These days, there are basically only two ways of running a warehouse or storage facility. One of these is the classic pen and paper approach – the other involves eliminating pen and paper from the equation entirely. More businesses than ever before are making the move to the latter of the two, but there are still thousands of businesses that choose to stick with the old-fashioned approach.

Of course, the two biggest concerns shared by those who choose not to go digital are those of potential setup costs and complexities. Nevertheless, advances in logistics, distribution and warehousing technology in general have been so enormous of recent years that not only is the implementation process surprisingly simple, but the required hardware can be incredibly affordable.

So for those who have yet to experience the electronic side of warehouse management for themselves, here’s a quick rundown of the key benefits of contemporary digital warehousing:

1. Automated Processes

First and foremost, the biggest benefit is that of the way in which it becomes possible to automate any number of key processes and procedures. The kinds of essential activities that would have usually demanded the attention of human workers and all manner of papers and reports can be carried out invisibly, automatically and near-instantly. In terms of efficiency and general working capacity therefore, the improvements – both immediate and long-term – can be considerable.

2. Less Chance of Human Error

Another significant benefit of switching to digital warehousing is the way in which it eliminates the likelihood of human error in a great many everyday tasks. The reason being that while a human may forget to place an order, process arriving stock or miss something out along the way, it is highly unlikely that a high quality digital warehousing system will ever make any such mistakes. All of which contributes to efficiency and overall performance significantly.

3. Free Up Resources

The fact that it becomes possible to automate so many important everyday processes means that the human resources available to the business can be deployed elsewhere. Rather than focusing on the kinds of menial yet essential tasks that take up time, members of the workforce can be put to use in more beneficial and valuable areas. It may even be possible to at least partially scale down the size of the workforce, in turn leading to significant savings.

4. Reliable Backups

Something else that’s highly convenient and reassuring about working with automated warehousing process as is the way in which all important information records can be automatically backed up. This way, there is absolutely no likelihood of ever finding yourself in a situation where you cannot find and retrieve whatever information it is you need with ease.

5. External Linkage

Last but not least, digital warehousing systems are also great in the fact that they can be linked with external systems and service providers. This way, whatever it is that is needed and whenever you require it, orders can be placed and fulfilled automatically. This entirely negates the need for any kind of human involvement, which has the potential to be time-consuming and opens the door for potential inaccuracies.