If part of your job involves managing the operations of a warehouse, you know how important it is to maximize efficiency. When you use a service like Simply Rack for your warehouse pallet racking, your inventory will be organized and easily accessible. Then, make the following changes to your layout to make operations run as smoothly as possible.
Clearly Separate Shipping and Receiving Areas
Many warehouse managers make the mistake of having workers process outgoing shipments and incoming goods within the same area of a warehouse or on the same dock. This is a mistake because it increases the chances that incoming and outgoing orders will be mixed up. In addition, truck drivers who need to unload or pick up a shipment may not know where to go, causing long lines and frustration. You should ensure that your shipping and receiving areas are clearly marked and separated in order to avoid any confusion.
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Separate Dead Stock
When a product is recalled or a customer returns it, it is normally designated as “dead stock,” meaning that it needs to be stored but should not be shipped with regular orders. Unfortunately, if you do not have a management plan for your dead stock, your workers may designate it to be shipped to customers without realizing their mistake. In order to save valuable space and reduce the chance of any error related to your dead stock taking place, you should formulate a plan to set it aside in an area that is clearly distinguishable from your live stock.
Optimize Your Picking Paths
When the pickers in your warehouse are assembling the items that need to go out in each order, are they usually able to find most of the items within the same general area, or are they spending valuable time walking from end to end of your warehouse? Study the receipts from each of your orders in order to determine which items are most likely to be purchased together, and make sure that those items are located close to each other in your warehouse. That way, your employees will be able to fulfill orders much more efficiently.
Running a warehouse can be complicated, and it is not always easy to optimize your processes for efficiency. By separating and clearly marking your shipping and receiving areas, setting dead stock aside from live stock, and organizing your inventory to make picking faster, you will save valuable time and money and see the success of your business grow.
