Logistics management is a core part of your operation, especially for large-scale facilities. With large volumes of incoming packages, your team needs the resources and processes in place to ensure smooth transitions from receiving through last-yard delivery. However, common mistakes in your receiving process can lead to disruptions, time lost, and increased costs for your team. Here, our team unpacks five common mistakes you may be making in your inbound receiving process and what you can do to fix them.

No Insights Into Package Volumes

One of the largest issues we see in the receiving process starts before the packages even get off of the delivery truck. Without visibility into incoming package volumes, your team is unable to prepare accordingly for influxes of packages, leading to bottlenecks in receiving, especially if you are understaffed. On top of the time it takes to process these packages, understaffing can also lead to missed scans when receiving and organizing dozens, if not hundreds of packages at once.

Manual Data Entry

While we wish that every company had access to top-of-the-line software (like ours), many companies are still working with manual data entry. Your logistics team is responsible for entering lots of important information, and one wrong number entered from a barcode can lead to a slew of problems for chain of custody and tracking.

Manual data entry, especially in the early stages of receiving, is one of the most common issues we see for our customers. Using software specifically designed for the receiving process, like Intra, ensures that all information is captured and organized as quickly as possible, helping you complete receiving faster with confidence.

Inefficient Space Utilization

Large and small facilities alike are facing the same challenges: there just never seems to be enough space. Whether you have your own central receiving warehouse or are working from a one-room mailroom, inefficient space management can slow down your receiving process. Does this sound familiar?

Your delivery trucks arrive, and you frantically take all of them off the truck, sliding them into the same corner that piles up before you’re halfway done. Then, you’re back spending time shifting shelves and moving items just to make some storage space. Here are a few ways for your team to find more space:

• Have a clear schedule for package pickups and deliveries, so you know when your mailroom will be at its fullest
• Clean up what’s there: do you have assets that need to be disposed of? Are you holding onto packages that need to be forwarded to a new address?
• Start charging for space! If certain departments are using a large amount of space for storage, consider charging them for shelves used.

Limited Documentation

While receiving is the first step in the process, there are other factors that can cause challenges for the remainder of your workflow, one being limited documentation. Whether you’re working from an Excel spreadsheet that doesn’t have fields for all information needed, or losing paper trails of packages received for the day, not having the right documentation can cause confusion and frustration for your team.

How many times have you lost or misplaced packages, but have no idea who touched it? Without information on chain-of-custody, your team lacks insights on who got it off the truck, sorted it, or ultimately delivered it. When employees come back asking where their package is, you don’t even know where to start. Working with a platform that prioritizes documentation and granular chain of custody tracking ensures that every touch is recorded seamlessly.

Not Managing Carrier SLAs

Sometimes, the problem really isn’t you! One mistake we see that is often overlooked is companies not managing their SLAs with carriers. Generally, this is just because they don’t have the resources to do so, or aren’t even sure where to start, but having little to no insight into SLAs can cause unnecessary frustration for you and your team.

If you’ve struggled with searching for hours for a package you swore got delivered, or have to tell your employees that their package hasn’t arrived, but you don’t know where it is, this is for you. By utilizing tools like POLIR within logistics software, your team can see forecasted deliveries for upcoming days, and ensure that orders match up line by line. With configurable analytics dashboards to boot, you can also see historical data of which carriers are continuously failing to meet their SLAs, and take action.

Revolutionize Your Receiving Process with SCLogic

Not all logistics software is created equally. With a focus on last-yard tracking and granular visibility into your operation, we’ve spent the past three decades perfecting software that doesn’t just work for you, it works with you. Whether you’re receiving thousands of packages per day, or looking to organize your mailroom for the first time, we have you covered. To learn more about our mailroom management solutions, schedule your demo today!