Should You Automate 
Your Labor Plan?

According to a July 30, 2024 News Release by BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the US Department of Labor), Seasonally Adjusted New Job Openings, New Hires and Separations have all been slightly decreasing or holding steady from June of 2022 to June of 2024 in most sectors, including Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities. While a casual observer might jump to the conclusion that the economy is obviously gradually slowing down and assume that fewer job openings means that the supply of labor is catching up with the demand, they would be gravely mistaken. 

While the number of job openings in many sectors including warehousing and transportation have been steady decreasing, the number of qualified applicants as defined by actual new hires have also decreased, and any gains are generally canceled out by a nearly equal number of separations. Still employment in warehousing is expected to outpace labor force growth in the next several years. 

Consider this statement by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major disruption in America’s labor force—something many have referred to as "The Great Resignation." In 2022, more than 50 million workers quit their jobs, following the 47.8 million who did so in 2021. In 2023, this trend gradually subsided, with 30.5 million workers resigning as of August. 

A closer look at what has happened to the labor force can be better described as "The Great Reshuffle." While quit rates remain high, hiring rates continue to outpace them as many workers have been transitioning to other jobs in search of an improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation, or a strong company culture. 

The charts above from the U.S. Department of Labor clearly indicate the significant changes in the labor force we can anticipate in the next several years. They say that to be forearmed is to be forewarned. Fortunately, SC Codeworks’ advanced WMS can significantly reduce your labor downtime with the revolutionary concept of automated workflow. We can show you how this will lead your operations to greater efficiency.      

What will your operation look like next year or the year after that? Begin with the end in mind.

Picture a full and perfect roster of employees that show up on time every day, and make no mistakes, operating like a crack team of seasoned veterans; like a well-oiled machine. Now come back to reality and imagine what kind of tools you could provide to your current work force that would mitigate and cushion the likelihood of unexpected illness, absence, or human errors. Tools are what make warehousing possible. Leveraging ever improving technology is just a decision to use better tools. 

While it is estimated that warehouse picking rate errors can range from 1%-2% and overall error rates within warehouse and 3PL operations can average from 2%-4%. The tremendous financial impact on a company’s profitability is often less obvious. Some might say, “It’s just the cost of doing business,” It doesn’t have to be. 

Everyone has heard the tired, old adage that, “People don’t generally plan to fail, they simply fail to plan.” It’s a clever turn of phrase, but it can be a sad reality with devastating outcomes for those who fail to heed its inherent wisdom. Any labor force plan should include automation, not only as an option, but as a foundation. 

Conclusion 

While the cost and inevitable implementation challenges of integrating a new WMS into your current operations may initially seem daunting, the cost of failing to do so may be the real pain you should strive to avoid. An affordably priced WMS can still provide the level of sophistication necessary to operate a growing warehouse or 3PL enterprise.

Whichever WMS you choose, it should remove any questions your team has surrounding “what is our workload?” It should also give you visibility into your day, while increasing your worker satisfaction and productivity. It should be fully integrable, customizable, flexible, and most importantly scalable. 

Hiring and empowering the right people can make or break your logistics or 3PL business. One of the best ways to empower a dedicated workforce to produce more with less effort is to provide them with the proper tools. Telling them to “Work smarter not harder,” will only get you so far. Use whichever metaphor works for you, whether it’s properly equipping the military before a major operation or donating high quality uniforms, shoulder pads and helmets to the local little league football team before the new season, nobody wants to go into battle ill-equipped.  

What to do Next  

Our expert implementation team stands ready to discuss whether your operation could realize any or all of the benefits of operations automation. It starts with a phone call, a conversation, some information exchange, an online demonstration and then if appropriate a site visit. In the worst-case scenario, you have met and conversed with industry experts whose singular goal is to improve your operations and your bottom lineAlternately you might begin a business relationship that positively impacts you and your employees for years to come. Why not make the call today?