warehOusing & intralOgistics
the warehOuse Of the future:
Digitise the Back Office tO Optimise frOnt By Attar Naderi, UK business manager at Laserfiche
behind. With technology playing a crucial role in helping society become more resilient in a crisis, it is no wonder that leaders have
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needed to accelerate their digital transformation plans, and the manufacturing and logistics sector is no exception. Given the continued disruption to the UK
manufacturing industry, the need for rapid digital solutions continues to be high on the agenda for manufacturing and logistics leaders who are now turning their attention on staying ahead of the competition and how to best serve their customers. One thing is clear: with customers going digital, businesses need to get there faster - digital can no longer be a “nice to have.” Yet, no matter how high-tech the front
end is, if businesses have not got their back- end operations in order, customer experience will undoubtedly suffer. This means leaders will be looking to adopt the right automation technologies to digitise their warehouse operations.
360-Degree View of operAtioNs Today, customers are more tech-savvy, demanding a smooth experience and responses in real-time - that is why logistics and manufacturing leaders need to invest in digitising their back-office systems to enhance front-line interactions. However, prior to investing in digital solutions,
businesses must look towards understanding how their processes and workflows are currently operating. Companies are struggling to fully realise the potential of their digital transformation initiatives because they do not have visibility into their business processes. By using workflow automation and AI-driven technologies, manufacturers can spot bottlenecks and delays in their operations, which will help them better allocate resources and optimise processes. According to market intelligence firm IDC, digitising and optimising
he COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies across all industries to adapt to a new landscape or risk being left
workflows can reduce costs by more than 30 per cent - this would be beneficial in the process-heavy logistics industry. An example of this is the finance teams in warehousing services which face several logistical issues, and without technology, this can become burdensome. Staff manually review paper invoices and purchase orders which would need to be manually inputted onto the accounts payable software. These time-consuming, mundane tasks could easily be automated and could free up time for staff to put their focus on more pressing tasks like meeting customer expectations and ensuring operations run smoothly. This will not only ensure manufacturing professionals are keeping up with consumer demand, but it will also ease the burden of manual tasks for staff - a win-win situation.
optimisiNg froNt-eND iNterActioNs While it is true that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated these plans for manufacturers to reduce their reliance on sub-optimal warehouse processes and manual tasks, just investing in technology is not the end of a business’s automation story. The focus must be on which technologies will benefit customers best. Businesses must investigate beyond just AI when choosing which technologies to invest in. Leaders should look towards investing in a combination of technologies that work together as part of an integrated
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Autumn 2021 UKManufacturing
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