In a previous article, we talked about the different ways automation is transforming the packaging industry. The use of robots and clever packaging design are helping the packaging industry to become more efficient. More advancements are coming to the industry too.
However, automation isn’t just affecting the packaging industry. Even better, you don’t have to invest in expensive robots and advanced technology to start automating parts of your business. Here are some of the ways you can automate your online retail business.
Order Shipping and Handling
One of the competitive advantages you can gain as an online business is fast order completion. The sooner you can get your products to customers, the happier those customers will be. With a handful of orders, this isn’t that big of a challenge. When you have thousands of orders to fulfill, however, fast shipping and handling becomes a hurdle.
There is a way to automate many parts of the shipping and handling process using software and a good printer. Many shipping companies now let you register packages via an API and print your own shipping labels. They will then pick up your parcels and deliver them to customers.
This means you can take details about customers’ orders, run them through the shipping companies’ systems, and have shipping labels printed automatically. Packaging the right products is also easier since details about the orders are also printed on the labels, along with additional signs such as “Fragile” for fragile products.
Inventory Tracking
The next big challenge in running an online retail business is tracking inventory. If you are a business that maintains a large number of products in your catalogue, inventory management becomes a crucial part of your day-to-day operations. Once again, automation can help optimise your existing workflow.
What you want is a system that automatically tracks your inventory and updates your online storefront accordingly. To automate the system, you can use both the online checkout system as well as offline handling. The combination allows for maximum accuracy and completely automated inventory tracking.
Use Code 39 Barcode labels designed for each product and a simple barcode scanner as a way to track products as they are being packaged for delivery. Combined with the data from your online storefront, you will have a detailed view of your inventory at any given time.
Better Accounting
The last automation idea we are going to cover in this article is automatic accounting. When you start integrating the different systems you use to handle different tasks, it is easy to integrate your accounting software too.
Inputs like customer orders and purchases can go straight to your ledger. Expenses such as shipping costs paid to third-party couriers can also be added automatically to the accounting system. Even cost elements like your hosting bill and your payroll can be fully automated with some simple tweaks and integrated solutions.
When you start automating common tasks using the right solutions, you gain a massive advantage. With automation handling these tasks, you can focus more on other, bigger tasks, including marketing your online store and growing your retail business.
