Warehouse operations are at the core of every business company, so it is crucial to maintain an efficient and productive one. When business’ warehouse operations are efficient, companies tend to have lower operating costs and increased customer satisfaction. Consequently, when companies don’t ship and receive inventory on time or have unproductive workers, warehouse efficiency is reduced.
Apart from that, the company loses money and credibility as well. To maintain warehouse efficiency, warehouse professionals must know how to keep operations running. With the proper knowledge and mix of best practices, your company can increase warehouse efficiency and services.
How to Improve Warehouse Efficiency?
The following tips will boost the efficiency of your warehouse services.
Maximize and Optimize the Available Space
It is better to consider better use of available space rather than expand the footprint of your warehouse. Putting additional taller storage units and proper equipment to pick and store materials can improve warehouse efficiency. It is always better to keep more in the same square footage, instead of adding expansion costs.
Moreover, it is also essential to think about the type and variety of shelving you are using in the warehouse. Storing small items on pallet racks wastes space, plus it is most likely to lead to misplaced items. You may consider various types of shelving for different materials instead of using the same racks in your entire warehouse. Additionally, consider using standardized bins to keep the shelves neatly and orderly organized.
Optimize Labour Warehouse Efficiency
If your warehouse management system can’t generate efficient picking plans, you can create them manually. Deeply analyze your operations using high-volume items and material usage patterns to eradicate travel time. Also, determine the store products that are often sold together or near one another. Generally, you can streamline the operations if you will keep items you need regularly in the most accessible locations. This will lessen item picking delays and boost efficiency.
Related article: Leverage the Benefits of Warehouse Storage and Cross Docking
Simplify the Processes and Reduce the Costs
Have you been layering new functions over existing longer-term tasks over the years? Have you observed that product flow and order flow no longer make sense. If so, take a closer look at the concrete steps and processes that are involved in product flow and order fulfillment. Fewer steps are equal to fewer touches, and it means lower costs.
Get More Effective Frontline Managers
Active warehouse managers know it’s all about execution. Therefore, it is crucial to develop and get more effective managers. If they can efficiently manage all aspects of fulfillment, it can significantly impact warehousing costs. They can also maintain worker morale and the quality of customer order fulfillment.
When selecting warehouse managers, you should determine their individual needs. Also, it would be best if you exposed them to other aspects of your business to help them understand your merchandise and your customers.
Adopt Lean Inventory System
Adopting lean inventory for your warehouse is also as vital as it is in the manufacturing process. The basic rule of this system is to get what your company exactly needs, and nothing more. To harness this system, reduce safety stocks and get suppliers to deliver smaller quantities more often.
Get Voice-Enabling Technology
Voice-enabling tech is applicable to all processes and departments – from receiving to shipping and returns. It is used for better inventory control and increasing warehouse productivity. These technology systems have quick install times and require no IT or modifications to your warehouse management systems. Also, it doesn’t require extensive training, and you can get fast ROI as early as four to six months.
Organize Warehouse Working Stations
Organizing your warehouse working stations can improve productivity. This is because it means workers do not need to search for equipment. You can use the “5S” method to make sure your workstations are well organized. Essentially, it means you have to: sort, standardize, shine and sustain. These techniques are designed to keep clutter, reduce errors, and improve warehouse safety and organization.
Use Third-Party Logistics
You can also use a third-party logistics provider (3PL). Having reliable third-party logistics partners has excellent benefits. For one, it reduces the extent of internal expenses. For smaller businesses, 3PL service helps the management concentrate on marketing and merchandising functions essential to sustaining growth. If you need to achieve warehouse efficiency, consider getting 3PL as an option.
Key Takeaways
Improving warehouse efficiency requires a lot of knowledge and expertise. It is about common sense, picking the right storage equipment and more.
Here at RoadLinx, we offer cross-docking service in conjunction with our warehouse storage to give you even more options. We can move your items from one truck to another no matter what type of shipment you need to be transferred. Call us at 905-760-1141 to speak with one of our logistics experts today!
