Apparel & Clothing Fulfillment: Streamlining the Warehouse

In a market with increased competition and stringent demands, anything that can create speed and, reduce costs is highly valuable. The apparel market in the United States is expected to grow from $225 billion in 2012 to $285 billion by 2025. This significant amount of growth means that clothing companies will be expected to move more inventory, quicker and more accurately at lower costs. There is one key development within the warehouse that can make this tall task possible: mobile technology.

The emerging and evolving demands of omni-channel distribution will no longer tolerate waste in time, resources and inefficient processes. So whether this waste manifests itself in bottlenecks, overprocessing or simply too much walking, mobile technology now offers solutions for your warehouse to become streamlined and operate fluidly.

Mobile Workstations

Mobile workstations untether your warehouse staff from traditional stationary platforms. With mobile technology in place, pickers can move freely through the warehouse while still having the access to the latest information.

Eliminating Steps

One of the most time-consuming, as well as costly, activities within the warehouse is walking. Whether it is finding an item, returning to a workstation or a combination of the two, these steps add up quickly and often result in a lot of backtracking. The simple fact is that if you can reduce needless trips from one area to another, you can be much more efficient. Mobile platforms and technology make this possible.

Tangible Metrics             

• Increased Picking Value
• Increased Safety
• Decreased Cost Per Pick
• Fewer Touches
• Increased Accuracy
• Less Labor

A Newcastle Systems study showed that implementing mobile carts within the warehouse not only caused receiving volume to increase by 63%, but overtime costs were reduced by 75%. In a time where reducing costs is vital, and delivering orders through more channels and on shorter timeframes is expected by the consumer, streamlining your distribution center has never been more important. With apparel fulfillment experience and focus on technology, Barrett Distribution Centers designs customized supply chain solutions for clothing manufacturer and retailers.