It’s no secret – the explosion in the growth of e-commerce has dramatically changed the landscape of retail forever. Companies who have been unable to make the adjustment have either gone bankrupt, or are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy right now.

So, to avoid becoming one of those, make sure you don’t make any of these mistakes in your e-commerce distribution center and processes:

You Threaten Your Employees with Loss of Their Job (Versus Using Incentives)

You don’t get the best performance out of your workers when you tell them they need to be more efficient or find a new job. You’ll get short-term, outward compliance. But eventually, your employees revert back to their old ways. Plus, you’ve only hurt your company morale further because you typically get hostility and resentment in return.

Instead, lead your employees forward with incentives for meeting efficiency goals. Better yet, include them on the discussion of what those goals should be and how to get there. That gets you more buy-in and more committed action from your employees.

You Haven’t Optimized Your Transportation Processes

Because transporting your product accrues some of the highest costs in your supply chain, it’s worth taking the time to analyze and identify opportunities for efficiency gains. Leading retailers have these optimized because they understand their impact.

In addition, your customers expect to have their orders within 1-2 days in most cases. That’s because they’re buying items they would normally get at their local retailer. Take longer than that to deliver your goods, and your customers begin to see other e-commerce companies, or brick-and-mortar stores, as better options.

How Do You Prioritize Customer Orders as You Get Them?

For example, when you look at a 1-2 day delivery time, your customers want to get groceries or other fresh foods they order faster than they would if they ordered an electronic item from you. It’s obvious why.

But, do you have a system for quickly and efficiently meeting this demand? That’s the difficult part to execute.

Have You Thought About Managing All Order Types From a Single Distribution Center?

Traditionally, different order types have been fulfilled from a variety of specialized distribution centers. Today, however, that doesn’t work as well. Consumers want lower prices and faster delivery. One way to deliver those benefits is by managing all your order types from a single location.

Do you do this? Have you consider how you would make it happen?

If you haven’t established these systems at your e-commerce warehouse or distribution center, you may have opportunity for cost savings. Call Pollock at 855.239.5153 to find out what changes may make sense for you.