Top 5 Ways To Improve Warehouse Efficiency

Warehouse automation is a proven method for improving warehouse efficiency, and therefore customer satisfaction. But what are some of the key areas to focus on which will improve the productivity in the distribution center? To help you better understand, we’ve compiled a top 5 list of things you can do to improve your warehouse automation. This list contains 5 simple ways to ensure you are operating at full efficiency.

Unlike other lists, we are going to start with the single, most important task that needs to be done.

Train your employees. It is shown time and again that companies that do not invest in the thorough training of their employees experience easily circumvented human errors. A small investment in the employees understanding of the entire warehouse operation will show net returns of more up time, less human error and an easier transition as realities in the warehouse require movement of operators from one task to another. Ultimately, in this modern supply chain era, employees need to be versatile and capable of wearing multiple hats.

Evaluate your supply chain’s growth proactively to determine when it is time to upgrade the system to support changes in volume. Nothing is worse than being prepared for 3,000 containers per day growing to 6,000 and not being able to meet the need. You should always be capable of 30% more volume within the warehouse than the current expected volume.

Acquire or leverage a Warehouse Control System to ensure proper slotting, size and weight of product. Don’t make employees travel a lot to do their job or bend over to pick up heavier containers. There is a direct correlation between product placement in the warehouse and the volume per day a warehouse can handle. Reduce the travel and improved weight consideration increases volume and reduces human resource costs.

Consider implementing voice-pick solutions in your warehouse. Voice picking reduces the amount of time required to read and respond to picking orders and shows an immediate uptick in employee productivity. Voice picking speeds the whole process up as fast as you can speak.

Preventative maintenance on hardware and tools is an often overlooked, yet proven-to-be valuable step in the day-to-day operations of the warehouse. Take weekly looks at your critical points in the warehouse so hardware issues are discovered before they become an issue rather than after.

We hope this list was helpful for you. Please contact us if you have any questions.