Supply chain and logistics VP of sales and marketing at SI Systems, Ed Romaine points out that picking errors harm profitability and customer satisfaction in his LinkedIn article. Their article includes tips from their supply chain engineers on improving warehouse and distribution center efficiency to cut costs.
The article highlights 11 best practices, including several for warehouse picking, to improve operations and efficiency. In his article for Cisco-Eagle, Scott Stone examines 13 actions you should consider to improve your warehouse operation.
The majority of his best practices center on order picking, including organizing your warehouse into zones based on pick type to simplify order picking and reslotting. They share 15 best practices for order picking and packing in this article.
Batch vs. Sometimes, the best way to improve warehouse operations is to ensure you are using the best picking strategy. As Mark Del Franco points out in his Multichannel Merchant article, reducing picker travel time improves efficiency and makes the case for batch and safe picking.
To determine which is right for your organization, analyze your order profile and your SKU commonality. Three key points from Batch vs. EBN is the site for news, analysis, opinion, and debate about the global electronics supply chain. Puga Sankara, principal at Smart Gladiator, shares best practices for order picking in this EBN article, which reminds readers that accuracy and efficiency is key to customer satisfaction.
RF-SMART, a leader in mobile data collection solutions for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, shares this article on picking and packing best practices by George Gulliford. He emphasizes the need for improved warehouse operations that will meet the demands of transitioning from a single-channel warehouse and of meeting changing customer expectations. Vice president of operations at JM Bullion, Tom Fougerousse shares his insights into business and eCommerce on his blog.
In his warehouse picking article, Tom admits that the first time he set up a high-volume warehouse, he chose the wrong picking method. He shares his experiences to help others understand when to use various picking methods to optimize efficiency.
Essential Tips for Efficient Stock Picking. Koke Inc. Their warehouse picking best practices article covers several tips for improving picking efficiency, from limiting handling to avoiding storing multiple SKUs in the same location. GlobeCon Freight Systems is a leading provider of transportation services, transloading, retail distribution, fulfillment, and trucking, among others.
In this article, the company examines various picking methods and shares the best use for each. Supply Management is a leading procurement and supply chain magazine and website. In his Supply Management article, Patterson Pope president Danny Hammack offers quick tips for improving warehouse operations with the ultimate goal of increasing customer satisfaction via accurate shipments. Practical Ecommerce publishes independent articles and commentary to help businesses succeed online.
Michael Manzione, COO for Rakuten Super Logistics, puts his expertise in eCommerce-focused fulfillment and shipping to work in this article, which offers tips for more efficient operations for warehouses with limited resources and automation.
Instead of taking a single large inventory once a year, adopt a cycle counting system where inventory is routinely counted one or more times in a given cycle. The cycle can be each month, each quarter, or any other time period you choose. This helps keep inventory numbers far more accurate as well as helps identify missing stock and putaway errors. Make cleaning a priority.
Everything that comes into receiving should be put away on a shelf. Nothing should be shoved in a corner or left out in the aisle. All packing materials and stray items should be cleaned up before the end of a shift. This keeps everything in its place and easy to find. Minimize unauthorized personnel on the floor.
No one should be in the warehouse area without a purpose and authorization. You only want people who know how the warehouse stock is organized to access the space. Doing so can minimize several types of safety hazards from problems associated with anything from dust collection to slipping on spilled liquids in the aisle ways.
Standardize Seiketsu — Set your standards high! Come up with a way to make sure your employees understand every process that goes along with maintaining the cleanliness and organization of your warehouse. Sustain Shitsuke — Do not let your hard work go to waste.
Keeping your warehouse clean may seem like a no-brainer, but things can get carried away faster than you think. Cleaning is the easy part; not reverting back to old habits is the hard part. Design a process that will guarantee the up-keep of your warehouse. For example, create a weekly cleaning schedule that employees are required to follow.
The habit of reusing products in even the slightest way is extremely sustainable for the environment. Need some ideas? Make sure employees are fully trained in areas such as: Dressing in proper uniform -proper eyewear, shoes, gloves, etc.
Equipment safety usage — how to use a forklift, preventing warehouse electrocution Common warehouse hazards — ventilation, falling items, etc. Thoroughly consider each of these six points when evaluating your warehouse space: Is your facility capable of properly storing necessary items in a safe manner? Have you anticipated possible problems that may occur?
Does your facility have a functional flow path? Have you established ALL of your facility requirements? Have you noted all of our obstacles? Have you maximized your current blueprint space? The best choice, of course, depends on the nature of your operation, the size and volume of products that flow through your facility, and other considerations. Once your shelving is installed and organized in a way that promotes safety and a good traffic flow, label all shelves and areas according to your plan.
Before placing anything in the warehouse, label everything: warehouse racks, shelves, docks, everything. Warehouse label solutions are designed specifically to meet the unique needs of the warehouse, offering customized options ranging from long-range retroreflective labels to cold storage labels, hanging warehouse signs, multi-level rack labels, and outdoor dock and door signs that can withstand the elements.
By choosing the right label solution, your warehouse will be easier to navigate, picking and packing will be streamlined, and organizational efficiency will get a boost overall. Investing in a comprehensive warehouse label solution is an investment that pays off in spades through better inventory control, improved productivity, warehouse optimization, and more. It is much faster and simpler to look for a barcode, SKU, or other number system to find the right items than navigating through dozens of aisles to find the right section, the right shelf, and the right product.
When stocking your warehouse, it is important to make the most of all the space you have, and this includes optimizing your use of vertical space as well. Stacking items or using stacked shelving not only maximizes the space, but also helps create a cleaner, more organized warehouse. Putting less frequently-purchased items higher up, in narrow aisles, or in the harder-to-access areas of your warehouse can help maximize both space and productivity, making the fastest-moving items easiest to access and in close proximity to the loading dock.
Product size and weight will also be a major determining factor in how you choose to organize your warehouse.
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