Warehousing

5 Mistakes You’re Making In Your Warehouse

There is no one right way to manage a warehouse. Anyone who says that there is a single way to do it is not open to other ideas, and that’s where they’re going wrong! There are certain principles that should be upheld for a warehouse, and if you’re not upholding them there is every chance that you don’t know that you’re making mistakes.

Every warehouse leadership team needs to be aware of the possible mistakes that they could be making. Being on top of warehouse management is important, especially as good warehouse organisation reduces delivery delays – and you need some of that! There are a number of ways you can get warehouse management right, but equally, there are a number of ways that you can get it way wrong, too. So, let’s take a close look at five common mistakes you’re making in your warehouse, so you can learn how to fix them once and for all.

• You’re Holding Your Extra Inventory. You may think that you’re on top of production vs orders received, but there are a great many warehouses that hang onto their excess inventory. You need to learn and encourage LEAN practices that reduce your excess inventory. Storing too much that will never be ordered only takes up space and it’s one of the common mistakes made by warehouses. Wholesalers are especially susceptible to falling into this and this is due to buying packaging and other products in bulk. It starts with slowing down bulky buying, and you’ll have less inventory leftover.

• Picking Paths Are Complex. Your warehouse needs to work efficiently, and the best way to make this happen is in optimising your picking paths. You can impact your supply chain cycles positively when you do this, and then generating excessive labour costs needn’t be the result. Get your warehouse stripped back to basics, and you’ll be able to see how much better off you are.

• You’re Resisting The Digital Age. Yes, paper is how the world has been running for years, but prohibiting progress in your warehouse does you no favours. You need to stop buying bulk paper and start turning to digital based workflows. When you do this, you can avoid misplaced documents and delayed information. You don’t necessarily need to have a complex warehouse management system, but you do need to reduce your global impact, and this is how you do it.

• Clean Up, Aisle 3! When was the last time you looked at your housekeeping for your warehouse? You cannot run an efficient warehouse with messy loading docks or overflowing pallets. Not only is this bad for your health and safety regulations, it’s going to obstruct your employees and make your facility far less productive.

• Health & Safety Isn’t A Priority Any Longer. A safe warehouse requires excellent health and safety management. This is for both compliance and for the hidden hazards that could affect your warehouse production. Training and certification is a must if you want your warehouse to be on track at all times.