A great warehouse management system can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful business. So, as a manager, you should be doing everything possible – from optimizing space to using the latest technology – to ensure that your warehouse operates efficiently.
If you’re looking for advice on how to do this, keep on reading. Here are some must-know tips on warehouse management.
Conduct regular maintenance on your conveyor system
Conveyor systems are prone to occasional faults and breakdowns. Don’t worry, it’s natural when complex machinery is involved.
If you have a conveyor system, it’s important to conduct regular maintenance to reduce the chance of faults and breakdowns happening. Dust buildup and blockages are, at times, unavoidable, so make sure that your staff are well trained to spot them.
Also, it’s possible that your conveyor system has broken or extremely worn-down parts. If this is the case, you need to get the correct replacement parts as soon as possible. Thankfully, fluentconveyors.com is an expert manufacturer of conveyors, and will be able to provide you with any parts that you need. This way, your warehouse will remain productive and any costly breakdowns will be avoided.
Improve waste efficiency
Unfortunately, many warehouses are lazy when it comes to waste. Employees are often instructed to simply throw away products that haven’t been sold (which is crazy). Sure, in the long-term it can be costly to keep products stocked in a warehouse if they aren’t being sold – but there are much better alternatives to wasting them. For example, products can be recycled, or even donated to charities.
Just recently, Amazon caused major controversy when it was revealed that it carelessly disposes of unsold items. Naturally, this infuriated the public.
Lean vs agile – choose correctly
A lean supply chain strategy means producing high levels of products, whereas an agile supply chain is when you produce smaller batches based on customer demands and market activity. Choosing the right strategy will make all the difference in your warehouse management.
Analyze and assess your space
Warehouses have a lot going on – so, it’s vital that space is optimized.
From the positioning of machinery to the cafeteria area, careful planning is required for space to be optimized.
For example, you may find that by moving certain equipment around, you free up space for greater stock levels.
Always have safety stock
Speaking of stock, you to ensure that you always have safety stock.
Disaster can strike at any time in a supply chain. For example, your supplier might be experiencing problems, which puts a halt to your stock levels. If you are quickly running out of stock – like Sony and their PS5s – then you’re in all kinds of trouble, as you’ll be unable to fulfill orders.
So, to prevent this from happening, your warehouse should always have allocated safety stock. It could save your business on more than one occasion.
For help with managing stock more efficiently, you should make use of the latest warehouse technology, such as cloud computing, which will enable you to track stock numbers in real-time.
Motivate your employees
Warehouses often involve a lot of physical and demanding work from employees. As a manager, it’s essential that you keep these employees motivated and happy. This can be done by providing them with incentives to climb up the rankings. For example, high performing employees can venture into floor managers, or other more significant roles.