Think about what happens if a warehouse lacks organization. Employees run around frantically searching for items, and nothing happens on time. Managing a warehouse isn’t just about storing as much as possible. It is also essential to establish a sense of structure and order, which will result in a more efficiently run warehouse.
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To help you organize your warehouse, we will describe the benefits of an organized warehouse and some organization ideas to increase efficiency.
Benefits of Warehouse Organization
Saves Time
The primary reason to invest in organizing your warehouse is to save valuable time and effort. Organizing items in their proper locations allows employees to locate items faster and more efficiently.
Increases Productivity
The efficient planning and organization of warehouse processes have resulted in a direct increase in productivity. A logical and consistent approach towards the processes makes it easier and quicker for your employees to fulfill orders.
Reduces Theft
An unorganized warehouse is considered a breeding ground for theft, as it’s easier to mask these activities. According to a warehouse theft statistic by Loss Preventive Magazine, at least $15 to $30 billion is lost to theft every year. Better organization and the implementation of security checks can help reduce these numbers considerably.
Safety
One wrong move in a warehouse can potentially lead to the loss of both invaluable lives and valuable property. Neglecting warehouse safety and health management can increase the risk manifold. Ensuring the warehouse is well-organized, with everything in its assigned place, can help prevent common workplace injuries.
Improves Order Accuracy
Organized and well-managed stock with proper labeling helps staff identify and find items conveniently. This assists the employees in achieving a higher level of accuracy in their orders.
Improved Service
Organizing your warehouse can improve customer service. By having standardized inventory management processes, you can achieve higher productivity levels and reduce errors, which helps ensure prompt order fulfillment.
Workplace Organization is a State of Mind
Being organized isn’t just about the physical aspect of the warehouse. It is a mindset that involves continuous work and thought. Creating a culture that promotes keeping the work space clean and organized is just as important as organizing the items regularly. This state of mind helps employees exert order in their own work lives and get things done pragmatically and efficiently.
Warehouse Organization Ideas to Increase Efficiency
1. Organize Inventory Using ABC Analysis
Storing fast-moving products near the shipping area can make your putaway and picking process more efficient. Using the ABC Analysis to organize your warehouse inventory requires you to sort them into three categories:
- A-Items: The most profitable or best-selling items account for 80% of the total movement or 20% of the entire stock.
- B-Items: Mid-range items that sell frequently and usually account for 15% of the total movement or 30% of the entire stock.
- C-Items: Slow-moving items for the remaining 5% of the total movement, or 50% of the entire stock.
2. Stock at the Right Height
Items that are popular should be placed at a waist-to-shoulder height to make the picking process more efficient. This also ensures that pickers don’t require additional equipment, such as forklift trucks, step ladders, etc.
3. Execute Labeling Effectively
Labeling everything can help maintain the warehouse workflow much more efficiently. It also helps reduce location confusion and the risk of errors when employees don’t have to rely on memory when searching for items. Every SKU should be marked clearly and consistently during the receiving process for easy identification.
4. Color Code Areas
A warehouse can benefit from color-coding areas based on product type, which helps pickers locate the general vicinity of the products more quickly. For example, blue racks are for the most profitable items, yellow racks are for mid-range items, and orange racks are for slow-moving items.
5. Optimize the Warehouse Processes Efficiently
Optimizing the various steps in your warehouse processes can directly impact productivity. Obtaining real-time information, automating processes, and ensuring quality control are ways to streamline the processes.
To learn how to optimize the different warehouse processes more, click here.
6. Reassess Your Floor Plan
Reassessing your floor plan in a logical way, such as rearranging tools and equipment within staff’s reach, can increase productivity. According to the Motion Study by F.W. Taylor, eliminating unnecessary and unproductive movements in the workspace is essential.
7. Go Paperless
Maintaining documents as electronic files can make organizing documents easy and quick. While the process of going paperless may seem exhausting when starting out, it makes backing up information more convenient and less expensive.
8. Utilize the Vertical Area
When looking for warehouse racking systems to organize your cargo, consider not only horizontal spaces but also vertical spaces. Investing in the right warehouse racking system can help organize inventory to utilize unused spaces.
9. Managing Wires
Managing wires with cable protectors, cord clips, covers, and ramps can help keep your warehouse clean and organized. Cable identification tags and ties can also help identify which cord can be unplugged.
10. Clean Your Warehouse Regularly
Cleaning the warehouse routinely gives a strong sense of organization, leading to higher job satisfaction among employees. To learn more about this topic, click here.
Furthermore, here is a cleaning checklist to help you ensure that no area is missed while cleaning. Click the banner to download the checklist.
Summary
Organizing a warehouse allows you to establish a sense of structure and order, resulting in a more efficient warehouse. We hope that the benefits and techniques in this blog have persuaded you to organize your warehouse better and strive for a more efficient workspace.
If you are ready to find the solution to organize your warehouse or increase efficiency, go to our Solutions Finder tool.
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