Pics of logistics activities: what good practices to master them?

For many companies, commercial activity is punctuated by more or less numerous demand peaks each year. These punctual increases can put the warehouses to the test. Between the overload of the teams, lack of visibility on stocks and risks of ruptures, the management of peaks of activities cannot be improvised. The watchwords of the situation: anticipation and reactivity.

How to properly manage your stocks in times of high demand?

Whether it is the end of year celebrations, sales, back to school or exceptional commercial operations, seasonal peaks are a real challenge for logistics players. Poor anticipation can cause stock breaks, delivery delays, or even turnover losses. For companies with a warehouse, the good management of their logistics flows and their stocks will depend on good practices to deal with these intense periods.

Among these good practices, some essential levers:

• Analyze sales history : by identifying annual trends, you will be able to anticipate the volumes to come and adjust your safety stock levels accordingly.
• Update request forecasts in collaboration with commercial services (and marketing in office), to better align the supply.
• Strengthen inventory management via regular rotating inventories, in order to ensure a reliable vision of the available quantities.
• Optimize order preparation by adapting the internal processes (zoning, picking, cross-cocks) to the expected increase in activity.

During these periods, no choice, proactive management of inventories is the key to absorb fluctuations. Your customers are satisfactory that is at stake.

WMS software to manage your seasonal peaks

When we talk about logistics performance during peak periods, technological solutions make all the difference. Warehouse management software (WMS) , or Warehouse Management System , allows you to automate and optimize each stage of the logistics chain, from reception to shipping.

Thus, during the peaks of request, WMS software turns out to be a real ally:

• Real -time management of stock management : WMS offers instant visibility on stock levels, locations and movements.
• Optimization of order preparation : by optimizing picking routes, a WMS solution reduces errors and increases productivity.
• Intelligent storage management : WMS algorithms recommend the best location for each item, depending on its rotation, dimensions or withdrawal frequency among others.
• Quick adaptation to fluctuations : In the event of a sudden increase in activity, WMS allows you to quickly reconfigure internal processes (allocation of tasks, reception slots, picking areas, etc.).

A WMS solution well integrated into ERP and existing stock management tools is a lever for agility to cross strong seasons efficiently.

Anticipate demand fluctuations: winning strategies in the supply chain

The management of demand peaks does not only concern the warehouse. Indeed, it is the whole supply chain which must be flexible, reactive and connected. To deal with this challenge, there are winning strategies to implement:

• Rely on data to model demand : by crossing historical, market trends and external data (weather, news, economic conditions, etc.), it is possible to create more precise scenarios.
• Collaborating with suppliers and carriers : involving them upstream makes it possible to ensure that they will be able to follow the volume increases.
• Strengthen safety stocks on strategic references, without suspended in order to avoid unnecessary costs.
• Use a connected WMS platform to control and centralize information flows between the different players.

Thanks to these good practices, the management of logistics flows then becomes more predictable, even in an uncertain environment. By integrating stock management software , companies can transform activity peaks into growth opportunities.

Management of stress -free activity peaks

The peaks of request are not inevitable, provided you are prepared. Good stock management , controlled by an WMS solution , helps maintain logistics performance while absorbing the fluctuations in the activity. There are no secrets, it is by focusing on anticipation, data and mechanization , that companies will gain in responsiveness and follow the cadence.