When your brand is growing fast, your warehouse needs to keep up. For P.Louise, a booming cosmetics brand, skyrocketing order volumes were exposing cracks in their fulfilment process. Inefficient picking routes, a high mispick rate, and the limitations of ShipStation were slowing them down and driving up costs.
They needed a solution that could streamline warehouse operations, cut down on errors, and speed up shipping, without adding unnecessary complexity. That’s where Helm came in. By implementing Helm’s advanced warehouse management tools, P.Louise optimised picking, automated shipping rules, and overhauled their label printing process, leading to faster fulfilment, fewer mistakes, and significant cost savings.
Here’s how they did it.
Overview
P.Louise, a fast-growing cosmetics brand, needed a more efficient way to manage their warehouse operations. With increasing order volumes and the limitations of ShipStation, they sought a solution that would streamline their picking and shipping processes. By implementing Helm, they achieved significant efficiency gains in warehouse picking and automated their shipping rules for optimal carrier selection.
Challenges
One of the biggest inefficiencies in P.Louise’s operation was the picking process. Staff spent unnecessary time navigating aisles, sometimes covering extra ground due to inefficient route planning. Without a structured priority system, warehouse operatives relied on memory and personal experience, which led to inconsistencies and delays. This lack of structure contributed to an alarmingly high mispick rate, meaning that nearly one in six orders contained errors. Each mispick resulted in costly repercussions, including additional shipping fees to correct orders, customer service labour to resolve complaints, and potential damage to brand reputation. The combined costs of miss-picks, factoring in returns, reshipping, and lost productivity were significantly impacting the company’s bottom line.
ShipStation’s shipping rule limitations also introduced issues, as the system lacked flexibility in automating carrier selection. Staff often had to override rules manually or double-check orders to ensure the correct courier and service were selected, which not only slowed operations but also led to increased shipping costs and occasional misrouted orders.
Another major issue was the way P.Louise handled label generation. They previously relied on bulk label printing, where hundreds of labels were printed at once in anticipation of upcoming orders. This process, while seemingly efficient, introduced significant challenges. Because labels were pre-printed before orders were fully picked and packed, any change in the order—such as an item being out of stock or an address correction—meant the label became obsolete. This resulted in wasted labels, increased risk of mislabelling parcels, and added manual work to sort and reprint labels when errors occurred. Additionally, labels often became separated from their corresponding orders, requiring extra verification steps to ensure the right package received the correct label. This bottleneck not only increased labour costs but also delayed dispatch times and affected order accuracy.
Solution
Helm transformed warehouse efficiency by introducing a digital picking system that eliminated guesswork and inefficiencies. By setting customisable priority-based picking routes, warehouse operatives were guided along the most efficient path, reducing unnecessary movement and accelerating fulfilment. Barcode scanning integration further ensured accuracy, significantly reducing miss-picks and lowering error rates to a minimal margin. By eliminating costly picking errors, P.Louise drastically cut down on avoidable expenses tied to reprocessing, reshipping, and customer service workload.
The automation of shipping rules provided even greater improvements. Unlike ShipStation’s rigid system, Helm allowed P.Louise to implement complex, condition-based shipping rules that automatically selected the best carrier and service for each order based on weight, destination, and customer preferences. This eliminated the need for manual intervention, preventing costly shipping mistakes and ensuring the most cost-effective service was always chosen.
Perhaps the most impactful change was the overhaul of the label printing process. Helm replaced the outdated bulk label printing system with real-time, automated label generation. Instead of printing labels in advance, labels were now generated at the exact moment an order was packed. This ensured that each label matched the actual order contents, eliminating wasted labels, mislabelling errors, and the need for last-minute reprints. Integrated label printing within the packing workflow meant that labels were produced and applied seamlessly, reducing processing time and increasing overall throughput. With these improvements, P.Louise was able to significantly enhance the speed and accuracy of their shipping operations.
Results
With Helm in place, P.Louise experienced a 50% reduction in picking time as staff followed optimised routes rather than relying on memory. Order accuracy improved, as barcode scanning and guided picking reduced mispicks. The reduction in the mispick rate saved the company thousands in operational costs, including labour, returns, and reshipping expenses. The transition away from bulk label printing resulted in faster label creation process, eliminating bottlenecks and reducing the number of misapplied labels.
Additionally, the automation of shipping rules prevented overcharges and incorrect courier selections, leading to notable cost savings. As a result, P.Louise was able to scale their operations efficiently without requiring a proportional increase in labour, enabling them to fulfil growing demand while maintaining high levels of service.
Conclusion
By leveraging Helm, P.Louise successfully eliminated the inefficiencies that were slowing their warehouse operations. The transformation of their picking process, automation of shipping rules, and shift to real-time label generation allowed them to significantly improve fulfilment speed and accuracy. With streamlined processes and reduced manual intervention, their warehouse is now better equipped to handle increasing order volumes while keeping costs under control.
With these operational improvements in place, P.Louise can continue scaling their business with confidence, ensuring a faster, more reliable, and cost-effective fulfilment process.
Interested in learning how Helm can enhance your warehouse operations? Get in touch today!
