Optimising Warehouse Management

BCN & Digital Transformation for Wholesale 

Warehouse management is the centre of wholesale and distribution operations. But the pace of consumer demand means incorporating technology is essential to stay ahead of the competition. To optimise efficiency and monitor performance, all working elements and moving parts must be consistently connected for the best results. This includes adaptable inventory management, constant communication with stakeholders, visibility across storage layout and efficient waste management. In the modern warehouse, technology plays a big role in facilitating this. 

The Role of Digital Technology in the Warehouse 

Digital technology platforms, tools and applications need to be working hard at the core of warehouse management to connect all essential elements, provide streamlined efficiencies and reveal vital insights that provide a roadmap for a competitive edge.  In an age defined by the importance of protecting sensitive company data from crippling cyber-attacks, any solution implemented must also have cyber security priorities front and centre across the whole IT environment that these tools rely on. 

Digital Tools at Work in the Warehouse 

The wealth of choice in this area can make it difficult to navigate and there are some stand out examples. 

SAP S/4HANA has impressive credentials with key modules specifically for warehouse management that certainly aid logistics management in a focussed way with robotics ability also available. However, for smaller operations it may prove difficult to implement and can run quite high for initial costs with specialised training required. 

Oracle NetSuite SCM is similarly highlighted for great inventory and order management and offers value and benefits for scalability towards mid-level organisations. The current options for AI & automation are limited though and customisation is perhaps not as intuitive and effective as it needs to be. 

The suite of Microsoft products for warehouse management consistently demonstrate industry-leading innovation here too.  Aligned with the stability, trust and security integrations they offer, it does becomes difficult to ignore them for serious recommendations.  

Let’s take a look at them in action for some essential context and examples of how it can quickly and simply become a valuable and transformative asset in warehouse management. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management 

Business Central is a powerful Enterprise Resource Planning platform that can take care of warehouse operations as a fully integrated cloud-based solution, syncing with all financial, sales and customer service activity. It automatically tracks all stock levels, locations and movements across the warehouse for real-time visibility and up-to-date fulfilment levels. Streamlined processes are quickly revealed using SCM with more accurate inventory and opportunities for barcode scanning management in a holistic way. 

Microsoft Power BI & Dynamics 365 Business Central 

Power BI makes all of your warehouse operations data available for greater decision making in faster time frames to respond to changes, stock issues and calendar events. The AI predictive ability of Power BI as part of Microsoft Dynamic Business Central can then identify trends in operations and demand patterns to forecast intelligent planning. It can even automate reordering based on these trends and any unplanned changes in supplier lead times. 

Stay Connected Across the Wholesale Ecosystem: Microsoft Teams 

Wholesale relies on the successful sharing of information for stakeholders right across the supply chain and internal operations. Microsoft Teams offers everything required to facilitate this collaboration through video calls, direct messaging and integrated information, plus file editing and sharing. It also encourages much more visibility and simplicity to meet unplanned challenges with confidence in real time. 

Confidence in Scalability & Security: Microsoft Azure 

With all these transformative tools working on the Microsoft Azure platform, you can ensure that your warehouse operations can adapt and grow alongside the demands, development and growth of your business. Importantly, Microsoft invests over $1 Billion dollars annually in the security infrastructure of Azure, processing a staggering 65 trillion threat signals every day to alert users to any potential threats. It remains the best in class and industry-leading choice for warehouse operations data security using digital tools. 

Stacking Up the Benefits of Microsoft 

Using the full stack of Microsoft Applications and tools to optimise warehouse management represents a stable and secure solution that allows your own insights and knowledge to be augmented by digital innovation. The efficiency gains offered, with gateways to automated warehouse tasks, and the cost savings that can be achieved through better resource management demonstrate the immediate value they can bring. It allows you to scale the capacities and productivity of a wholesale organisation with new opportunities for better workflows, processes and methodology to drive competitive edge in difficult times and move quickly as opportunities arrive. And everything is supported through regular insights provided by your own working data. 

Perhaps even more importantly, it encourages a forward-thinking and future-proofed business strategy to create new aims, goals and plans for the long term. 

BCN Drives Better Warehouse Management 

Our position as one of the very few UK Microsoft Partners holding all six solution accreditations gives us a vital understanding into how the Microsoft suite is perfectly suited to optimising warehouse management. 

BCN therefore has decades worth of knowledge and experience at the heart of implementing and developing warehouse optimisation technology for our partner clients. Our Digital Transformation team has been at the heart of some incredible wholesale industry and warehouse optimisation projects in recent times. Our process involves collaborating with our partner clients to create a comprehensive view of your organisation and goals in a people-focussed way. Then, we can work together to create a roadmap for the right solution using the right digital tools and demonstrate the value they will bring at every step.n recent times.  

Our process involves collaborating with our partner clients to create a comprehensive view of your organisation and goals in a people-focussed way. Then, we can work together to create a roadmap for the right solution using the right digital tools and demonstrate the value they will bring at every step. 

Talk to the team today to gain a better understanding of how we can help you.