There\u2019s no shortage of downsides to running a retail business through a market slump: there\u2019s lower demand, higher prices and (lots of) extra stress, for starters.<\/p>\n
But \u2013 *puts optimistic hat on* \u2013 there are<\/em> opportunities, too.<\/p>\n Now is the perfect time to boost resilience, streamline complexity, improve service and cut costs where possible.<\/p>\n The best way to do all<\/em> of those things? Automate!<\/p>\n Automating tedious manual processes<\/a> in your business is a game-changer \u2013 we already know that Brightpearl\u2019s Automation Engine<\/a> saves the average retailer two MONTHS every year as well as cutting costs in half and reducing errors by 65%.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best way to reduce both complexity and cost as the economic climate bites is simply to automate as much of your operation as possible,\u201d<\/em> says Mark Hook, VP of Global Brand Marketing.<\/p>\n \u201cRetailers should focus on <\/em>automating<\/em><\/a> everything from order fulfillment and returns, to inventory management<\/a>, comms, shipping and accounting. It can have a significant impact on overheads, and can make fast growth much more manageable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Here are three things you should automate now, so you can come out on the other side of the downturn stronger than ever\u2026<\/p>\n Even when retail brands are struggling, customers still demand speedy shipping (it\u2019s the number one reason<\/a> consumers choose to shop on Amazon<\/a>, after all).<\/p>\n That means retailers that want to stand a chance against giants like Amazon during the downturn have to streamline and speed up their shipping processes as much as possible. The best and easiest way to do that is by using automation.<\/p>\n With a powerful Automation Engine<\/a>, merchants can automatically select a shipping carrier depending on the price, weight, or quantity of products \u2013 ensuring the most cost-effective shipping method is always used.<\/p>\n Custom automation rules can be set up to ship items in different ways depending on the sales channel<\/a> they were bought on. Automated, channel-specific templates for packing notes can be set up and international orders can be flagged for additional attention or customization.<\/p>\n Automation can ensure dropshipping<\/a> and back ordering run like clockwork \u2013\u00a0you can automatically create and send POs<\/a> to dropshippers, or ship goods to your warehouse<\/a> if it\u2019s a back order.<\/p>\n Automation workflows can even be configured to send orders using FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon), ensuring accurate requests are sent to avoid errors and fees.<\/p>\n Cable and connector supplier trueCABLE saves 40 hours every month since automating its workflows.<\/p>\n Jessica Floyd, the brand\u2019s VP of Marketing & Business Development, says: \u201cAutomation really is magic! There are so many areas of the business we no longer need to think about or touch. It means we can remain lean as an organization, despite our growth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Fulfilling orders manually typically requires lots of people power. From printing and picking orders to packing and posting, a ton of manual labor can get used up by order fulfillment.<\/p>\n However, during a downturn especially, retailers must reduce their reliance on humans in large parts of the warehouse, while still ensuring that orders are picked and packed efficiently, safely and productively. That\u2019s where automation<\/a> comes in.<\/p>\n With automated order fulfillment workflows, you can get more orders out faster \u2013\u00a0even during busy periods. Conditions can be set based on a huge range of factors so that orders are processed in the best way \u2013\u00a0including an order’s stock allocation status, payment status, sales channel and product type.<\/p>\n Dispatch notes can be automatically printed, customer emails can be automatically sent and stock levels can be automatically updated. Even complex orders can be easily automated<\/a> with options to enable partial fulfillment, trigger order splitting and use alternative warehouses depending on inventory availability.<\/p>\n If you have inventory across multiple warehouses, boost efficiency by routing orders to the best warehouse depending on factors including destination and content \u2013 reducing delivery costs and boosting delivery timescales.<\/p>\n Appliance parts specialist Snap Supply saves 60 hours per week on order entry alone and the business is 3x more profitable since using Brightpearl\u2019s Automation Engine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nick Ernst, the brand\u2019s Co-founder, says: \u201cIt previously took about 10 minutes to manually process an order. Now, we can process 50 orders in that time. And because we\u2019ve saved so much time, we\u2019ve been able to improve our customer service<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n During a downturn, every customer counts \u2013\u00a0which means it\u2019s especially important that you provide outstanding customer service, including communications.<\/p>\n Modern consumers want to be kept in the loop at every stage of their buying journey. They want to know their order has been placed, they want to know when it\u2019s on its way and they certainly want to know if there\u2019s any kind of issue or delay.<\/p>\n Without automation, maintaining such high levels of communication is virtually impossible. Even employing a team of customer service agents to provide comms isn\u2019t foolproof \u2013\u00a0human errors get made, training is required to keep comms quality high and sickness or absence inevitably throws a spanner in the works.<\/p>\n Automating your post-purchase comms is the solution. With a powerful Automation Engine<\/a> on your side, you can keep customers informed based on real-time sales data.<\/p>\n Emails and notifications about everything from invoicing, back in stock products and delays can be done automatically, simply by setting a few rules (don\u2019t worry, you don\u2019t need to do any coding).<\/p>\n Fetish clothing brand Honour saves more than 100 hours every month thanks to Brightpearl\u2019s automation functionality<\/a>.<\/p>\n Joe Xuereb, Director at Honour, says: \u201cWe now automate all of our invoices, orders and shipping processes and we\u2019ve seen a major impact on the speed and efficiency of our operation, while transforming our customer service. We\u2019re really, really pleased!\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no shortage of downsides to running a retail business through a market slump: there\u2019s lower demand, higher prices and (lots of) extra stress, for starters. But \u2013 *puts optimistic hat on* \u2013 there are opportunities, too. Now is the perfect time to boost resilience, streamline complexity, improve service and cut costs where possible. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":8419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n1. \u00a0Shipping<\/h2>\n
Why automate?<\/h3>\n
\n
Case study: trueCABLE<\/h2>\n
2. \u00a0Order fulfillment<\/h2>\n
Why automate?<\/h3>\n
\n
Case study: Snap Supply<\/h2>\n
3. \u00a0Customer comms<\/h2>\n
Why automate?<\/h3>\n
\n
Case study: Honour<\/h2>\n
Discover how YOU can use automation to emerge from the downturn stronger with a free demo. Book now!<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"