When operating a manufacturing, retail, supply, or fulfillment business, the secret to its success in such a competitive market is to avoid warehouse inefficiencies. Many companies hire warehouse consultants to identify bottlenecks and introduce strategies that improve productivity and efficiency.
The more efficiently you manage the storing and moving of products, the more revenue you will make. Many businesses have adopted old-school methods to help with their warehouse operations, which have led to inefficiencies and affected the company’s profits.
The Most Common Warehouse Inefficiencies
Let’s go over some of the most common warehouse inefficiencies many businesses are experiencing across the United States.
Inadequately Designed Layout
The most crucial factor in warehouse success is the need for an efficient layout. Optimizing and improving the warehouse layout design will ease your employees in navigating and provide more room for storage.
To achieve success, ensure you optimize the floor and vertical space and implement automation and equipment, which leads to fewer labor costs.
Wrong Product Placement And Incorrect Labeling
It is highly inefficient for employees to spend more time than necessary to locate products when collecting goods. It’s best to organize in-demand items in the forefront space of the warehouse where employees can easily access them.
Manually Order Checking
Utilizing a manual order-checking procedure requires constant checking and rechecking of orders. It is time-consuming and can lead to many errors.
Utilizing a warehouse management system will prevent all these inaccuracies and help automate these operations.
No Smooth Putaway Process
When you don’t have a smooth and straightforward putaway process, stock ends up lying in the aisles for putaway and never ends up in the picking bin. This error congests the aisles and blocks all essential operations.
Keeping Too Much Inventory
Having too much inventory means wastefully spending money on a product that isn’t selling (and therefore isn’t bringing in new income), but it also takes up valuable space that can accommodate other items.
Not Keeping Up With Daily Counts
Counting inventory is essential for several reasons. If there is no product counting, there’s no way to know if it’s in stock, resulting in overstocking a product.
Additionally, if you don’t know how much of a particular item has been sold (or whether any exists at all), then it may be difficult for you to plan for future needs,
Counting products manually takes time, but there are many ways to automate this process.
Avoiding Technology
When it comes to warehouse efficiency, there are many opportunities for improvement. One important way to improve your processes is by using technology to help streamline them.
For example, if you have a team responsible for fulfilling customer orders, they may need more help than the average employee and could benefit from having an automated system that automates some of their tasks.
Lack Of Training
Training helps employees become more productive, learn new skills and processes, and use technology more effectively. Implementing a training program is best with an effective learning management system or hiring consultants to help guide the staff on best practices.
Conclusion
These common warehouse inefficiencies are common killers, but businesses can avoid them by improving processes and adjusting warehouse layouts.
