Why it’s important to prepare your warehouse now for Black Friday 2019

Friday 29 November 2019 may seem a long way away, but if you need to improve on your last Black Friday performance, now is the time to consider changes to your warehouse practices. The sale period is getting longer each year; stretching from the week leading up to Black Friday itself, then onwards past Cyber Monday.   

Designing and installing new processes that will help you cope with the uplift in orders is going to take time. Planning early in the year, however, will guarantee you can deliver on your promises when the orders come flooding in during November and December.  

How to deliver on time, every time

What can you do to prepare your distribution centre to cope with these peak demands? How can you increase your productivity without jeopardising accuracy so that orders are delivered on time, every time?  

For most the answer doesn’t lie with recruiting and training additional workers. Many businesses are now discovering that affordable seasonal labour can be difficult to find and costly to employ for a short period of time. Other companies rely on renting out extra space to cope with the additional demand for stock, but this too is less than ideal.

Automation is the answer

Introducing automation into your facility alleviates the need for buying in extra hands to help and it also enables you to maximise your existing space. Not only that, it boosts the accuracy of your orders because it reduces manual handling and, therefore, human errors. The faster processes increase productivity enabling your company to achieve efficiencies that result in improved levels of customer satisfaction and profit.

Once you’ve decided to go the automated route, calling in experienced help at an early stage in the proceedings is a sound investment of your time. It’s a decision that will not only save you time and money, it will also buy you peace of mind.

Trust the experts to take the strain

Take time to check out which are the best companies in the automated materials handling industry, choose one with experience in your market, an established reputation and a strong customer portfolio.

Companies like AMH Material Handling are automation specialists; they are experts in design, installation and maintenance of materials handling solutions. They have a broad knowledge of markets, including retail, fashion, ecommerce, 3PLs, automotive supplies and the dry grocery sector.

They understand that every distribution environment is unique. Their specialist engineers will work with you to design the right solution at the right price, creating a bespoke system to match your particular challenges. Using data analysis techniques AMH can model conceptual designs, illustrating these models with 3D representations.

Once the design is signed off, AMH will project manage the entire operation through manufacture, installation and commissioning. For total peace of mind, they can also offer ongoing support with a variety of maintenance solutions as well as total life cycle asset management.

Streamline your conveying and sortation to increase productivity

Modern automated multi-layer conveyor systems and sortation solutions can efficiently process a diverse range of products in less space than it has often taken to handle the same order volumes manually. Making the most of the valuable space you already have can mean the difference between staying put or having to move to bigger premises to cope with increased demand.

It is important to check that the system you select can accommodate mixed product loads and sizes to allow for possible future changes in your product offering. AMH has materials handling solutions for all applications from flat goods to hanging garment systems.   

Act now for a successful outcome

An AMH installation was recently completed for an international courier company in time for the high level of customer orders expected for Black Friday 2018. The solution proved its success by eliminating the need for the courier to hire up to 40 extra staff for the two week period to cope with the upturn in demand.

Contact AMH Material Handling to discuss your operational needs in time for Black Friday 2019. Call Adrian Carter on 0121 550 4342 or email sales@amhmaterialhandling.com to arrange an initial consultation.

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