Today’s the age of swift consumerism as no one wants to wait to get their hands on their ordered products. In fact, many consumers think about ordering a product like moving a wand and their product lands at their doorstep in a moment.
If that’s the customer expectation, don’t you think that the efficient and in-time delivery of goods plays a crucial role in making your business successful? You would be surprised to know that managing the supplies depends the most on a robust distribution centre.
From receiving, segmenting, or storing the products to ensuring their delivery is on time, a distribution centre in Canada is the hub of contemporary ecommerce.
In this article, you’ll learn about the ten important functions of a distribution centre. So, let’s begin with the first point!
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Inspecting the products
Any product has a long journey to cover till it reaches the end consumer. However, that journey begins at a distribution centre. Once the products arrive, the shipments are received carefully and even inspected immaculately against the purchase orders. This thorough process makes sure that the products meet the standards in place for quality. This is how the integrity of the supply chain is kept intact.
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Storing the goods
Once the inspection is done, the products are appropriately put into the designated storage locations in the centre. With efficiency in storage approaches, space utilization is boosted, and the handling costs are reduced considerably. Many distribution centres involve advanced inventory management systems to check on the current location of each item. It makes sure that the retrieval is swift and precise.
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Picking and fulfilling the orders
Do you know in delivering customer orders, distribution centres play a crucial role in getting the needed items from their storage locations? This process can be automated by using many cutting-edge technologies, like voice-directed picking and many other such technologies. Appropriate order picking is important to lessen human errors and even to ensure that the end customer is satisfied.
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Packing & shipping
Even long before the goods are dispatched, they are consciously packed to secure them while transporting them. The best packaging materials are chosen depending on the fragility of the product and even the method of shipping. The shipping labels and the proper documents are produced in the distribution centre, and the packages are prepared to ship via different mediums.
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Managing the inventory
Managing the inventory is important to maintaining proper stock levels and diminishing the probability of stockouts. The distribution centres have a full-fledged inventory control system, which can be used to track product quantities and keep a check on expiration dates. Alongside this, slow-moving items can also be identified with this robust inventory system.
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Value-added services
Are you aware of the value-added services that are available in many distribution centres in Canada to better the product offerings and satisfy customer needs? Some of these services include assembly, labelling, and even tailoring the product packaging. Distribution centres provide these extra services which not only increase their profits but provide a lot better deal to their clients.
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Cross-docking
Cross-docking is a process that includes transferring goods directly from incoming and outgoing trucks without storing the products. This technique ensures that the client’s time is handled appropriately and even the storage costs are minimized. The best part is that the lead time is lessened, which makes it a great option for products that have a short shelf-life or are in great demand.
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Processing the return items
Returned items are part and parcel of most consumer-good industries. These distribution centres also play a huge role in taking care of the returned products or exchanged goods. These centres have an effective return procedure which involves inspection, restocking, and providing refunds or replacements to the concerned consumers. With a robust return management process the customer will get satisfied and the losses will be minimized as well.
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Managing the transportation
Taking care of the transportation is an important function of a distribution centre. It includes communicating with the carriers, making a followable schedule of shipments, and even tracking the deliveries. Proper management of the goods will reduce costs and make sure that the customers are provided with timely deliveries.
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Integrating technology
Technology plays an important role in handling the day-to-day work of a contemporary distribution centre. There are many advanced systems like warehouse transportation systems or transportation management systems that can be used for various purposes. They will automate the processes, better the efficiency and even improve the visibility in the entire supply chain.
Final Words
The distribution centres in Canada are one of the most crucial parts of the nation’s supply chain. A distribution centre not only serves as a tactical hub for storing goods or handling them but also for distributing them as well. There are so many functions that a distribution centre plays that imagining a working supply chain without such an established centre is not even possible. These centres are an indispensable part of ensuring that the delivery of the products to the customers is always on time. Since the businesses continue to grow, the relevance of astutely managed distribution centres is only going to increase in the not-so-distant future.
