How SLAM Helps Get the Order Right
In the competitive ecommerce world, keeping customers means getting the order right. It also means your bottom line isn’t hurt from chargebacks and other penalties when you make a mistake. It also means your packages arrive undamaged, both on the outside and inside. One tool that goes a long way toward ensuring happy customers via correct order processing is automating your warehouse’s final 100 feet. The equipment that allows that to happen is scanning, labeling, applying and manifesting (SLAM).
By using SLAM tools, you take much of the human error potential out of the equation. Touches are reduced and built in validation ensures this. For instance, software programs for labeling on the SLAM line and scanners to accurately read and sort the items ensure high efficiency. Humans don’t have the opportunity to apply the incorrect label to a package, so each box or envelope receives the right one. Once the machinery applies the labels, they automatically sort to the right chutes and trucks based on a precise scan of the right label and the packages go out the door quickly and to the correct destination. The customers are happy, and your operations avoid the costly chargebacks from shippers or lost business in the form of lost repeat customers.
SLAM also keeps customers happy with automated void fill and carton sealing. Products don’t move around in shipping, incurring damage that might ruin the customer service. Additional tools provide right-sized packaging on the SLAM line, substantially reducing your shipping costs. Automated carton sealing takes this a step farther by tightly sealing packages so that they can’t come apart in transit. Manual taping cannot compare in terms of quality.
As orders are processed in the final 100 feet, printers provide documentation for the package, validating the contents. Another feature of SLAM is the ability to ensure the weight of a package matches what is expected. Automated weighing and dimensioning fills that requirement without the need for human intervention. Additionally, some SLAM systems capture a photo of a box’s contents, providing an additional check on correct order fulfillment. In some cases, SLAM can weigh and dimension packages accurately at a pace of 60+ cases per minute (cpm).
When accuracy and speed are in place via SLAM, you’ll be able to send packages through the final 100 feet at a much faster pace than when operating in a manual fashion. This leads to higher package throughput, which means customers receive their orders faster than they would otherwise. This leads to greater customer satisfaction, a competitive advantage in an ecommerce world where next- and same-day delivery is becoming the expectation.
SLAM can also allow you to consolidate your shipping stations and work with fewer employees on the line. Rather than setting up multiple stations to meet every carrier, you can use one central location. This reduces the odds of human error in the process, and frees up space on your warehousing floor and further facilitates accurate operations and satisfied customers. By every measure, SLAM can be a tool to reduce errors and increase the odds of accurate shipping.
To learn more about MHI’s SLAM industry group: www.mhi.org/slam
More information about Scanning, Labeling, Applying, Manifesting:
Using Peak Season for Next Season
Podcast: Elevating Order Fulfillment: VRCs & SLAM Efficiency in the Modern Warehouse
How SLAM Saves on Shipping Costs
Prevent Chargebacks Via SLAM Equipment
Why SLAM Should Include Dimensioning Equipment
Handling Every Type Of Packaging
