BY IAN HOBKIRK
LABOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
OMNICHANNEL COMMERCE IS BECOMING THE
new norm in retail. Consumers expect highly personalized shopping experiences with the ability to
buy and return products interchangeably across all
channels. As retailers scramble to align
their distribution centers (DCs)
to optimize omnichannel processes, they are relying ever
more heavily on technology to drive efficiency. One
such technology is labor
management software
(LMS).
“We are definitely
seeing more interest
in labor management
solutions in the era
of omnichannel commerce,” says Christine
Hirtz, territory manager at technology company HighJump Software.
“Retailers are experiencing the
challenges of handling this new
complexity of how orders need to be
fulfilled. Driving efficiencies with, and pro-
moting the productivity of, a valuable work force is
critical.”
As e-commerce sales rise and retailers offer more
buying options such as “order-online-pick-up-at-
store” or “buy-in-store-and-ship-from-the-DC,”
their distribution centers are picking and preparing
an ever-greater number of customer-ready ship-
ments. The result is an increase in the
labor-intensive and time-consum-
ing processes of “each” (individ-
ual item) picking and order
packing.
Until recently, the each-pick, direct-to-consumer
business was a relatively
small part of a retailer’s
overall mix. Companies
could outsource the
function to a third-party logistics service provider (3PL) or relegate
it to a small area of an
existing distribution center. Today, however, these
types of orders have reached
a critical mass for many retailers. In response to this sea-change,
companies are pulling all channels into
one distribution center, which allows them
to leverage efficiencies associated with sharing the
cross-channel labor pool, fixed costs, and inventory.
The distribution center is today home to a new mix
technologyreview
The omnichannel revolution has ushered in sweeping changes
for DCs and the people who work in them. It’s also changing
how retailers use performance-tracking systems.
Labor management
software in the age of
omnichannel retail
