With the rapid growth in eCommerce, online retailers that are already annually fulfilling a significant volume of orders may reach a tipping point where they must eliminate manual aspects of the packing and fulfillment process and transition to higher speed, automated packaging operations.
Although the tipping point for any online retailer varies, companies processing several hundred thousand orders a year often find themselves in this position. Symptoms of the growing pains include orders that sit in bins for days before leaving the warehouse, high manual labor costs and even high packing material costs. In addition, increasing staffing to meet peak seasonal demands can be even more of a challenge. During this time, most e-retailers run extra shifts and hire large quantities of people who must be trained for the 30-60 days they will work. But even this approach can lead to slow order fulfillment, a detriment when competing with companies, such as Amazon, that offer one day — or same day — delivery.