Warehousing is a critical component of many businesses, as it helps to ensure that its products reach its customers’ hands and meet their satisfaction. However, due to a lack of careful planning, some companies run the risk of delaying deliveries and creating an inefficient system that drives up labor costs.
It’s no secret that having a well-organized warehouse layout is essential for a successful shipping operation. In this article, we will provide you with a few tips on how to arrange your warehouse shelves to ensure maximum efficiency and lay the groundwork for continued growth.
Why warehouse organization is important
Organizing a warehouse can be a time-consuming and tedious process. However, as a warehouse manager, it’s critical that you make sure your warehouse is as organized and uncluttered as possible. Proper warehouse organization…
- …increases the safety of your employees
- …keeps your warehouse operating efficiently
- …raises customer satisfaction
Increases the safety of your employees
For anyone hoping to run a successful organization, it’s critical to keep your warehouse employees safe at all times while they are at work.
That’s why, in addition to a variety of other strategies for improving workplace safety, companies are turning to warehouse organization to create a more efficient and orderly environment. Warehouse organization not only makes the workplace cleaner, but it also reduces the risk of workplace accidents.
Keeps your warehouse operating efficiently
Warehouse organization also significantly aids in increasing processing and efficiency. With adequate organization, workers will spend far less time searching for items and more time packing and preparing items for delivery.
Organizing also reduces the amount of time spent on each order, resulting in increased company efficiency and output which can provide you with more opportunities to expand your customer base and increase revenue over time.
Raises customer satisfaction
Lastly, the higher your order turnaround rate, the more likely your company will experience increased customer satisfaction.
Customers want assurance that their order will not be lost and adequately organizing your warehouse is the first step toward providing them with that assurance. Doing so increases not only your chances of getting repeat customers but also improves your market reputation.
5 ways you can improve the organization of your warehouse
There are many ways to maximize the efficiency of your warehouse space, but we want to take a closer look at the five we believe are most effective.
- Analyze your floor plan
- Create designated receiving areas
- Label everything
- Consider shelving options
- Regularly audit and review
Analyze Your Floor Plan
Before you can start restructuring your organizational process, you must first create a floor plan that will lead to the most effective solution. This floor plan is the best tool you’ll have for starting the transition as it shows you everything from space limitations to where certain items will go.
As a result, you’ll need to spend some time reimagining your current floor plan and determining what isn’t working right now. However, keep in mind that this plan must be clear and understandable to everyone involved in the process. Otherwise, you run the risk of hindering employee productivity.
Create Designated Receiving Areas
Another critical aspect of warehouse organization is creating a designated receiving area where new inventory is sorted and moved to the appropriate warehouse area as it arrives.
Your employees will benefit from a designated receiving area as they will no longer have to search the entire warehouse for a suitable location to store newly received items.
Start this process by calculating the required space by estimating the average size of deliveries. If your warehouse inventory includes shelf life or expiration dates, place new inventory behind older inventory to ensure that products are moved promptly and that no items are wasted.
Label Everything
Though cleanliness is essential, you can’t have an adequate organization without proper labeling and inventory sorting. This not only makes it easier for workers to locate specific items quickly, but it also plays a critical role in getting the most out of your new organizational techniques.
For easy identification, each SKU in your inventory should be clearly labeled. Be sure to maintain consistency throughout your labeling process for each item and include all necessary information on each label.
Consider Shelving Options
Following that, you will also want to choose shelving and storage options that are appropriate for your warehouse needs. The nature of your business will largely determine the best option, as well as the size and volume of products that pass through your facility, among other factors.
Many warehouses find that utilizing vertical space with warehouse racking is a cost-effective storage solution, while others find that traditional pallet racking systems are more appropriate. If you’re dealing with temperature-sensitive inventory, you may also want to consider using shipping containers, storage bins, or even coolers and freezers.
Regularly Audit and Review
Last but certainly not least, warehouse organization should become a habit in which you strive to improve your efficiency and productivity regularly. Because your business will change over time, you should never stop improving your warehouse, which means you will need to regularly audit and review your organizational habits to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity.
For this process, identify key performance indicators (KPIs) used to assess warehouse performance and collect a few months of data collection before reviewing it to ensure accuracy. Even the most well-organized warehouses require tweaking and tuning from time to time, so don’t be afraid to tackle problems head-on and make adjustments as you see fit.
Fine-tune your warehouse organization with help from BILT Industries
A well-organized warehouse fosters many things but, most importantly, efficiency and synergy, which can have a ripple effect of positive impact across an entire company. Taking the time to organize your warehouse will not only pay off in the long run, but it will result in a warehouse that allows your business to run like a well-oiled machine.
At BILT Industries, our mission is to help businesses of all kinds maintain high-quality standards in the workplace, and we do this by developing high-quality shelving solutions that are customizable in a variety of ways.
For inquiries about our industrial shelving solutions, email us at sales@biltindustries.com or call us at (913) 685-7400 to speak with a dedicated customer service representative about your business’s needs.