Over the past decade we have witnessed an utter revolution in how the retail sector operates. And warehouse workers – once a small part of the process, an almost anonymous waypoint – are now perhaps the focal point of our entire commercial economy.
With that understanding, it is perhaps more important than ever to ensure optimal conditions for warehouse workers, especially during the all-important holiday season – when supply-chain solutions can make or break retail pursuits.
Doubt it?
Understand that the trend of consumers purchasing goods straight from online sources, already accelerating in the late half of the 2010s, has positively exploded over the past year – gaining particular speed in 2020 thanks to pandemic conditions that encouraged many to shop from the relative safety of home.
The numbers alone are staggering…
According to recently published data at Business Insider, warehouse and storage jobs in the United States have doubled since 2010, reaching 1.27 million such posts in October 2020. There were just 629,000 such positions in 2010.
And while the holiday season always saw an increase in warehouse workers, this year’s growth proved positively volcanic, as Business Insider reported that transportation and warehousing industries added 108,200 jobs in October 2020 alone. Those additions represented a 198 percent growth over October 2019.
When you take into account that predictions of US online holiday sales will reach $189 billion – a 33 percent increase from 2019 – it is easy to see just how important warehouse workers have become to the financial wellbeing of our economy.
If warehouse workers are not able to do their jobs with precision, speed and safety, you can expect to absorb a significant hit during the holiday season, which could, in turn, prove fatal to your bottom line.
So, how do you ensure optimal standards for both your facility and warehouse employees?
In 2020, there are certainly more challenges than ever in successfully answering that question.
The good news is that there are some steps that you can take that still apply, no matter the situation, to streamline your operation and to keep your warehouse employees both efficient and satisfied in their work – factors that will most certainly lead to short- and long-term success.
Workplace safety is always a concern – even before the Covid-19 pandemic, warehouse workers were injured at a significantly higher rate than employees in other industries due to the nature of the job, including repetitive motions and interaction with heavy machinery, numbers that always rose during the increased demand of holiday season. And with your focus placed on avoiding physical setbacks, a factor only made more difficult by the precautions enforced on all of us by a global pandemic, it may be easy to overlook other factors which can make a huge difference in your operations. This includes some rather basic steps that should always be the bedrock of your set-up.
For instance, the equipment at use in the supply-chain industry also absorbs a lot of wear and tear. And if your scanners, printers and RF terminals are not ready for the increased workload that the holidays bring, your employees will be behind the proverbial curve from the get-go.
That could mean that older equipment needs replacing or repairing, or it could mean that you simply do not have enough equipment to handle the increased workload. Or you could also face an equipment breakdown in the midst of the holiday rush, leaving your employees stuck and unable to complete their jobs without significant stress.
These are situations that require instant solutions. And when you are under the gun of the holiday rush, your warehouse employees need to know that they can count on whatever replacements or repairs that are required.
If you find yourself in this situation, Bar Code Depot is ready to help – immediately. Our knowledgeable and experienced staff knows the supply-chain industry inside and out. And we have grown right alongside it, supplying whatever equipment needs our clients require and all with a commitment to customer service that is second to none.
Whether you require the purchase of new equipment or need to repair and/or refurbish the technology you already have on hand, Bar Code Depot is ready to lend a hand and ensure a smooth operation during your busiest weeks and months. All of our technical staff have worked for original equipment manufacturers such as Datalogic, Motorola and Honeywell/LXE, and thus they can provide manufacturer-level aid in-house at a fraction of the cost while also providing both speed and precision.
As important as the warehouse employee has become to the retail sector, they are employees that are also beholden to the equipment that they utilize. Bar Code Depot can help you ensure that they are always able to conduct their jobs efficiently and successfully.
Contact us today and rest easy that your operations will always be ready to run at 100 percent.