Best Practices for Warehouse Management

Managing your warehouse can be difficult; however, you can increase operational efficiency, improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs by using best practices for warehouse management.

Good practices are the key to improve warehouse operations. We will list down some tips which you can use to improve your warehouse operations.

Use Clear Labels

Use labels that are readable and clear to reduce the chance of errors. These labels need to be easily interpreted by scanners as well as people. There should be no possibility of ambiguity.

Use Bin Locations

To reduce time that is spent on searching for materials and decrease misplaced or lost inventory, you can use bin locations. Consequently, you can make sure that pallets and bins are carefully placed on their respective shelves.

Cross-docking

Cross-docking is done by delivering the goods without storing them in the warehouse. This is done to reduce unnecessary inventory handling and speed up operations. By implementing cross-docking the material handling costs and order cycle time are reduced.

Standardized Containers

To store materials you need to use standardized containers. In this way, you can easily find and store materials, since warehouse order fulfillment is simplified by using these containers. It also helps to improve organization by making the appearance of the warehouse neater. Standardized bins help to reduce wastage of time for pickers who search for equipment.

Using NFC, RFID Tags and Barcodes

Using this technology is not expensive. You can even use your smartphone to scan barcodes and QR codes. Counting is made easier by barcodes, so make sure you use them.

Using Vertical Space

Although many warehouse owners know this trick, it is still worth mentioning. Getting more land can be expensive. So instead of using horizontal space, use vertical space. The cost of buying extra machinery for this purpose is still lower than purchasing more land. Eventually, you will increase the efficiency of operations and reduce inventory costs.

Automation

Automating the processes will reduce the cost of labor and speed up the tasks. So make sure you move towards automation.

Make Room

If you do not have enough space for inventory management personnel to work, make some room. In this way, you can reduce receiving errors and prevent loss of time and money.

Don’t Tolerate Unknown People

If you see a new unknown person walking around your inventory make sure that you find out the reason. A good practice is to give special shirts with badges to your employees.

Warehouse Management System

You can increase your operations efficiency by adopting a warehouse management solution. If you are looking for an effective warehouse management system, you can take the services of H&O Distribution, Inc. They have a system which will allow you to keep track of product data, including serial numbers, pallet ID and SKU.