Dock-to-stock time is a critical factor in supply chain management. Learn how businesses of all sizes are decreasing dock-to-stock time and streamlining the inbounding process.
Dock-to-stock time is a critical factor in supply chain management. Learn how businesses of all sizes are decreasing dock-to-stock time and streamlining the inbounding process.
Dock-to-Stock time is the amount of time it takes for a product to arrive at a point of origin (like a warehouse) and be stocked on the shelf, ready to ship. While logistics data can optimize demand forecasting for warehousing decision makers, streamlining dock-to-stock is a critical step for avoiding stock outs and guaranteeing 1-2 day shipping.
Minimizing dock-to-stock solves three major pain points that affect businesses’ bottom lines and their ability to grow:
Before inventory is considered “in stock” at a warehouse, it must go through four steps:
1. Inventory is received at the loading dock
2. Inventory is scanned into a Warehouse Management System (WMS)
3. Inventory is stocked in the appropriate warehouse zone and shelf according to SKU
4. All inventory records are updated
However, as small to midsize businesses (SMBs) continue to adopt outsourced fulfillment, two main factors are affecting the dock-to-stock time equation:
The warehouse labor market is in flux
According to 2023 reporting from The National Law Review, the warehousing industry finds itself at a historical moment of labor unionizing while also seeing record-high turnover. Without dependable labor, dock-to-stock time goes up.
Uncertainty around legacy technology systems
Adopting automation- both AI machinery and a WMS- to keep up with the eCommerce boom has made SMBs more aware of the benefits of technology. However, many are uncertain if their current providers are actually optimizing fulfillment. A 2023 survey of SMBs found that 39% of respondents have reevaluated their warehouse technology providers and costs over the past 1-2 years.
Early in the life of an SMB it is typical to handle the inbounding process in-house with simple tools or more manual processes. However, streamlining logistical steps (e.g. demand forecasting, dock-to-stock time, time in transit) can be difficult to scale as a business grows. This is especially true when SMBs implement a multichannel strategy, which complicates pick pack and ship fulfillment.
Without the ability to truly scale and optimize, common pitfalls arise, including:
Survey data has found that SMB decision makers are looking for warehouse management solutions that tick three main boxes:
For more industry insights, read the full report on the future of fulfillment or learn more about the benefits of a WMS that automates and optimizes logistics.
When Palouse Brand, a fifth generation farm in Washington state, suddenly grew 4,000% overnight, they faced a significant challenge to their 1-2 day shipping commitment. By partnering with Ware2Go, Palouse was able to create a warehouse network across the United States. Using logistics data, Palouse increased certainty of how much inventory to stock and warehouse distribution.
Finding a fulfillment partner who could manage their full end-to-end supply chain – from inbounding to final mile – enabled Palouse to optimize their dock-to-stock time across their entire network.
“My customers get 1-2 day shipping, all the time, anywhere in the US.”
Sara Mader, CEO of Palouse Brand
The time it takes to optimize processes like dock-to-stock time pulls decision makers away from their specialties. In fact, nearly 1 in 2 SMBs would like to divert their team’s time away from logistics management and back towards core competencies. This is where a third-party logistics provider (3PL) can help SMBs remain sustainable and increase certainty.
Before choosing a 3PL, SMBs should consider the following checklist as ‘must-haves’ in today’s eCommerce environment:
Partnering with a 3PL is a great option for addressing the issues SMBs face to minimize dock-to-stock time and other logistics across the supply chain. Ware2Go is a UPS-backed company that provides an end- to- end solution, purposely built for SMBs. Explore Ware2Go and our solutions to learn more.