Warehouse & Inventory Management

Marblehead Consulting assists clients with defining warehousing and inventory needs, including services like pick & pack, kitting, and reverse logistics. We provide insights on industry best practices, distribution scenarios, vendor-managed inventory, and outsourcing benefits compared to in-house operations. We also cover efficient container management and handling reusable packaging returns, common in manufacturing.

Common Errors in Setting Up a WMS

  • • Receiving area too small – inadequate "holding space"  

    • Overlapping shipping and receiving areas  

    • Confusion between incoming and outgoing products 

    • No visibility to what's coming / being delivered or dropped off 

    • Poor labelling, inadequate paperwork 

    • Overcrowded computer terminals, stations, scales, etc. 

    • Inefficient picking paths (items purchased together are in distant locations) 

    • High-demand products easier to access and to load, lower demand products towards the back 

    • Pick instructions not in efficient sequence – not linear 

    • Warehouse inefficiencies lead to too much stock – built in buffers, too much overhead 

  • • Leads to shortages during demand surges, seasonal spikes,  

    • Invest in predictive technologies – how much product at a given location! 

    • New technology only works with accurate data ( historical or real-time) 

    • New technology offers real-time updates helping to avoid back orders, which could trigger express shipping 

    • Add-on carrier rate and transit time comparisons – ensure  Leads to shortages during demand surges, seasonal spikes,  

    • Invest in predictive technologies – how much product at a given location! 

    • New technology only works with accurate data ( historical or real-time) 

    • New technology offers real-time updates helping to avoid back orders, which could trigger express shipping 

    • Add-on carrier rate and transit time comparisons – ensure  

  • • Shipping and storing proper products at the correct DC, in the proper quantities 

    • Choose best DC for types and distance of products being shipped (based on customer demand/density, etc) 

    • Inventory redistribution based on real-time data 

  • • Solution needs to satisfy needs today and in the future – ability to scale 

    • Integration with ERP and TMS 

    • Offers transparency, visibility, and traceability (receipts, batch numbers, etc) 

    • Use location tracking methods – not lost, misplaced, or forgotten 

    • Allows you to share data with external partners 

Automation for Improved Customer Service

  • Leads to more flexibility and faster picking and shipping times and your ability to scale.

  • Higher quality assurance (QA) consistency leads to improved customer service/satisfaction, a notable competitive advantage.

  • Regularly updated information as changes or delays are communicated early and more often, reducing overall warehousing costs.

  • Reduces or eliminates the need for backorders and rush shipments.

  • • Inventory age monitoring

    • Inventory turnover rate

    • Available-to-Promise (ATP) management

    • Trace product movements and audit

    • Integration with TMS – order management

    • Integrated Labor Management systems (LMS) 

    • Integrated automated Storage and Retrieval Systems with

    • Pick Assist 

Robotics In Action

• Goods-to-Person (GTP) 

• Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) 

• Automated Guide Vehicles (AGVs) 

• Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) 

• Pick-to-Light and Put-to-Light Systems 

• Voice Picking and Tasking 

• Automated Sortation Systems