17 Dec Increase Efficiency with a Waveless Fulfillment System
Customer Satisfaction through Flow and Efficiency
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But how do distribution centers keep up with this growing expectation of immediate gratification from customers? Rarely do consumers want to wait a week or a few days to receive their package. A few years ago, it was enough just to have a product delivered to our front doors, but now we want it as instantaneously as possible.
According to DC Velocity: “Waveless fulfillment systems provide a continuous flow of orders through the DC, as opposed to traditional wave-based systems that produce batches of orders that are released for an entire shift or portion of a shift. When a new order is received in a waveless environment, the order is automatically inserted into the flow of orders being processed, instead of being held for inclusion in a later batch.”
Benefits of Waveless Fulfillment
Addresses shorter cycle time and changing customer demands
Reduces downtime by eliminating the need to shut down and start up equipment for each shift or fulfillment wave
Increases throughput by keeping systems constantly running
Creates a more constant and adaptable work flow
It's All About Flow
A waveless system may not be ideal for all fulfillment or distribution centers, but it has proven effective especially among DCs who are fulfilling a wide variety of orders in a short period of time. Currently, e-commerce is paving the way in waveless fulfillment. The cost benefits are worth the switch from wave-based systems for many operations, and, ultimately, the significant increase in efficiency and throughput proves waveless fulfillment is the wave of the future for DCs.
When considering a move from wave-based to waveless fulfillment, make sure you first have the proper equipment in place to be able to handle the constant flow of work. It is key to have quality equipment with strong runtime backed by a team of service experts to make such a transition effective. DCs see the greatest uptick in efficiency when processes are supported by superior equipment with matching technology. Lift Power recommends Crown trucks and the Crown InfoLink fleet management system to support your efforts to modernize with waveless fulfillment systems.
