As ecommerce continues to grow in popularity across UK markets, short-notice demand for products is on the rise and timescales between stock arrival and distribution are becoming increasingly short.

Warehousing and logistics solutions firm The NX Group shares its secrets for maintaining standards of service and quality in the face of tight deadlines and unpredictable spikes in customer demand:

Forward planning and correct allocation can prevent stock loss.

This is a two-way street between the customer and us, the warehousing firm. It’s down to the customer to communicate their stock priorities and urgent delivery requests to our warehouse, in advance where possible. We can then get a picture of which SKUs are likely to move faster and in bulk, and work with the customer to allocate stock accordingly.

Be prepared for peak season… and for off-peak surprises.

Supply and demand can be a tricky balance to strike – finding a happy medium between preparing for unpredictable periods of high demand and avoiding the potential costs of overstocking is a constant concern for any business. By maximising warehouse space and storage efficiency, we can ensure we’re in the best position possible to cater for our customers’ fluctuating storage requirements.

An effective warehouse management system (WMS) is invaluable.

With a good WMS, customers and their stockists alike have the advantage of being able to see exactly how much product is in stock at any given time, as well as how much space is available for increasing stock levels if needs be. A digital, streamlined system also saves everyone time, which is invaluable when deadlines are pressing.

It’s all about balancing quality with urgency.

Staying on top of deadlines while ensuring effective quality control is often down to having the right people in the right roles – those who are organised and calm under pressure will be naturally efficient. Quality needn’t be compromised under the pressure of an impending deadline: provided communication is constant and expectations are managed, the customer’s needs will most likely be met and hopefully exceeded.

Richard Mallard, Senior Operations Manager at The NX Group, says: “At The NX Group we work to service level agreements and strict deadlines, often needing to complete a delivery within 24 hours of an order coming through to our warehouse. We are always prepared to push the boat out if required and we endeavour at all times to accommodate special requests or extra requirements from our customers.”

THE NX GROUP

www.thenxgroup.com

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