Warehouse operations are at the heart of a company’s supply chain. An efficient warehouse organization and management facilitate low operating costs, streamlined processes, and great customer satisfaction.
On the flip side, poor warehouse management, such as incorrect product packaging and delivery, are behind nearly 20% of errors that lead to lost customers. Another research suggests retail warehouse inventories are accurate only three out of five times.
Moreover, the same study found that a third of businesses miss a shipment deadline due to selling an out-of-stock item. If you wish to improve your company’s warehouse operations, read on as we discuss the best tips on how to manage warehouse inventory.
Maximize Available Warehouse Space
Make good use of vertical space by adding taller storage units and integrating adequate equipment to easily pick and store high-shelved items.
Well-developed racking and shelving system can optimize your company’s storage capacity, improve the safety of products and employees, and raise the accessibility of your warehouse.
Organize Workstations
Warehouse workstations reduce time and save workers’ energy by eliminating the need to search for tools or equipment keep. Workstations keep clutter at bay, thus minimizing errors and improving efficiency and productivity.
Moreover, workstations are designed for specific tasks and workers and thus provide ergonomic benefits that improve employee safety.
Adopt Warehouse Automation Technologies
By 2024, 89% of businesses plan to integrate modernized Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) for labor planning and management.
WMS boosts warehouse efficiency by suggesting the best picking or putting-away routes and methods and provides automated pick lists to minimize errors and time wasted.
In addition, by 2025, robotics will boost productivity by up to 70% and reduce logistics costs by up to 40%.
Leverage the Power of SKUs
In 2018, there was an average of nearly 14,000 SKUs in a warehouse. In the next few years, 38% of US companies plan to increase the number of SKUs and barcode scanners for better inventory accuracy.
Labeling your warehouse inventory with SKU (stock-keeping unit), and product type and description can help reduce errors, improve inventory accuracy, and eliminate manual verification.
Vendor and your internal SKUs can differ, which is why is it important to automate the SKU consolidation process.
Classify Warehouse Inventory
Inventory classification mainly relies on the size and weight of the goods and the frequency of their retrieval. In general, warehouses use the 80/20 rule, which prioritizes the 20% of goods that account for 80 percent of sales.
Another classification method is an ABC analysis which aims to define items that are the most sold and have the highest value – and thus should be the easiest ones to get to.
Reduce Travel Time
Travel time directly affects picking productivity. And 60% of companies are aware of this, as they plan substantial investments item traveling systems over the next few years.
In large-scale warehouses, travel time can account for up to half of overall picking hours.
Yet, by investing in conveyor systems and sorting systems, warehouses can combine multiple orders into a single trip, thus significantly reducing travel time and improving efficiency.