Tips to Improve Warehouse Efficiency

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Good warehouse efficiency is not only about putting everything in its place and getting products out on time, it’s about maximizing productivity while saving time and money. Some practices like labeling are intuitive and can be done without the use of the software. Others like barcodes, scanners, and RFID systems are all part of warehouse and inventory management systems that focus on monitoring the flow of products and enhancing accuracy with software.

Efficiency in your warehouse is paramount to the success of any company with distribution and increasing warehouse efficiency is a top priority for warehouse managers everywhere. It’s a well-known fact improving efficiency reduces overall costs. Despite this, so many companies haven’t yet made the small changes necessary to improve this.

Whether you have a multi-channel warehouse or a small warehouse, making some simple changes can easily improve workplace efficiency. Here are some helpful tips for improving a warehouse’s performance that can be applied to any warehouse operation.

  • Review effectiveness: One can’t improve something that you haven’t actually analyzed. It is important to gauge if you are using your available resources to the fullest. Is there a flow of goods in and goods out? Any inefficiency within the chain will impact negatively throughout the whole process. Quite often this means that to resolve a problem in the system, the whole system has to be reviewed. It’s no use enforcing a new system in one area if something else isn’t working correctly.
  • Warehouse layout: It’s an obvious point to make that good warehouse efficiency and the layout of a warehouse go hand-in-hand, but a well-organized warehouse can quickly become disorganized and difficult to navigate, which can slow your staff down and lead to numerous safety hazards. Always keep a check on the layout of your warehouse and make sure your staff is following the correct procedures and sticking to the most efficient routes.
  • Forecast ahead: For most businesses, there are generally times of the year which attract increased demand for certain items, seasonal trends like Christmas. A business software system, which includes demand forecasting, can predict shifts in your items and adjust the automatic recording to fit the demand.
  • Track your products: You can now get complete tracking and end-to-end traceability of products. By using the latest location tracking technology, Vero tracks the location of your products through manufacturing, quality control, warehousing, and dispatch. If you choose to track individual items, handheld readers allow you to identify products off-site to detect counterfeits or access maintenance records. Using an automated tracking system not only reduces search times, but it also reduces labor costs and business process delays. It also ensures quality records are accurate by eradicating errors typically associated with manual processes.
  • Keep on top of the stock: Overstocking of items is one of the biggest pain points for wholesale distributors, and many end up writing off large amounts of unsold or expired stock regularly. Start putting a system in place which shows your stock in real-time, providing reporting to help your inventory management. Vero uses real-time location systems (RTLS) and automated identification and data collection (AIDC) to automatically track inventory daily. This means every pallet movement is recorded so you’ll always be able to keep on top of any stock issues and maintain FIFO and LIFO procedures.
  • Take advantage of technology: The implementation of warehouse technology provides more visibility through data, which allows each employee to collect real-time information on the various warehouse and logistics processes. Plenty of options are available – this includes bar codes, radio frequency, pick-to-label, and voice-activated technologies. These new technologies are all designed to provide different levels of increased productivity and improved accuracy.
  •  Implement an incentive program: Performance targets are incredibly important to warehouses, and implementing an automatic data capture and identification (AIDC) system, such as Vero, means efficiency can be improved and pallet movements sped up. This means you’ll have access to highly reliable, valuable data whereby incentive programs can be monitored, analyzed and adjusted so that they are more achievable and safer.
  • Train your staff: Making sure managers are properly trained and understand the trigger points for efficiency is essential. This should be an ongoing process with regular reviews and updates on new technology, as well as inviting feedback to address problems swiftly and effectively. The sharing of information freely helps to reduce risk and increase efficiency and inclusion.
    With smarter warehouse management, you can reduce warehouse costs. Consider Vero Solutions to enhance your existing WMS or ERP

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