Big box retailers face overwhelming challenges in streamlining put-away, restocking, returns, and online order pickups in today's fast-paced retail landscape. With the shift in shopping behavior post-pandemic, the demand for efficient and organized operations has skyrocketed, turning the logistics of managing in-store and online fulfillment into a complex puzzle. Fortunately, a simple yet effective solution can streamline these processes: high-density mobile picking carts.
The Challenge of Disorganized Picking Carts
Big box retail stores, in particular, encounter unique challenges when maintaining organization amidst the complexities of modern shopping. With the surge in online purchases and the expansion of omnichannel fulfillment methods, these retailers are inundated with various tasks that must be handled efficiently, all while ensuring a pleasant shopping experience for customers visiting physical stores.
Retailers must juggle a variety of functions, including:
- Put-Away: As new stock arrives, it needs to be organized and shelved efficiently in retail backrooms - mini warehouses attached to the store. Without proper systems in place, the put-away process can quickly lead to chaos, making it difficult for employees to find and retrieve items needed to stock the shelves.
- Restocking: Keeping shelves stocked and ensuring products are available for customers is crucial. Disorganized processes can lead to delays in restocking, resulting in empty shelves, messy aisles, and dissatisfied shoppers.
- Returns: Handling returns has become a huge aspect of retail operations. Items that are returned must be quickly processed and restocked, but disorganized systems often lead to bottlenecks in customer service areas where returns are collected, and throughout the store where workers are trying to get the returned items back on shelves, restocked in the backroom, or shipped off to a larger warehouse for those items that require additional handling. This creates a unique set of challenges for retailers to manage returns effectively.
- Online Orders: When consumers buy online, they can pick up their items in-store at the customer service counter, drive up, or have them delivered the same day. With the rise and ongoing expansion of click-and-collect services, retailers must ensure that online orders are picked and staged for customer pickup in a timely manner. A large-scale operation that incorporates organized picking carts is poised to efficiently manage these orders and reduce wait times for customers.
The Impact on Customer Experience
A cluttered and disorganized store not only hampers operational efficiency but also negatively impacts the customer experience. Shoppers expect a clean, organized store where products are easy to find. When disarray occurs, customers become dissatisfied and frustrated. An unkempt environment can deter customers from making purchases. Retailers must strive to create an inviting atmosphere, but disorganized processes and messy cart picking can disrupt that effort.
Evolving Expectations
As consumer expectations evolve, retailers are under increasing pressure to streamline their operations. Shoppers today demand convenience, speed, and accuracy—qualities that can only be achieved through efficient processes. However, many retailers find it challenging to keep pace with the growing demand, often leading to chaotic conditions that undermine their efforts.
By addressing the root causes of disorganization, retailers can create a more efficient workflow, improve employee morale, and ultimately enhance the shopping experience for customers. High-density mobile picking carts can play a pivotal role in this transformation, offering a practical solution to the challenges of disorganized retail operations.
High-Density Mobile Picking Carts for Improved Retail Operations
Enter UNEX SpeedCartt: a game-changing solution designed to tackle the many challenges retailers face in streamlining omnichannel fulfillment. As the demands of modern retail continue to grow, SpeedCartt offers a high-density mobile picking cart solution that enhances efficiency and organization in the bustling environment of big box retail.
With its innovative design, SpeedCartt enables quick access to a greater number of SKUs, streamlines put-away and restocking processes, and significantly reduces travel time for employees. SpeedCartt also significantly improves organization thanks to its unique location storage cells. By improving organization, accuracy increases, enhancing efficiency across the aforementioned key areas of the retail operation. SpeedCartt not only addresses the chaos of disorganized back rooms, aisles, and customer pickup areas, but it also elevates the overall shopping experience for customers by allowing employees to work neatly and efficiently in the background without disrupting shoppers browsing in the aisles.
Benefits of High-Density Picking Carts
Simply put, picking carts like SpeedCartt allow for greater SKU density compared to basic solutions like utility carts or flimsy wire carts with flat shelves. SpeedCartt’s cells allow for better organization, offering a clear system for keeping items visible and accessible.
SpeedCartt is proven to:
- Increase Pick Facings: By utilizing a high-density picking cart, retailers can significantly increase the number of items stored for order picking, restocking, put-away, and more. This makes it easier for employees to locate items and complete various tasks more quickly.
- Reduce Travel Time: Efficiently designed picking carts minimize the distance workers need to travel to complete a task. This allows employees to pick or restock more items in less time. This not only boosts productivity but also enhances overall operational efficiency.
- Increase Order Accuracy: A well-organized picking cart dramatically reduces the chances of picking errors. High-density picking carts can be especially helpful in ensuring the correct items are selected for each order, leading to improved customer satisfaction.
- Handle Multiple Tasks Simultaneously: High-density picking carts can be used in a number of areas throughout a retail operation; from put-away in the back room to restocking shelves, staging orders for pickup, and more. High-density picking carts are so versatile, they allow workers to handle all of these tasks simultaneously as they move throughout the retail operation.
SpeedCartt mobilizes the order picking process, allows greater SKU availability than individual boxes and bins, and is well-suited for high circulation areas. These high-density picking carts increase pick facings, reduce travel times, increase order accuracy, and allow employees to manage multiple tasks at the same time for maximum efficiency.
SpeedCartt Features
- Single-side or back-to-back loading for greater SKU accessibility
- 4 different Cartt sizes
- 8 different column sizes
- 16 different Cartt combinations
- Operating temperature of -20° F to 180° F (-29° C to 82° C)
- Mold, flame, and static-resistant
- Non-fraying polyester mesh textile
Get Started with High-Density Picking Carts from UNEX
As the retail landscape continues to evolve, so must the strategies employed to manage logistics and fulfillment. High-density mobile picking carts, like the UNEX SpeedCartt™, offer a solution that addresses the challenges of disorganized picking processes in retail, eCommerce, and omnichannel fulfillment. By enhancing efficiency, increasing order accuracy, and ultimately improving the customer experience, these carts are a vital investment for any retailer looking to thrive in today’s fast-paced market. For more insights on optimizing your retail operation or to learn how you can get started with UNEX SpeedCartt, contact us today!
