnichannel operations. In the next few lines, let’s imagine that you have purchased a Skypod system, and are now reaping the benefits of this investment…
Discover the Skypod system’s ability to combine in-store replenishment and e-commerce preparation in a single robotic system.
More versatility = More resilience
Managing order fulfilment from different systems limited your ability to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, customer preferences and unexpected supply chain disruptions. With your new Skypod system in place, these challenges have become opportunities for growth. Designed to meet a variety of storage, distribution and order fulfilment needs, with the ability to handle both parts and cases, it allows you to quickly adjust your channel mix. You can easily allocate more resources to specific channels as needed, ensuring the efficiency and resilience of your operations.
Reduced costs and improved working conditions
The ability to combine in-store replenishment and e-commerce fulfilment into a single system means you can now significantly reduce the laborious aspects of warehouse order picking, relieving your employees of repetitive tasks and physical fatigue. Not to mention the benefits to your operations of assigning staff to higher value-added tasks, such as quality control or bespoke packaging.
The modular design of the Skypod system means that the number of robots, stations and racks can be adapted quickly and easily.
Increased scalability
With your new modular system, you can independently upgrade throughput and storage to meet your specific needs, without incurring the unnecessary costs of purchasing additional equipment. Need to increase throughput? Simply add robots, which can be done in a matter of minutes. Need more storage space? Additional shelving can be added in a matter of weeks, with minimal impact on current operations. An increase in sales no longer requires a proportional increase in manpower to fulfil orders.
Increased storage density
In a highly competitive commercial environment where optimising storage space is paramount, using two separate systems had one unfortunate consequence: space constraints that limited your ability to store goods efficiently and increase your stock levels. Gone was the seemingly endless maze of shelves. All that has been replaced by high-density storage shelving that uses the full height of your warehouse. Now your order fulfilment operations can take place in a smaller space.
24/7/365 supportThe performance and availability of your Skypod system are contractually guaranteed. Goods move throughout the system without a single point of failure or bottleneck. What’s more, a specialist on-site expert and a remote monitoring team work together 7 to ensure 24/7/365 reliability. Now you can look to the future with peace of mind, knowing that your operations will go ahead as planned. Whatever the changing environment.
Turn your order-picking dreams into reality
Contact our team to find out more about how Exotec can unify in-store replenishment and e-commerce preparation.