Behind every click and collect and delivery page, is a warehouse or distribution centre. To keep apace of ‘touch of the button’ technology and the demands it brings, these facilities need to be more streamlined than ever to avoid falling behind on sales and the competition.

Here are three ways to cut time on processing, picking and packaging in your warehouse so operations can run smoothly and quickly.

Layout
A warehouse doesn’t need to be immense to house all the stock, facilities, personnel and vehicles it needs to function, providing your storage systems, racking and pallet patterns have been well thought out to create the most efficient layout possible. Think not only of what can go where, but what should go where. For instance if you know there is a particularly high selling item, make sure it’s easily accessible to your pickers to save their energy and speed up productivity.

A good layout means obstruction will be limited and hazards more obvious too, reducing the risk of injury.

Inventory
A picker could waste countless precious minutes over the course of the week, or even hours depending on the size of your facility, looking for an item which is not even there. Keeping an up-to-date, accurate inventory means that popular items can be well-stocked and re-ordered as soon as they’re depleted, and precious time is not wasted. Automated systems are one way of reporting incredible accurate stock levels.

Awareness
Make sure the people who need to have sight of the inventory knows where to look for it. If it’s moved for whatever reason, communicate this to those working in the warehouse, so everyone knows exactly how many items they have to work with. This is especially important with high selling items.

For more information on risk management and Wholesaler and Distribution Insurance, contact Lockyers.

Behind every click and collect and delivery page, is a warehouse or distribution centre. To keep apace of ‘touch of the button’ technology and the demands it brings, these facilities need to be more streamlined than ever to avoid falling behind on sales and the competition.

Here are three ways to cut time on processing, picking and packaging in your warehouse so operations can run smoothly and quickly.

Layout
A warehouse doesn’t need to be immense to house all the stock, facilities, personnel and vehicles it needs to function, providing your storage systems, racking and pallet patterns have been well thought out to create the most efficient layout possible. Think not only of what can go where, but what should go where. For instance if you know there is a particularly high selling item, make sure it’s easily accessible to your pickers to save their energy and speed up productivity.

A good layout means obstruction will be limited and hazards more obvious too, reducing the risk of injury.

Inventory
A picker could waste countless precious minutes over the course of the week, or even hours depending on the size of your facility, looking for an item which is not even there. Keeping an up-to-date, accurate inventory means that popular items can be well-stocked and re-ordered as soon as they’re depleted, and precious time is not wasted. Automated systems are one way of reporting incredible accurate stock levels.

Awareness
Make sure the people who need to have sight of the inventory knows where to look for it. If it’s moved for whatever reason, communicate this to those working in the warehouse, so everyone knows exactly how many items they have to work with. This is especially important with high selling items.

For more information on risk management and Wholesaler and Distribution Insurance, contact Lockyers.