A strong economy is good for business, but it strains your ability to find and retain quality candidates. In the retail and ecommerce fulfillment sector, employers are facing ever-growing demand and labor shortages. Now is the time to implement proactive strategies for finding qualified talent and optimizing resources.
Many ecommerce fulfillment centers are largely dependent on manual labor. Direct and indirect labor costs generally make up 50% or more of the total cost per order, excluding outbound shipping.
In many markets before the COVID crisis, the quality and availability of ecommerce fulfillment center associates had already decreased. High turnover in many facilities adds costs and instability. And the operations mantra remains, do more with the resources you have and reduce the cost per order.
Brian Barry, president of F. Curtis Barry & Co., shares 8 imperatives for managing employees to meet your business goals in this time of great change.