No one said running a warehouse or distribution center would be easy. Whether you store product or make it yourself, your warehouse more than likely is a busy hub of varied activities as you and your employees ensure that deliveries are accepted and stored properly, or found and shipped out quickly.
We’ve come up with some ideas to help your internal engineering department make warehouse work easier and more efficient. Read below:
Consider cleaning the warehouse area at least once a week. You’ll more than likely be amazed at what you find there: damaged goods, unlogged returned goods, etc.
Make sure you have clear and proper signage within the warehouse/distribution areas. Signs should help workers and visitors know where to go, what is located where, etc.
Think about providing your warehouse workers with uniforms. You might also want to have the shirts say something such as “Warehouse Management Team.” This provides a source of pride to your workers – after all, anyone who works in your warehouse manages the warehouse.
Expand your receiving area. Most warehouses/distribution centers want to maximize the amount of storage space available, but this too often means a cramped receiving area. Most inventory errors begin in receiving. Providing your workers with adequate space to do their jobs can truly help keep those errors to a minimum.
Speaking of receiving, consider moving more senior people to receiving. You probably have more items coming into receiving than going out elsewhere in other parts of your business. Pay your clerks well and encourage them to stay put. In fact, consider making receiving assignments promotions within your company.
Consider putting descriptions on your pick tickets. Instead of SKUs, add descriptions such as “one-wheeled,” “green base.” Most databases allow you to add some descriptive phrases to your SKUs. Use them.
Instigate a two-person check system for outgoing orders. The average cost to process an order is about $45 industry wide, and another $100 to send it again. Keep those mistakes to a minimum.
Design color-coded labels for each of your larger customers. Blue for “Customer A,” Green for “Customer B,” and so on. This helps your loaders load product quickly.
Finally, make sure your workers have the loading / unloading tools they need to work efficiently. Consider providing them with custom carts that will help your workers perform their jobs. We also provide materials handling equipment such as forklift attachments, extra-large and high-capacity equipment, and items designed for dock or boxcar tasks. Tell us about your needs and we’ll design something specifically for your particular demands and requirements. Call us with your details at (800) 535-5303.
