Not only is an unorganised warehouse difficult to look at, it also poses many financial and logistical problems for your company. The key to a successful business is strong internal governance. That means: efficient systems processes, whether they be manual or automated.
There’s always room for improvement, so we’ve put together the simplest ways that you can boost your warehouse’s productivity.
1. Upgrade technologies
These days, there is a plethora of technology options available to you and your company to make warehouse work more effective. A common and efficient option for a warehouse upgrade is to invest in pallet wrapping machines. Not only do they help to reduce waste, they aso increase efficiency whilst promoting a more secure and consistent load. Recommended for any business wrapping more than 15 loads a day, a pallet wrap can come in various thicknesses and widths suitable for any application.
2. Improve warehouse layout
There are always ways that you and your business can improve your warehouse’s product layout. Always ensure that items are stocked in a logical order – whether that be alphabetically, by order number or by expiry date. Don’t be afraid to revise your layout as necessary; if business conditions change, this may be your saving grace.
A good idea is to place your most popular products in strategic locations so workers can find them easily. As well as this, if you use a vertical automated storage and retrieval system, make sure it can be organised simply and regularly, with the most frequently ordered products closest to the worker, allowing products to be picked faster.
3. Increase management presence
Although you want to empower your employees, it can also be helpful to increase management presence in the warehouse. Not only does this show workers that management is aware of the warehouse’s importance in the company, but it shows that management also recognises the workers’ commitments. Also, less diligent employees will have less opportunity to ride the clock knowing management is aware of the workings of the warehouse.
4. Incentivize workers
It’s crucial to consistently track and monitor your business’ progress against statistical norms. An easy way to do this is to use data collection tools to track labor and benchmarking results. This has a twofold effect: not only does it let you improve your business processes overall, but it lets your workers know that they are being measured, and so will therefore increase their performance as well. These methods for improving warehouse productivity have a huge impact.
5. Automate processes
Running a business, no matter your niche, generally requires managing numerous interdependent systems and processes. This difficulty is only compounded if you are using various sales channels and operate via multiple warehouses. Manually putting information into these interwoven systems can become quite costly if human error occurs at all.
For these reasons, it can be a great idea to automate any processes, if appropriate.
For example, there are inventory control solutions that can sync with your online and in-store sales whilst also tracking incoming orders and outgoing shipments. This can eliminate any potential error from manual input, which will save you both time and money down the track.
If you’re due for an operations audit, or even if you are just feeling like things could be run a bit more effectively, why not do an assessment of your warehouse? The options for improvement are endless: space, utilities, employee efficiency, processes, technology and equipment, just to name a few. Take a leaf out of our book and improve some of your business solutions today.