Your Warehouse Can Run More Efficiently – Get Organised!

A poorly organised warehouse can often spell disaster in terms of customer satisfaction and profitability so if you want to increase profits and keep customers happy, it’s in your best interest to get organised. You might be asking what your customers have to do with how well your warehouse is organised but you know, deep down inside that business heart of yours that long wait times for orders to be filled and delivered as well as orders that are filled incorrectly can lead quickly to dissatisfaction which could have been avoided if your warehouse had been more efficient.

Also, it goes without saying over and over again that time is money and nothing wastes money more than inefficient use of time and resources. The bottom line is, if you really want to increase profits and keep a happy customer base, you’ll work towards a highly organised and efficient warehouse. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Logging and Zoning Merchandise

As you receive each shipment it is vital to log it and zone it to ensure quick access as needed. If any merchandise is perishable, make sure you stack it first in – first out. Here is where rubber stamps come in handy. You can stamp boxes in bright, bold colours to ensure that date stamp is seen and it is suggested that you have a pre-defined area of the box where the stamp is to be placed.

Whether you want that stamp in the upper right corner or the lower left on the front-facing side of the box is up to you but for quick access, put that stamp where your warehouse hands can quickly glance to see the date or order #. Get rid of the permanent markers and use custom stamps. It’s much quicker, more legible and a whole lot more cost effective.

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Zone by Frequency of Access

Whilst some warehouse managers like to zone merchandise by type, a more efficient way to zone a warehouse is to zone by frequency of access. Those items that are more popular and thus move at a faster rate can be zoned together in an easy-to-access area of the warehouse. Items which do move but at a much slower pace can be zoned together at some far reach of the building. Zoning helps your warehousing team to easily and quickly move items in and out. This is a highly organised and efficient way to run a warehouse.

Keep Reach in Mind

Another ‘trick’ to keep fast-moving items moving quickly is to store them at heights that are easy to reach. If you sell 10,000 units of product ‘A’ a month but only 2,000 units of product ‘B’ it makes sense to have the fast moving product on shelves located between waist and eye level so they can be quickly spotted and moved. Heavier items don’t put strain on your back if you need to lift them off shelves at this level, called the ‘power zone,’ so take that into account as well.

Organisation is the key to running an efficient warehouse and all it takes is a bit of forethought to put things where they need to be for easy access. You will save money on labour and also impress your customers at how quickly you can deliver products to them. All of this leads to higher profits and all because you organised your warehouse for efficiency.