According to Statista, the estimated volume of the warehouse industry was estimated to be around $35 billion.
You can strengthen your position and make more profits in the warehouse industry if you follow the right tips. In this blog, we are sharing valuable tips that you can adopt to speed up the growth of your warehouse – keep reading!
1. Prioritize the safety of your workers
It’s your legal and ethical duty to care for your warehouse workers. You have to put systems in place to keep your workers safe from accidents when working for your company. Warehouse injuries are very common and might prove fatal in severe cases.
Here are the common types of warehouse injuries:
- Slip and fall injuries
- Heavy machinery injuries
- Injuries from falling objects
- Collapsing racks
- Strain or sprain injuries
It’s easier to avoid warehouse injuries with proper strategies. For example, many injuries occur when employees are in a hurry to get a task done and forget about safety practices. You should train your employees to follow safety guidelines under all circumstances.
Instruct your workhouse managers to be vigilant of all the employees. Prioritize ergonomics in your warehouse so your employees can avoid strain/sprain injuries. Add short breaks in the workflow so your workers can get some rest and do their job without suffering from any health problems.
2. Keep track of KPIs
A simple strategy you can adopt to maximize the productivity of your employees and the growth of your warehouse is to monitor and measure KPIs. Some of the common warehouse KPIs are:
- Inventory turnover
- Inventory error rates
- Cost per order shipped
- Inventory to sales ratio
- Inventory accuracy
Make sure you monitor KPIs properly and award those workers who stick to your guidelines and follow the KPIs. Doing so will improve the culture of your warehouses, and employees will become self-motivated to do their best.
Using the same KPIs over the years might not be the right strategy. Make sure you reevaluate the KPIs you set for your warehouse to meet your target industry’s constantly evolving needs.
3. Focus on automation
The changing dynamics of the industry require warehouses to adopt new strategies. For example, with the boom in eCommerce, you have to improve your inventory management and shipping times to fulfill the customers’ demands.
Adopting automation strategies can help you meet the challenges you face. For example, you can use robot picking to sort out all the products and deliver them at the right time. You can use advanced machines like helical conveyors to get your tasks done easily in your warehouses.
4. Use software tools
It can get hard for you to get things done with the traditional techniques. To improve the management and the flow of items in your warehouses, you can get help from proper software tools. The good thing about software solutions is that they are constantly updated to meet the demands of the industry.
For example, you can start your journey using an inventory management system. You can identify the customers’ demands by checking the orders placed by your customers. Another thing you can do is to optimize for order volumes during the busy retail season.
5. Go paperless and adopt digital
Many warehouses still rely on “pen and paper” to keep track of orders and manage internal tasks. However, if you want to speed up the flow of items in your warehouse and don’t want to handle problems like “forgetting about your papers,” you should go for digital record storage.
The good thing about relying on digital platforms is that it allows you to enter data directly into digital platforms. Digital channels are more reliable for storing data as you don’t have to worry about losing your important information.
6. Keep the warehouse clean
Reducing clutter and keeping the warehouse clean can help you improve the workflow in your warehouse. Proper cleanliness enhances the management of your warehouse organization and ensures that your employees can work properly.
You should try to add a weekly cleaning schedule in your warehouse. If your employees are usually tidy in their daily routine, then you can opt for monthly cleaning routines.
Decluttering your warehouse can also help you improve the productivity in your warehouse. Clean aisle free of clutter will help your employees stay concentrated and show the visitors that you have warehouse operations in control.
7. Don’t forget about labeling
The easiest way to identify different items in your warehouse is by using a labeling system. It doesn’t take a lot of money to introduce a labeling system in your warehouses. Still, it can benefit you in the long run by improving efficiency and making things easier for your employees.
Labeling of items decreases your operational costs. Proper labeling helps pickers identify the items timely, reducing the labor costs and decreasing the time it takes to ship items.
The best thing about warehouse labeling is that you can harmonize it with your “Warehouse management system.” Electronic identification of your items makes it easier for managers and employees to keep track of the inventory and deliver items on time.
8. Build an amazing team
An important part of improving the growth of your warehouse is to add skilled people to your team. Make sure you adopt a proper hiring process to hire only the best people.
You can work with a recruitment agency to hire employees. Make sure you train your employees after hiring them. Set benchmarks in your warehouse so there’s a competitive environment in your warehouse.
9. Get input from your employees
It’s easier for your managers to “enforce orders” as they always have the bigger picture of warehouse management in mind. However, managers don’t know what challenges warehouse workers have to face regularly to meet their daily tasks.
Make sure you include your workers in the decision-making process. Get regular input from your employees to create a better workspace for your skilled team.
10. Maximize available space
Making the most out of available space is essential for you to grow your warehouse business. Try to declutter your warehouse and remove obstacles that can get in the way of your employees.
Remove the items left in the way of your employees to keep the workspace clean and decluttered. Have enough room for receiving orders so you can receive shipments of all sizes without making errors in inventory management.
11. Use specific shipping containers
You might think about using different shipping containers to improve the efficiency of your warehouse. However, the truth is that having different containers can make things difficult for all your warehouse workers.
Avoid using containers of different sizes and shapes in your workhouse. Instead, you should try to use the same size of containers so your employees don’t find it troubling to pick which containers they want to use.
12. Keep track of inventory errors
No matter how amazing the workflow in your warehouse is, you are still bound to run into errors. Managing things in your warehouse on a large scale makes the operations susceptible to inventory errors.
You should track the inventory errors instead of running away from them. Try to get help from the data you gather about errors so you can overcome the problems in the future.