Warehousing and Shipping - IO Updates

Maintaining high standards from order to fulfillment

What a year it has been – and I say that with a positive outlook. Although this is not the year anyone expected, it is a time for businesses to come together, strengthen and push forward. As the warehouse operations manager at ingredientsonline.com, I have encountered many challenges these past few months, and will surely encounter more as the year comes to an end – but with those challenges have come great successes, and exciting new announcements!

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, ingredientsonline.com was implementing a state of the art, digital warehouse management software known as DSI which was integrated directly into our ERP for seamless interactions between transactions and inventory. This new software allows our warehouse team to avoid paperwork, efficiently inbound and outbound with digital record keeping, move inventory around the warehouse without manual entries, and mitigate human error throughout all the processes. Through DSI, live inventory and inbound/outbound modules can be accessed through standard mobile devices from anywhere, allowing for remote monitoring and processing during the pandemic. DSI implementation has proven to be key in preparing for several challenges that were to come.

During the pandemic, we finalized a partnership with East West CFS, making their 100,000 square foot warehouse the hub of our fulfillment on the West Coast. The warehouse move was completed amid the pandemic, allowing us to strengthen our fulfilment capabilities by gaining access to East West’s formidable warehouse team and strong relationships with carriers and carrier rates.

We have also been able to maintain our high standards for inbounds and outbounds such as our four-hour window for product receipt, same day and next day order shipment, triple check policies for outbounds, and daily cycle counts to maintain inventory accuracy. We developed a new fulfillment team which has proven to be dedicated, motivated, and eager to maintain IO’s standards regardless of the current state of the world.

As we continue to enhance our customers’ experience, we look forward to sharing these improvements with you. There may be challenges ahead, but with every challenge, success is never far away.

by Daniel Aldaz Warehouse Operations Manager [email protected]

Daniel Aldaz is the warehouse operations manager for ingredientsonline.com with over 25 years’ experience in distribution and has worked for some of the biggest food and beverage distributors in the country. Daniel currently oversees all warehouse operations for ingredientsonline.com and East-West Logistics.