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At the moment, almost every business is looking for ways to cut costs and manage with fewer staff. Unfortunately, the knock-on effects of this can cause issues within your supply chain, and these cuts can lead to increased lead times and unhappy staff.
For businesses trying to keep ahead of the curve and come out of the pandemic stronger, investing intelligently in things that have a huge impact can help you to thrive when the odds are stacked. Modernising your warehouse can have a ripple effect in your supply chain, and it’s something all inventory businesses should be looking at.
So, how can you start modernising your warehouse and improving how things are done?
Optimise the layout
How much time does your business lose to a disorganised layout in your warehouse leaving staff wasting time navigating your stock? To cut your lead times, optimise your warehouse with a carefully planned layout. This might be done by grouping your popular items, or a first-in first-out layout, where stock arriving first is picked first, or last-in first-out where stock arriving last is picked first.
Whatever is the most efficient method for your team, stick to it and optimise your warehouse layout to make it happen.
Improve storage planning
There is more to an organised warehouse than the right floor plan layout- it’s important to plan your shelf storage too. This can save money in the form of space where stock can be effectively stacked on shelving, but you don’t want to lose time by simply stacking products wherever they fit. To make your warehouse as efficient as possible, look carefully at how to organise your shelves- keeping your most picked or picked-first items in an accessible place.
Better waste management
Waste management may seem like an afterthought, but improper management can lead to difficulties with space and soak up your employees’ time- especially in a large warehouse with multiple floors.
Improving your waste management is as simple as having accessible stations throughout your warehouse where staff can take out-of-use items like boxes or pallets. Properly managing your waste can save a huge amount of time and effort in the long run. It should be clear what type of waste goes where and emptying these stations regularly will make sure your system stays in check.
Start with order & inventory management software
The biggest difference you can make to your warehouse today is to introduce an order & inventory management system. Traditionally too expensive for many businesses, technology has moved on, allowing for cloud-based technology that’s more affordable and more flexible.
A great inventory management software reduces your dependence on spreadsheets. Operating your warehouse using spreadsheets is a sure-fire way to slow you down and cause mistakes. By moving your information into a cloud-based system, you have the data you need in a place that’s accessible for your whole team, and in a format that only requires you to enter data once.
Modernising your warehouse doesn’t require a complete overhaul- tweaks and changes made in a smart way can make a big difference to your operations and transform how things are done.
If you’re looking for an effective order & inventory management system that keeps things simple, find out more about how Workhorse works for you.