Keep Your Warehouse Running Smoothly With These 6 Tips
While warehouse organization may seem simple, warehousing is a much more involved and complicated process than you think. Running an efficient warehouse involves more than just putting things in a big room. For a warehouse to run effectively and effortlessly there are many considerations to take into account, from inventory to organization, warehouses are teeming with technology and well-planned logistics.
Warehousing is a complex business that requires multiple factors to work in harmony with each other. While one area was maybe strong, if a directly related area is lacking, you will see a decrease in productivity and profitability. With many considerations to keep in mind, here are some tips to help run your warehouse effectively and efficiently.
- Inventory Tracking Controls
Inventory tracking is one of the most important considerations when it comes to the effective and efficient running of a warehouse. Without proper inventory controls in place, your warehouse will soon be a chaotic environment that can lead to heavy worker turnover, loss of profits, and loss of clients.
Having an appropriate inventory control program in place can greatly reduce issues with human error and inventory loss. When it comes to inventory control, there are many computer programs, software, and techniques that increase efficiency and reduce lost time. One of the greatest errors when it comes to inventory control is human error, so having a reputable inventory control program in place can greatly reduce these instances.
- Reducing Human Error
Paper and worker-run control protocols can be a disaster, especially in larger warehouses with high turnover. Implementing electronic controls and tracking on inventory can greatly reduce the instances of error, and lead to a smoothly run and controlled environment. From barcodes to photos for ease of location, to a completely computerized inventory control process, you can reduce losses by implementing the most cutting-edge inventory control protocols in your warehouse.
- Organization
Organization and cleanliness are key to effective warehousing. Organization starts with inventory control but is related to so much more. Having a specialized organizational plan in place for your warehouse can make products easier to find, and reduce costs and losses when it comes to inventory. Ensuring that your warehouse is organized into effective categories, with high turnaround items at the foreground of your warehouse, can reduce pulling and packing time, increase order capability, and ensure that what you need can be found when it is needed.
Ensuring organization in your warehouse environment is key to ensuring that nothing goes wrong. Organizations can reduce downtime, and also impact worker safety and efficiency. Cleanliness comes directly from a well-organized warehouse and can reduce workplace accidents and possible injuries and legal action.
- Cleanliness
If your warehouse is properly organized, with fewer obstructions and areas or disarray, then you are improving the overall layout and effective operations within your warehouse. An organized and clean warehouse is one of the most important aspects of any warehousing undertaking, and this point is not to be taken lightly. Having appropriate cleanliness protocols in place when it comes to your warehouse will keep workers and clients alike happy and safe within the environment.
- Appropriate Floor Plans
The floor plan of your warehouse leads directly to improving the organization. It is important to have planned out where you will be keeping what, how it will be accessed, and keeping certain high traffic areas free of clutter and debris.
Having an accessible receiving area will allow for efficient processing of intake, and ensuring that your shipping and receiving areas work together will reduce accidents, loss of inventory, and loss of time. Accessibility is key within your shipping department as well as throughout your warehouse, so providing ample space for both shipping and receiving will allow your workers to do what they need to do, without backlog and clutter getting in the way. Ensuring that you have appropriate items in inappropriate places will increase efficiency within your warehouse, leading to easier picking and fewer mistakes.
- Specialized Warehousing
If your warehouse does not have refrigerated spaces, then it is not appropriate to store or transfer products that require refrigeration. Just as you wouldn’t leave the milk outside on a hot day, or utilize a trucking company without freezer trucks for ice cream, so you need to take into consideration these specialties regarding warehousing.
Warehouses can take on any number of specialized items, and it is important to understand what type of warehouse can take care of what type of items. Having a specialized food grade warehouse facility is not necessary if you are simply storing shoes or garden items, and a warehouse for lumber will not suit the needs of food or produce. Ensuring that your warehouse is only catering to the specialized products it is receiving is important for proper utilization and operations.
If you are opening a new warehouse, it is important to decide what type of services you would like to offer, be it temperature-controlled, indoor, outdoor, or any number of other considerations. A warehouse cannot run properly if it is not servicing the appropriate stock and supply.
While these tips are just a few of the overwhelming concerns when it comes to a smoothly running warehouse, they can be a good place to start. If you are looking to improve operations within your warehouse, then ensuring you have these bases covered will give you a good foundational start for employee and customer satisfaction.
When it comes to warehousing concerns, inventory control and organization are key, and starting with revolutionizing this aspect of your warehouse can have your business growing in leaps and bounds, reducing losses and increasing productivity and efficiency. A warehouse is only as good as its inventory control, management team, and workers, so starting with the basics and fundamentals will ensure your warehouse is top of the line and running smoothly. Don’t cut corners when it comes to these aspects of your business, and you will see the difference it can make to your bottom-line profitability. Consider these tips when planning or rejuvenating your warehouse and you will see an almost immediate change in productivity and profitability.
