Having an efficient process to manage your warehousing and distribution is crucial to your success. For small and mid-sized businesses, having a streamlined approach that can help you get products to customers in the timeframe promised at purchase, and have a consistent and accurate overview of the products sitting on your shelves, is an important step to improving your competitive advantage. To do this best, many businesses employ the services of warehousing companies. These companies can help your business by providing accurate and accessible information through technology. By using a centralized software solution, your business can get real-time information.

Still, to do this well, you need to have a system in place for your warehousing management. Here are four things to look for in the company you hire that will help your business improve processes and get the most accurate information whenever, wherever.

Orders should be processed immediately – The system you put in place should allow for orders to be processed immediately in one centralized location. This will help to keep the company you hire in connection with your sales department so the demand is always up to date and accurate. By doing so, you can manage the inventory in your warehouse better and lower the chances of overpromising to customers and having to be late on deliveries.

Have customers input orders electronically – Once you have an order pushing system in place, connect it with the area online or in the cloud where your customers input their orders. This way, you can have a real-time stream of incoming orders, which can help to improve the efficiency of the process and reduce the risk of selling more of a product than you have in stock.
Work with a company that has efficient bin operations – When supplies and products come into the warehouse, they must be tracked. Using bin allocation, things can be tracked and monitored from the moment they arrive to the moment they are put on the shelves. This gives a better overview of what is sitting on the shelves and where it is in the storage facility, which can make tracking it down easier when needed.

Integrate all outside systems into one piece of software – Your customers will be using one system to make their orders, but your suppliers may have their own systems in place. Having too many systems can confuse the process and make it difficult to manage. Using one centralized system for everything makes processes far more efficient.

If your warehouse lacks the control you need from it, it is a good idea to work with a company that can help you get a better grasp on the supplies and orders, and ultimately make your process more efficient.