Seven Quick Ways to Instantly Increase Warehouse Efficiency
A business's success isn't based solely on how well the front-end works. The storefront relies on back-end processes for the resources and effort required to complete tasks and transactions. Therefore, when operations behind the scenes are inefficient, companies can lose time and money.
Companies can improve workflow, streamline processes, increase productivity, and improve supply chain management by improving warehouse efficiency. However, there are several approaches to inventory management that companies must determine which best suits their operations.
7 Ways to Boost Warehouse Efficiency
A company doesn't need a large budget to improve warehouse efficiency. Management needs to understand how to maximize the use of their existing resources. Businesses can reduce storage costs and improve efficiencies to-.
1. Storage
As companies expand their distribution channels to online platforms, warehouses need to figure out how to optimize storage space for more extensive inventories.
In addition to serving more customers, studies show that consumers demand more item options. It means that stock managers must also determine where to store product variations, such as different colors and sizes.
While companies with money to save can purchase additional bearings, some facilities can cost upwards of $300,000. It is not feasible for small businesses with limited budgets.
Therefore, management should focus their efforts on maximizing their storage by utilizing the vertical space in the warehouse layout. A significant amount of additional length will be available for storing goods while clearing aisles by implementing shelving units.
By maximizing space and creating an organized workspace,
Employees can streamline inventory and order processing.
Machine operators can easily navigate equipment through aisles.
Employees can minimize travel time within the warehouse.
Businesses can improve warehouse security.
By optimizing storage space, businesses can store more inventory and improve workflow and productivity.
2. Offering customer pickup and delivery options
Much of the stress on the housing stock falls on inventory. However, companies can distribute products by offloading them to retailers and warehouse distribution centers by offering in-store pickup and delivery options. Target offers these options to customers and found that 15% of their online purchases are now pickup orders.
Even retailers who don't have physical stores can offer products through online platforms that handle the delivery.
For example, Amazon allows retailers to sell, store, and ship their goods through its fulfillment centers. Amazon has even introduced lockers, allowing customers to pick up their orders instead of waiting for delivery at a distribution center.
With the ability to collect and deliver from customers, warehouses can significantly reduce their operating costs and filter more products.
3. Improvement of picking and storage routes within the warehouse
One of the most significant drains of time and resources in warehouses is the picking and storage process. When employees cannot quickly locate where to store or locate a product, order fulfillment and sequential warehousing operations are delayed. A study shows that picking accounts for about 60% of all warehouse labor costs.
However, companies can reduce costs by improving their warehouse picking and inventory avenues. With proper management systems, the locations of each product and its variances are recorded for staff reference to optimize order processing and shipment unloading. It minimizes the travel time between finding and retrieving items, saving time and labor costs.
4. Warehouse Mobile Technology
Modernization By implementing a warehouse management system and leveraging mobile technology, warehouse workers can streamline repetitive processes such as cycle counting, real-time access data, and measure warehouse performance.
While most employees assume that mobile technology refers to barcode scanners, companies can also use handheld devices to streamline inventory control, including tablets and smartphones.
Handheld devices allow employees to connect wirelessly to the internet to move freely around the warehouse and increase warehouse efficiency.
With handheld scanners, management can register products from their barcodes, reducing picking errors by up to 67% and optimizing inventory accuracy. It minimizes the consequences of inaccurate order processing, such as refunds, returns, and reduced customer satisfaction.
5. Create an Inventory Management Process
Although companies have increased sales by innovating their customer reach, many warehouses still keep excessive products on hand.
A study shows that the number of goods stored on site has increased by 8.3% in the last five years due to daily turnover. Stocking items with low turnover rates take up valuable inventory space, increases inventory costs, and limits a company's ability to hold high-margin inventory.
By setting up an inventory management process, warehouses can access key performance indicators (KPIs) that determine the performance of each product.
These metrics:
- Average Daily
- Define-(ROI) Margins
- Bottom line
- Average Selling Days
By identifying and eliminating items that gain space and flow, warehouses can introduce newer products with higher customer demand.
6. Regular Monitoring of Workflows
Should monitor product activity from when an item enters a warehouse through final shipment to create a standardized workflow.
It allows management to track all inventory to ensure all supply chain stages are completed accurately and efficiently. Otherwise, inferior systems can disrupt ongoing work processes, costing time and resources.
Establishing standard processes and management software allows managers to review employee performance to determine if they are achieving optimal productivity.
Regular audits also define inefficiencies within the warehouse, allowing management to address the issue quickly. Once changes are implemented, additional audits can determine if the workflow has improved or remained constant.
7. Automating the picking process
Companies with multiple warehouses may need to find better ways to streamline the picking process beyond manual methods. By automating the picking process, companies can increase their warehouse capacity to almost 300 items per hour. This more than triples the number of manual pickers carries.
Automation can involve conveyors, sorters, and even warehouse robots that transport, group, and retrieve items.
However, warehouse automation often requires a complete digital transformation, which can be costly. Therefore, organizations should determine whether their expansion efforts and budget are required for this update.
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