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  • July 30, 2021

Warehousing for Dummies

These days, so many modern businesses rely on their warehouses. The situation is different from the past, given the sheer number of brands now selling over the internet. In today’s world, virtually everyone needs to keep inventory.

In this post, we take a look at some key warehouse organisation ideas that will help you boost both morale and employee productivity.

Create a Warehouse Management System

Getting your staff to walk around with clipboards doing stocktake is the old way of doing things. Workers hate it, and it’s inefficient too. You’re using valuable labour that you could direct towards something else.

Warehouse management systems, by contrast, change this dynamic. They let you see what stock you have to hand in real time and then determine the appropriate course of action for you. If you’re running low on items or stocking them in the wrong place, it will alert you.

Improve Your Receiving Process

Getting goods into your warehouse is often just as demanding as shipping them out. Many firms are still reliant on old-fashioned receiving processes that slow things down and reduce their overall productivity.

Improving your receiving process requires keeping track of everything that enters your facilities. You need to know that goods are entering your warehouse in the condition and quantity that you demand.

Try Slotting

Not all pickers and warehouse staff move at the same speed. Sometimes, they overlap. In some situations, therefore, it might be a good idea to implement slotting. If you have faster movers, you can place them further away from the goods that they pick. Closer movers can be nearer. Employees will thank you for reduced walking distances.

Review Your Storage Capacity

Warehouses are only as good as their storage capacity. If you run out of space to put your goods, you can incur substantial losses.

Fortunately, increasing your available storage space is easy. You can learn more here. Often, it simply requires adding a few new racks or shelves. If you can’t add new rows of shelving, you can build your existing shelving higher. Please note that if you decide to go higher, you may need to modify your forklift truck equipment.

Add Maps

Don’t assume that employees automatically know their way around your warehouse, even if they have been working there for a long time. Instead, place maps in strategic locations so that people can see where they need to go. By providing maps, you’ll help both temporary and seasonal workers navigate your facility.

Organize Your Safety Stock

You never know when demand is going to strike, so it often pays dividends to organize your safety stock. If you can ship goods that people want quickly, you’re able to corner the market and generate outsized profits while your rivals struggle with supplies.

Train Staff on Organizational Principles

Lastly, you’ll want to train staff on various organisational principles. Adding signs to workspaces and reminding employees of their duties at daily or weekly meetings can go a long way. Regularly check in with staff to verify that any changes you make are worthwhile.

A pretty interesting post, huh?

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