August is festival season a time when the UK tunes into music, fun, and a bit of a slower pace. But for distributors, summer often means a different kind of rhythm: fewer hands on deck, rising customer expectations, and the challenge of keeping the show running smoothly with a leaner team.
While many are off enjoying the sunshine, or muddy wellingtons, your warehouse might be running on a skeleton crew. This summer, it’s all about working smarter, not harder. Two features can help you keep your distribution operations in perfect harmony: carrier integration and batch picking.
Carrier Integration: Automate Your Shipping Process and Cut Down on Admin Noise
Imagine your distribution centre as a stage, with orders flowing in like the crowd at a festival. Carrier integration acts like your sound engineer, handling all the behind-the-scenes work so the performance stays flawless.
When staff levels dip, the last thing you want is your team drowning in manual shipping admin:
ERP’s can automate label creation and track updates so your team spends less time on repetitive tasks.
Automated carrier selection means you always pick the best option, whether it’s fastest, cheapest, or tailored to the delivery location.
Real-time updates keep your customers and service team in the loop, reducing “where’s my parcel?” enquiries and keeping the vibe positive.
This automation keeps your warehouse humming even when the team is short-handed.
Batch Picking: Amplify Warehouse Efficiency When You’re Running Lean
Picking orders is often the busiest part of the day, and when your pickers are fewer, it’s easy for things to go off beat.
Batch picking lets you organise orders like a festival setlist, grouping similar orders together to make the picking route more efficient. The result? Less walking, fewer errors, and faster deliveries.
Distributors using batch picking have seen:
Up to 50% less picker travel time
Increased accuracy on orders
The ability to maintain strong productivity even with a smaller team
This feature helps your warehouse keep the beat, no matter how many staff are on shift.
Your Summer Survival Checklist - Keep the Show on the Road
Automate shipping tasks with carrier integration to reduce admin and errors.
Set up batch picking workflows and train holiday cover staff before the rush.
Automate customer updates to keep everyone informed without extra admin.
Track key warehouse metrics so you spot issues early and adjust fast.
Use August as your warm-up: get ready to hit full volume for Q4.
Take Your Front Row Seat with WinMan ERP
Ready to see how WinMan can help your distribution keep the rhythm through summer and beyond?
Book a quick 15-minute call and let’s chat about your business systems: Book a call
Summer might bring a quieter crowd, but your distribution centre can still put on a headline performance, with WinMan ERP behind the scenes making sure every order hits the right note.
Find out more about WinMan ERP on their member profile page here
Member-created content 1 day ago | From members