Tactic #3: Determine Overall Pick Strategy

Tactic #2: Set Up Effective Replenishment, a Basic Tactic

Eventually, the supply of goods in the forward pick area will be exhausted. Rather than having pickers be caught by surprise when this happens, effective rules must be set up for controlled replenishment.

Tactic #1: Create a Forward Pick Area, a Basic Tactic

A forward pick area is a zone in the warehouse that contains a small amount of a large number of SKUs. The goal of creating this area is to increase SKU-density per linear-foot, and allow multiple picks to be performed with a minimal amount of travel. The figure below illustrates the extent to which walking can be reduced by implementing this strategy.

Commonwealth has identified six basic scenarios that companies are likely to find themselves in with respect to their e-commerce fulfillment adoption strategy. In this multi-part blog post, we’ll explore these scenarios and discuss how a company’s e-commerce strategy will vary based upon which scenario they find themselves in.

Reverse logistics is going to shape up to be a major differentiator for e-retailers.  Hence, making the returns process easy for the consumer, and efficient for the retailer is a real key to profitability. This post covers some important areas in reverse logistics where there currently seems to be a wide disparity of capabilities amongst retailers.