Do you wonder how your warehouse operations stack up against “the Perfect Warehouse”? In a previous article, we highlighted the often underestimated impact of efficient warehousing processes on businesses. Drawing from our extensive experience in solving Supply Chain challenges, we’ve identified a “Top 10” list of common process issues that not only hinder warehouse efficiency but also adversely affect overall Supply Chain performance and business outcomes.
Having collaborated with numerous multinational companies and optimised over 100 warehouses in recent years, we have a clear understanding of the financial implications of these process inefficiencies within warehouse operations and the broader Supply Chain landscape.
Curious to assess your warehouse performance? Take our quick test to receive a rough estimate of potential financial gains by addressing these key process issues.
If you’re eager to tackle these challenges, our team at AB Advisors has developed a suite of standardised processes and system solutions to help you bridge the gap, without breaking the bank.
So, What Defines the Perfect Warehouse?
1. Efficient Inbound Processing: One of the biggest challenges in warehousing is handling inbound shipments, often due to varying labeling and barcoding standards from different suppliers. Inaccuracies here can totally disrupt your SAP ATP and lead to service level issues and costly backorders. Our streamlined system solution can address these issues effectively.
2. Logical Put-Away Systems: Implementing a put-away logic that minimises movements within the warehouse is crucial, distinguishing between fast and slow movers and considering which products are frequently sold together. The process also should allow for periodic reviews and adjustments as sales volumes and/or frequency evolves.
3. Optimised Goods Storage: Storing goods in the format they are picked or sold eliminates confusion and reduces errors. This adjustment directly enhances service levels and reduces costs related to returns and customer complaints. A robust material hierarchy within the system is crucial to support this.
4. Keep Premium locations free: Too often, we see premium locations (near the gates or on the main driving routes) cluttered with unprocessed returns, repackaged goods, or even forklift battery charging stations. This increases the average trip through the warehouse and makes pre-staging orders to smoothen the workload harder.
5. Elimination of Empty Trips: By optimising routes and consolidating tasks, such as having one person manage both inbound and outbound goods, the efficiency of warehouse operations can be significantly improved.
6. Efficient Order Picking: For small orders, multiple orders should be picked in one go rather than making multiple trips. Rethinking the handling units used (lightweight pallets, cartons, cardboard pallets vs. Europallets) can lead to savings in packaging costs and reduce both transport costs and carbon footprint.
7. Order Regrouping: Where possible, consolidate orders for the same client that would typically be shipped over several days into a single shipment. This approach not only reduces costs but is also generally appreciated by clients and is environmentally friendly. We have developed a simple dashboard to facilitate this process.
8. Barcode Usage for Location Identification: Ensuring all locations in your warehouse are clearly identified with barcodes and scanned when products are placed helps eliminate the “hide and seek” game with pallets left “somewhere” between the gates and the racks… By also scanning the gate when a pallet is loaded, you will have a much more slick and accurate (automated) Goods Issue process.
9. Centralised Shipping Preparation: Centralising shipping preparation on the shop floor rather than in the office simplifies the matching of packing lists with pallets, enhancing accuracy and reducing customer complaints about documentation errors. It also enables loading the truck correctly, avoiding situations where a customer’s pallets are in positions 2, 14, and 23, necessitating the emptying of the entire truck during delivery.
10. Pre-staging for Workload Smoothing: Pre-staging orders to balance the workload between busy and calm periods can reduce the number of operators needed and decrease stress and errors in the warehouse. The typical pushback ‘we don’t have sufficient forward visibility to know what can be picked’ often doesn’t hold up.. Based on experience, often 80% of orders are already in the ERP several days ahead. Our dashboard (see point 7) is perfect in supporting pulling some orders forward. And, as per point 4: you need some space to pre-stage.
Check How You Perform
Assess your warehouse’s alignment with these best practices by taking our brief assessment. Whether you’re a warehouse manager seeking to demonstrate potential improvements or a logistics executive overseeing multiple sites, where our complimentary heatmap analysis can provide valuable insights to enhance your network’s operational efficiency.
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