The unique challenges that cold chain environments face in the warehouse are well understood by seafood processors and distributors of every size. Ensuring there is no spoilage or contamination is foundational to their efforts, but other requirements related to handling and rotation represent additional complications. Those challenges are just part of the reason that over $750 billion is annually lost in the global food industry due to improper facilities, handling procedures and training across the cold chain.

Warehouse optimization is the best way to address these challenges, as a Warehouse Management System (WMS) gives users the ability to track and record lot numbers, expiry dates, and best-before dates to eliminate spoilage. Anyone involved in a cold chain environment can use a WMS to provide real-time inventory information, provide better visibility of product, create custom reports, and enable access for everyone from team members to clients. However, not every WMS is created equally.  

Created specifically for any warehouse not yet using a WMS, Provision WMS was developed and refined by warehouse management experts to change expectations when it comes to providing visibility and control over products in the warehouse. The team behind Provision WMS has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by warehouse operations managers and business owners that has allowed them to create a product designed to enable the era of warehouse digitalization. What specific efficiencies can be enabled by Provision WMS in the cold chain ecosystem though? And what are the logistics associated with integrating this tool? These answers are readily available for any warehouse operations managers and business owners ready to increase profit margins and efficiency.

Exposing the vulnerabilities of the cold chain

The incredible amount of money being lost annually in the cold chain has been well understood for many years, but COVID-19 exposed the vulnerabilities of this ecosystem in a whole new way. Immediately after pandemic-related shutdowns took effect, outbound orders suddenly stopped because of government-mandated closures. At the same time, inbound orders kept coming in from producers and processors. That led to logistical bottlenecks and storage space shortages along with labor shortages due to social distancing and sickness.

Simultaneously affecting production, processing, transport and logistics, and final demand, the pandemic caused many to newly see that bottlenecks in transport and logistics have disrupted the movement of products along supply chains. A new desire to address these challenges has been further fueled by consumer demand that has seen rapid and unprecedented shifts, compelling many to explore the adoption of WMS tools. 

“During the pandemic, retail demand for food soared,” said Don Marino from Ahearn & Soper Inc. “Sales of frozen packaged foods increased dramatically; at the peak, weekly sales of frozen foods were up 63% from the year before similar demand spikes were seen in almost all countries. Following the initial spike, retail demand for frozen food is still up 20%. The disruptive effect was not primarily production and processing, but the overall demand from its disruptive effects on the complex warehousing and distribution connecting sea-to-fork.”

That increased demand further exposed vulnerabilities that warehouse operations managers and business owners already knew existed in their cold chain environments. Labor shortages both in warehousing and transportation along with manual warehousing that was being done via Spreadsheet created even more challenges. All of these caused many to realize that something profound needed to change, helping to usher in a new understanding of automated warehouse management systems that are the future of cold chain storage and distribution.

Provision WMS provides complete inventory visibility and real-time access to data for better supply chain transparency, seamless workflows, and insights into future challenges and issues. The improved inventory and order accuracy, better quality control, increased productivity and logistics cost savings enabled stakeholders to get accurate inventory each day. That accuracy and timeliness represent the profound change so many knew they needed to bring into their cold chain environment.

While this recognition has taken place on an individual level, it's also an important development for the industry, as automation in seafood shipping and warehousing has traditionally been slow in adaptation. The paradigm has shifted, as there’s a new desire to eliminate what had previously been accepted inefficiencies, while heavier workloads being brought by increased demand have many looking to adopt these tools.

“The bottom line is that for many businesses operating in a traditional warehouse environment, the rise of e-commerce and omnichannel distribution have made their established processes no longer viable from a scale-up perspective,” said Marino. “Technology adoption is low in the food industry due to tight margins on food products, but the value is there if adoption takes place on a long enough timeline or at a large enough scale. That’s partly why Provision WMS can be implemented and customized to the client’s needs. For example, if the client has issues with picking and packing, Provision WMS has a standalone solution. It proves that automation is cost-effective at any scale.”

The future of warehousing and distribution is automated for a variety of reasons, but that process can be distinct for warehouses and operations of very different types and sizes. Tools like Provision WMS are designed to meet users where they are, creating efficiencies today that can scale in whatever way makes sense for them tomorrow.

Hardware and human expertise

Few would say they do not see the benefits associated with a tool that would allow workers to track all warehouse activities in real-time. Optimizing warehouse operations is something that can democratize data, enabling everyone in the organization to access current and historical information. That democratization of information provides everyone with access to information that can be used to bolster their performance.

The challenge around adopting such tools is more about moving away from processes and systems that people are used to, even if they are as inherently inefficient as ones that rely on Spreadsheets. Real-time data warehousing enables the organization to consolidate data from different sources, extract insights from them and leverage them to make strategic business decisions faster. Those decisions are key to consider from a user perspective.

“Provision WMS warehouse management system has proven to improve employee satisfaction, help employees complete their work faster and better, and allow them to focus on value-added tasks,” Marino mentioned. “Additionally, Provision WMS can be easily integrated with most ERPs and processes. Partners like Shopify, QuickBooks, etc. Our goal is to show teams and users the benefits of automation and future ROI. We provide hardware and human expertise to help our customers choose the right solution.”

That demonstration can be especially powerful for anyone looking to explore their options with a new WMS, as ProVision WMS enables warehouse automation that is custom to each customer. Their SaaS option is a monthly subscription model, while their On-premises is a user license model. Both options allow for the business to scale and add more functionality as they need it. Provision WMS is also completely integrated with tools that benefit the receiver, shipper, packer, etc.

While the inefficiencies in seafood shipping and warehousing are issues that need to be addressed across the industry, the only way that can happen is if individual teams and organizations actively explore the adoption of new tools and processes that are designed to reduce operational costs and improve service levels. Doing so will help to usher in era of warehouse digitalization, but change won’t happen all at once for the industry or for those individual teams and organizations. Choosing that right solution can be a matter of need and timing, but there are key questions that anyone exploring their options should work through internally and with potential solution providers.

“I would first ask them what are the costs that they incur daily due to spoiled inventory, human errors, misplaced inventory, and labor costs overages,” Marino said. “There is money in efficiencies and that if you want to grow your margins, improve your customer service, and build employee satisfaction, then Provision WMS should be an option.”

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