How Your Warehouse Can Run More Efficiently with a Few Tweaks

The world of business operates on the efficiency of movement. Your clients depend on quick and reliable delivery of the products and supplies that they need on a daily basis, not to mention the goods that consumers want to get into their hands as soon as possible. For this, the most prudent way of storing goods to prepare for delivery is the warehouse. If this is your business, then keep reading to discover five simple tweaks that you can implement to help your warehouse run more efficiently.

Implement Order Profiling Into Operating Structure

Most businesses sell more of a particular product line season by season. You need to develop a profile to account for this and then re-slot the positions in your warehouse accordingly. If it is approaching summer time and your swimming suits are in the back of the warehouse, this creates an issue. You want to make it as easy as possible for your workers by decreasing travel time for to pick up needed items and prepare them for shipping. One recommendation in this area is to implement a warehouse management system that allows for a dynamic slotting module to be put into use.

Use Current Software to Sequence Your Orders

If the software you use today is outdated, then your overall efficiency is likely suffering as a result. Use new software in your IntegraCore fulfillment center that allows you to better sequence orders by their picking path, and then batching them together in single lines and same-zone orders. Software will also be able to lump difficult picks, such as those items that cannot use a conveyor belt. A new warehouse management system can also help you to better organize workflow within the facility and optimize sequence performance.

Develop Warehouse Zones to Better Manage Space

The key to a more efficient warehouse, naturally, is to reduce the amount of time it takes to pick out items and get them ready for shipment. Creating specific zones for certain items will effectively increase productivity in this area, as items that are most popular tend to be purchased together are slotted in special zones that are more readily accessible.

Minimize Types and Sizes of Shipping Boxes

If your company currently has multiple shipping boxes designed for a variety of different uses, consider reducing that down to just two or three. This will make it much easier for pickers to gather orders together. In addition, cutting the size of your boxes down will minimize the freight expense that is incurred, which can only serve to increase your bottom line. When your employees have fewer possible boxes to have to sift through, efficiency will increase naturally.

Use Automation if Possible

Much of the automation available in warehouses today is really rather revolutionary. Consider the reality that many of your order pickers likely spend more than half of their time either walking to pick up a product, or moving it around to get it to where it needs to be. You can implement automation in this area, such as developing a conveyor system that will greatly reduce travel time and increase efficiency. When you reduce travel time, the order will be packed and shipped much more quickly. Again, this enhances the entire process and will increase your productivity in the long run. These five simple tweaks within your warehouse can help it to run much more efficiently. This will help lead to better overall productivity and increased customer satisfaction. Your employees will be able to do their jobs with more expedience while minimizing errors and increasing space utilization. Begin to implement these tweaks as soon as possible.