An efficient warehouse management helps in attaining maximum efficiency and productivity when handling multiple supply channels. Having an organized warehouse can facilitate achieving the following outcomes:
- Effective use of storage space
- Easy stock monitoring
- Reduction in overhead costs and
- Time-saving
Warehouses are central to a business’s operations, so here are some tips to manage your warehouse inventory.
Space:
When planning to house warehouse, every inch has to be utilized to ensure maximum storage. Space has to be so designed that it allows smooth movement of goods quickly and smoothly. There must be enough area for the forklifts to move around along with bay areas to park them. Allocating zones for storage, collection, and movement of inventory will structure your supply chain and shorten the time taken to assemble and deliver a product. Arrange the products according to its priority level, so that it is easy to reach.
Forecast:
Seasonal demands are common to every business and warehouses must be ready to meet those demands. At the same time, they should not hoard the products unless there is a constant demand for the product during the year. Experts say that stock should be maintained at least 1.5 times more than the forecasted demand to avoid loss of working capital. Usually, forecasting prediction depends upon the historical trends.
High-sellers and Bin Locations:
Every business will have some products as high-sellers that are always on the list. Optimizing your inventory management can assist in tracking those sales orders for every customer. This lets the organization to know its best-sellers and place those products within easy reach. Divide inventory into segments like a geographical map of locating the products within less time. Bins make navigating among multiple products an effortless process.
Movable and fixed training options:
Using tracking options like movable helps in locating the product, its accessing point and checking its shipment status. There is also fixed tracking options that assist in managing and assigning destinations with precision. It is easy to combine movable and fixed tracking options to attain maximum efficiency.
Warehouse safety standards:
Injuries are prevalent in warehouses, so it is up to the management to implement safety standards — hazards like injury from machinery and vehicles, falling stock cartons, fire, and others. An accident in the warehouse is not only a personal tragedy for an employee, but it also affects the reputation of the employer and poses a financial risk like litigation, damages and insurance premiums. Protocols like minimum vehicle movement and reduction of traffic and marking the safe zones and protective gears will aid in minimizing the damage, in the event of any possible mishaps.
Employee training
When it comes to warehouse inventory management, human errors are most common. The key to reducing these mistakes is by providing the right training at the correct time. By devising the training method suitable to the organizational needs helps in gaining maximum productivity with little or no confusion about the process. Employee training should be conducted at regular intervals.
Labeling
Every product intended for a sale should be label by its Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) or Universal Product Code(UPC). The company should implement strict protocols of checking the product’s labels before its sorted and stored in the warehouse. Clear labels will help the workers to organize, access or return the product to its original location. It also speeds up the shipping process.
Cyclic counting
Regular checking of inventory level is better when trying to achieve high customer service level and to maximize internal efficiency. Instead of conducting a stock audit annually, it is prudent to conduct them regular Intervals to single out the inconsistencies and overstocked products. This method is Cyclic counting. It keeps employees alert and makes them more capable of work when they have accurate information on the stock level.
Optimum loading
When it comes to supplying management chain, cross-docking is a popular option as it aims to reduce the shelf storage time of the products. Warehouses should plan their layouts in a way that enables cross-docking. Cross-docking facilitates quick transportation of warehouse products to retail or distribution centers.
Technology
To operate an efficient warehouse, it is a smart choice to invest in software that will continuously monitor stock levels and give information in real-time. Warehouse inventory technology is must firms of any size. It keeps accurate records of the product ins and outs along with the orders, shipment records, and stock movements. Having a system that gives out data and analytics will help in business growth.
If you want an efficient warehouse inventory management system for your small or medium business, then ZapInventory offers the best inventory and order management software that comes with additional features and affordable pricing options to grow your business in the most effective way possible. To know more about out ZapInventory, click here.
Image credits: https://www.curbed.com/2018/8/3/17648824/warehouse-real-estate-market-amazon-e-commerce
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