A Business Owner’s Guide to Warehousing Solutions
Efficient warehousing management is the hub of any successful business. The way you manage your inventory will determine the success of your business.
The worst management will cause you to lose time and ultimately money. You’ll end up paying employees to work longer hours because you are not managing the inventory well. The best management will allow you to store and ship items efficiently and lead to a larger profit margin.
Your best warehousing solutions are a combination of know-how and technology. Keep reading to learn about the importance of warehousing.
Basic Warehousing Solutions
Warehousing is the process of storing goods before you send them out to customers. You produce the goods, store them in a warehouse, and then ship them from the warehouse to the customer. This allows companies to have a decent supply of inventory after production.
Warehousing consists of the following five warehousing functions:
1. Receiving
First in the warehousing process is receiving. To make receiving as efficient as possible, you need a stream-lined method. Conveyors and power-pallet trucks along with a detail-oriented manager will create an excellent receiving process.
2. Putting away and Storing
Putting away is the technical process of organizing and putting the stock away. You want to organize the inventory so you’ll easily be able to find it when the time comes to sending it back out.
When you have a good system for putting materials away, you will maximize your warehouse space and save time in transit. You’ll be able to find your inventory quickly and prepare it for packing and shipping more easily.
Proper storage also makes work more efficient. When your employees know where to store materials and you create clear work patterns, then you end up with less time lost.
To create the best storage process possible, you need software that calculates KPIs, or key performance indicators. Dozens of KPIs exist, which makes calculating them the job of a computer. The software will help your workers allocate the best locations for each piece of inventory.
If the concept of calculating KPIs confuses you, hire a logistics company. They will make each part of the warehousing in logistics will give you the best opportunity for an efficient system.
4. Picking
Picking is the first step in sending your inventory to customers. It consists of selecting warehouse inventory to fill customer orders.
Simple technology such as mobiles and wearables will streamline picking. This technology will allow your employees to pick their lists wirelessly and scan materials anywhere in your warehouse.
5. Packing
After picking, clerks put orders together and pack them efficiently to minimize damage to the items. Just like with picking, the software can help employees pack materials efficiently. Packing systems can figure in dimensions and weight of materials and then determine the best type of packing material that will keep inventory as safe as possible while keeping costs low.
6. Shipping
You should consider your warehousing successful if inventory makes its way to customers quickly and safely. Software and warehouse logistics companies can streamline the shipping process. Technology designed specifically for efficient shipping will allow clerks to have correct information on hand so they can ship materials immediately.
Warehousing Solutions Get Technical
When you use technology for your warehousing solutions, you’ll see your efficiency improve and your orders increase. Your company will acquire positive reviews, all because you understand how to run a warehouse.
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