Do you have a seemingly overflowing warehouse stock? How are you maintaining it? Ideally, you want to keep your warehouse stock well-organized. Efficiency, cleanliness, and orderliness are all important in warehousing.
Labeling
What can you do to maintain your warehouse stock? First things first: label everything that comes into receiving using a legible barcode label. This way you can track everything in the warehouse. Each code can be scanned when items move around– for instance, when an item is put away on a shelf, or picked to be shipped out, etc. Barcode labels help ensure accuracy when it comes to warehouse management software systems.
Simplify Things For Staff
For items that have to be accessed the most, they should be placed in easily accessible areas nearest to the shipping area.
Since most warehouses involve workers who have specific shifts, it’s a good idea to have workers complete orders before they end their shift, rather than leaving work to do for the next shift… because when that happens, things can get screwed up. You don’t want orders to get lost in the shuffle between shifts!
Rather than count inventory once a year, start doing cycle counts every so often, like once a month or quarter. This will help keep your stock numbers accurate.
Ideally, don’t let people on the floor who don’t need to be there during the workday– they can just cause problems. Only have people who know what’s going on and what needs to be done working on the floor.
Every Item Has a Home!
Don’t let a warehouse get dirty or messy. Everything should have its place so that things are in order rather than a chaotic mess. You shouldn’t just leave stuff in aisles or shoved in corners– everything needs to be put on shelves as intended. Keep floors clean.
Finally, make a checklist for warehouse managers and/or workers that helps everybody be on the same page for maintaining stock. With good effort, warehouse stock can be maintained in a way that makes everybody happy.
If you’re looking for a company who can help you find the best and most organized warehouses in North America (free of charge!), learn how Affiliated Warehouse Companies can help.
