Black Friday – scheduled to take place in South Africa on 29 November this year – can be chaotic for warehouses, with skyrocketing demand adding intensified pressure and logistical challenges that put the sector to the test. This is according to Cquential Warehouse Management, a member of the Argility Technology Group, the specialist retail predictive and prescriptive analytics organisation within global enterprise, Smollan.

“Black Friday challenges include increased volumes, a spike in demand and all governed by strict completion timelines. Added to this are the difficulties around managing inventories, lack of availability of additional labour and the inevitability of returns. Moreover, throughout this process, quality control and accuracy must be maintained,” says Rina Redelinghuys, Cquential Customer Services Executive.

She says managing employee morale and fatigue can be difficult amid staff frustration with limitations of existing systems and uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of operational processes, infrastructure and technology. “These issues can be addressed through real-time data analytics that yield insights, reporting that enhances visibility and automated tracking of KPIs. Only in this way can operations be optimised,” says Redelinghuys.

Cquential Warehouse Management System (WMS) can proactively manage these challenges through:

Redelinghuys confirms Cquential WMS is also scalable to handle increased volumes. “The system automatically manages tight deadlines to ensure on-time completion through automated scheduling and task assignment, plus real-time monitoring of deadlines and order status. Visibility of the combination of task prioritisation according to deadlines and urgency assist to guarantee timely completion. Cquential WMS streamlines inventory management by offering real-time tracking, reporting and automated stock replenishment. It also optimises labour management by automating resource allocation, monitoring workload and performance in real-time and enabling seamless task assignment and scheduling.

Returns processing is simplified through automation and inventory tracking augmented by integration with support systems. Real-time validations of inventory and order tracking ensure top-tier quality assurance. Detailed reporting provides further insights and accuracy.

“Challenges around securing sufficient shipping and courier capacity also adds fuel to the Black Friday stress fire,” Redelinghuys notes. “Automated shipping and courier integration with transport management systems plus allocation of shipping resources based on demand, solves this problem.

“At the end of the day, peak season chaos should not be a barrier to efficient warehouse operations. Cquential WMS can remove this stress by empowering a business to reap the benefits of Black Friday,” Redelinghuys concludes.


Source: IT Web | Cape Business News

by Rina Redelinghuys, CQuential WMS Customer Services Executive

Master data is key to the functioning of the warehouse management system. The absence of accurate data will result in the system not being able to perform at an optimal level. The data will also be crucial to the ability to define business rules and workflows across the warehouse. A warehouse management system that has standard templates and a step-by-step user guide will reduce the burden of master data maintenance and setup within your operation.

The types of master data in the warehouse management system:

The benefits of accurate data:

What are the risks associated with poor master data management?

Approach to driving master data excellence:

Master data can be the difference between success and failure. Clean data throughout the business will enable a company to take advantage of new systems and services that have been developed in the market to drive business efficiencies. It will also ensure the business has a competitive advantage in the market and be highly responsive to new ideas and developments in the industry.


In case you missed it – also read: The challenges around warehouse optimisation

For more information contact one of our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300; email info@cquential.com or visit our website www.cquential.com

Rina Redelinghuys, CQuential WMS Customer Services Executive, examines the challenges around warehouse optimisation.

Supply chain is about efficiencies and facilitating an optimal flow of product from source to consumption. Warehousing is no different and the main objective is to reduce the cost per unit stored and handled within the warehouse without compromising customer service and fulfilment lead times.

The benefits of driving best practices within the warehouse:

How can a business improve on its warehouse utilisation?

This can be achieved by:

The supply chain and warehouse will always be under consistent pressure to respond to changes in customer behaviour and expectations. There will be a lot of solutions on the market, but the key is to find a fit to the businesses requirements and not overspend on equipment or systems that will not improve the overall warehouse performance.

Businesses need to plan for future requirements and not only focus on the current requirement as the environment will change over time.

Flexibility and agility are key, and this will drive sustainability into the future. If a business is very diversified and has many different operational requirements due to the type of products sold, then it may be more effective to consult with a 3PL logistics provider that has many different configurations and options to choose from when it comes to effective storage.

Alignment between people, processes and technology will drive further efficiencies within the warehouse. Without the right technology, it will be very difficult to measure the warehouse performance and to identify opportunities for improvement. The WMS is the source from which all improvements and efficiencies will emanate.


Catch my next piece where we will look at the importance of Master Data.

In case you missed it – also read: Warehouse theft prevention tips

For more information contact one of our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300; email info@cquential.com or visit our website www.cquential.com

If you have been on the fence regarding whether to transform your business and implement a digitisation strategy, now is the time to pull the trigger to survive. The past 60 days have been an eye opener as to how quickly what was regarded as fringe technology is being embraced. Someone even said to me that it is a case of 4 years of digitisation being crammed into 2 months.

There are some steps every Supply Chain can make right now to prepare for the “New Normal”. 

At CQuential, part of the Argility Technology Group (ATG), we have been pioneering the way forward for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) since our start in 2007/2008, taking what was an operational system and making it accessible, affordable and fast in the cloud. These challenges are an opportunity for us to assist businesses to transform and adapt their current way of working and digitising them.

Some crucial steps that will assist your supply chain to navigate this storm:

Visibility and access to Real time data

Many businesses today run reactive Supply Chains still making use of paper-based solutions. Through implementation of the right business solutions in your Supply Chain, you can make use of technologies to capture and execute tasks such as receiving, picking, dispatching and supplying goods.

Through integrated solutions and business processes, Supply Chains can shrink and the number of touches on your product can be reduced.

Digitising all records and transactions

Paperless societies have been a long time in the making. This crisis has just highlighted the inefficient paper-based methodologies in the digital age. Sign on glass has had a very short-lived life cycle given the new era of social distancing and hygiene. 

Using the correct solution providers to digitise your supply chain is crucial to solving this problem. At ATG, we are ahead of the curve with our delivery application being driven by something as simple as an OTP or One-time pin. A further step would be to incorporate block chain into your supply chain for a complete touch free and secure Supply Chain.

Automation and Machine Learning

If COVID-19 has shown us anything, a large inefficient work force during normal times can still perform miracles using the old ways of Supply Chain, however with the new restrictions on business and number of people allowed at your offices, this will no longer be the case. Through a simple implementation of scanning and a WMS you would achieve great gains in efficiency. At CQuential, we are now gearing up our solution to include features of Warehouse controls and execution, so that with our software you can automate your warehouse environment. 

With Machine Learning, you will be able to gain insights to optimise your work force, your stock locations, your work and instruction execution. All this is achievable through the analysis of your Supply Chain data.

So, with the fence changing, climb on down and talk to us at CQuential and ATG to help find the perfect solution for your Business Problems. For more information contact CQuential on 011 712 1300; email info@cquential.com or visit our website www.cquential.com

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