A warehouse can be very organized and still be losing lots of time due to unnecessary movement, unclear storage rules, inaccurate counts of inventory on hand, and a slow picking process. These types of problems generally develop over time and can stem from a variety of root causes. For example, a few misplaced products here and there may not seem like a big deal in the short term, but as the volume of orders increases, those little inefficiencies can really start to add up.
It’s not that your employees can’t fill more orders faster if they just worked harder. They can. But they should not have to. Faster fulfillment of orders through your warehouse is a function of a very organized warehouse, where every aspect of a warehouse has been managed and thought out to make the best system possible for the items that are stored within it. For instance, if you have products that are located in your warehouse, then they should be easy to find, your counts of inventory should be accurate and your employees should be able to move very quickly through your warehouse to complete all of the functions of receiving, storing and picking of your products in order to pack them and ship them to your customers.
Creating a warehouse system that maximizes efficiency involves planning, tracking, and adjusting in order to optimize performance as demand evolves.
Review the Warehouse Layout
The physical layout of your warehouse is probably one of the biggest determinants of how productive your warehouse is. The amount of time your employees spend walking between the areas of your warehouse where they receive products, put them away, pick them for orders, pack them and ship them, is a huge factor in how productive your warehouse is.
In addition to tracking the product through the receiving process, map out the steps for the product as it goes through the picking process and is then packed and shipped to the customer. Highlighting out repeated steps and very congested areas can help to identify bottlenecks in your current warehouse layout.
Stock that is frequently ordered should ideally be stored near the packing area and shipping area. Slow moving inventory is typically found in less accessible part of the warehouse. Heavy products should be stored at a height that is safe to pick from. And products of a smaller size and weight can be stored in labeled bins or even on modular shelving in aisles.
Clear aisles: There is nothing worse than having to weave around scattered packages, forklifts, pallets, carts, etc. when trying to hurry through a warehouse. Give your employees a chance to work safely and efficiently by keeping the aisles clear and allowing them to move in the best direction possible for the item they are handling.
Group Inventory by Demand and Use
Not every product deserves the same amount of warehouse space or attention. Some items may sell every day, while others remain untouched for weeks or months.
Products are typically categorized in a warehouse into fast-moving, moderate-moving, and slow-moving products. As a general rule, fast-moving products are kept in the best locations within the warehouse, i.e., the easiest to reach for picking.
In addition to demand, items can be categorized and stored by other criteria such as product size and weight, picking frequency, and even whether items are often purchased together. For example, when items are often purchased together such as a pair of shoes and a matching handbag, storing them on the same picking location can reduce the amount of time spent picking the order and makes the picking process more predictable.
However, don’t forget that stock locations need to be reviewed on a regular basis and that changes in seasonal demand, in customer bases, and in sales can affect which products are moving the most.
Use Clear Labels and Location Codes
Keep the Inventory in Your Warehouse Found.
Label every aisle, shelf, rack and bin in your warehouse with a clear identification code that follows a standard format that your workers can learn quickly. For example: the aisle number, rack number, shelf level and bin position.
Items with labels must be large enough to read from a practical distance. Also make sure that you are putting labels in the same location throughout your warehouse. It can make a huge difference in employee accuracy if a product is always in the same location as opposed to different locations and having employees depend on memory to locate them.
Using a Barcode or RFID system to identify stock also enables tracking of all product movement throughout the warehouse. Receiving, picking, packing and shipping can all be scanned and all data automatically logged. This greatly reduces the need for manual data entry.
Accurate Location Labels aid New Hire Productivity. Just as location labels enhance pick accuracy for experienced employees, the labels also serve to speed new employees up to full productivity much faster.
Improve the Receiving Process
Many inventory problems begin at the receiving dock.
Errors in receiving are propagated throughout the warehouse. The receiving staff must check products against the purchase order as they are received. These products must then be labeled and stored in the proper location within the warehouse. If a product is found to be damaged, received in incorrect quantities, or is missing, this must be documented by the receiving staff as soon as possible.
Upon receipt of inventory, inspect the received products for any damage and for correctness of the received quantities against the purchase order. Document any discrepancies found. Properly label the items to be stored and stock them in their assigned storage locations in a timely manner.
Assign a sufficient amount of space in the receiving area for proper receiving and inspection, and for sorting of incoming materials. Consider the use of a variety of receiving equipment such as receiving carts, pallet jacks, temporary storage containers, and bottom dump hoppers to efficiently receive, sort and store a variety of products and materials.
As goods enter the warehouse they need to be put away in the correct location. A good receiving process is the first step to accurate stock. By receiving stock in an accurate and timely manner the picking and stock management process will be so much easier.
Create Consistent Picking Methods
The process of picking products for customers is one of the most time-consuming and labor-intensive functions within a warehouse. It is also a function where there are a number of different methodologies that can be used in order to improve the picking process in terms of maximizing the speed of picking for customers.
There are many options for picking that depend on the flow of orders through your warehouse and the type of products that you sell. For example, a very small warehouse might do single order picking where each order is picked individually by a picker. A larger warehouse could do batch picking where a picker picks all of the items needed for several orders at a time. Or, a warehouse could do zone picking where each picker is responsible for a section of the warehouse and they pick the items for an order that are in their section. They then bring the items to the packer who then packs the items in the correct box for the customer’s order.
In zone picking, each warehouse employee works in a particular part of the warehouse and there only picks the articles required for the orders that are to be dispatched from that storage location. The goods picked in this manner are then handed over at a packing station.
In terms of how you pick, it is very important to establish consistent ways of picking, for example when confirming quantities, scanning products and dealing with exceptions. This allows you to measure the performance of picking as part of the overall stock management process.
Conclusion
There are a number of different ways to create a faster and more organized warehouse. However, ultimately, it is crucial to create a warehouse that is set up with clear movement, with the right information, and with the right processes in place to get the job done. A number of technologies exist today that can help create a more organized warehouse. However, the core principles of an organized warehouse include having a good layout that promotes movement through the warehouse, having the right information about products and their locations with reliable labels, and having good receiving and counting procedures in place to ensure that your inventory records are up to date.
Technology can help manage the processes outlined above, but the fundamental principles are straightforward. Products should be stored in the manner in which they will be used; employees must have the correct tools to perform their jobs; and every process should follow a defined sequence to ensure repeatable results.
