It’s a recurring theme with businesses coming to us to see what Stream can do for them.
They want to automate more and more of the tasks associated with managing their deliveries.
They’re manually processing orders.
Or, they’re planning delivery schedules on spreadsheets or printing manifests and shuffling bits of paper to create those delivery routes.
Others have said they are spending hours every week downloading orders from their ERP or WMS system into an Excel spreadsheet, manipulating it and then uploading it to their transport management system before they can even begin planning their delivery routes.
According to a study conducted by our partners, Brightpearl by Sage, a leading retail operating system, it’s not just own fleet logistics providers who are getting bogged down by day-to-day admin tasks.
Brightpearl’s study of 1,000 businesses shows that the average retailer is spending upwards of 300 hours a year on those tasks.
From those questioned, the most hated admin tasks included:
- Keeping inboxes clear and filing away emails
- Working with spreadsheets and databases
- Managing invoices and payments
- Financial administration
- Managing inventory and replenishing stock.
As reported in the Retail Technology Innovation Hub (RTIH), 66% of businesses report that the amount of admin is increasing, which, in turn, has resulted in 67% of people taking work home with them to complete over the weekend.
Mark Hook, a Product Marketing Director at Brightpearl by Sage told the RTIH that UK retail businesses are being “suffocated by mundane tasks like order processing, invoicing, and inventory management, which is draining productivity, overwhelming staff and stunting growth.”
“Rather than firefighting admin during the week – and increasing at weekends – retailers should be looking to reduce the admin burden by automating as much of their operation as possible.”
The answer? Brightpearl’s automation engine which can automate business critical tasks including:
- Process orders from multiple sales channels
- Fulfil orders automatically when inventory is available (don’t forget if you’re using Brightpearl and delivering in your own vehicles, you can push Brightpearl orders into Stream ready to be planned for delivery through or Brightpearl integration)
- Invoice orders once they’ve been shipped (and in the case of Stream, when the order has been delivered)
- Detect fraudulent orders based on a variety of rules
- Ensure the correct shipping method is selected based on certain conditions such as total weight, value or location (useful when you’re delivering some orders in own fleet and others using certain shipping carriers)
- Route orders to be fulfilled by a certain warehouse if you’ve multiple depots for final mile delivery.
Discover How Top Brands are Using Automation to Save Time and Boost Revenue
If you’re curious to learn how Brightpearl’s automation engine can save you time, they are running a webinar, Discover How Top Brands are Using Automation to Save Time and Boost Revenue, on 25th July at 4:00pm (BST), which includes real-life examples from major retailers Dan-O’s Seasoning and TBCo.
There are more resources about automation with Brightpearl, including an incredibly useful guide to 10 automation hacks. Read ‘Life is Short. Let’s Automate’.
