E-commerce represents both an incredible opportunity and challenge for the modern business. For the first time in history, a literally limitless customer audience has the ability to browse product collections and place orders on a 24/7 basis, from just about anywhere in the world. In fact, somewhere in the region of 23 million consumers are now making online purchases every year.

But despite the fact that e-commerce is technically a very recent concept, customers are already becoming increasingly demanding and selective with regard to whom they will do business with. In order to keep up with both demand and ever-accelerating expectations, on-demand shipping has become something of a new standard for thousands of retail businesses all over the world. They all have to say however, adjusting warehousing practices to cope with on-demand shipping is no small or easy job.

So with this in mind, what follows is a brief overview of four simple yet effective tips for optimising a warehouse to better handle on-demand shipping:

Focus on order fulfilment

For obvious reasons, the key to success in this area of retail lies in the accuracy and speed with which orders can be fulfilled. This means investing all necessary time and resources in the development and implementation of a fulfilment strategy, overseen by certain dedicated members of the workforce. Normal shipping and fulfilment methods will need to be as streamlined as much as possible in order to cope.

Place a higher priority on inventory counts

One significant and largely unavoidable challenge that goes hand in hand with on-demand shipping is the constant maintenance and balance of available inventory. The simple fact of the matter is that if your inventory levels ever become in any way out of sorts, on-demand shipping becomes instantly out of the question and could have a detrimental impact on your reputation. The highest priority needs to be placed on accuracy and consistency, when it comes to inventory counts.

Streamline your storage

The single dividing element that separates on-demand shipping from standard e-commerce and retail in general is speed. It’s the speed of the service that attracts customers in the first place, therefore speed should be a key area of focus in your warehouse. Rather than simply rushing the job and potentially compromising on quality, the key to improving warehouse efficiency often lies in streamlining storage solutions. From the layout of your pallet racking to the way you inventory, store and mark key items, there are almost always multiple potential areas for improvement.

Manage tracking and shipping better

Last but not least, it’s also just as important to keep a close watch over those you work with for the provision of essential logistics. The reason being that there’s very little to gain from investing heavily in your own efforts to provide an outstanding e-commerce service, only to then be let down at the final hurdle during the shipping stage. Reliable shipping and tracking are just as beneficial for the business as they are for the consumer receiving the goods.

With these tips your warehouse should be ready for any on-demand shipping issues that may arise, whether it’s from your customers, your suppliers, or within your own warehouse.