In recent years, the idea of a warehouse and its design has completely changed. And today the whole point is to make sure that goods leave almost as soon as they arrive. It all comes down to reducing storage time and minimizing costs. So how do you cut costs, increase profits, and at the same time optimize the warehouse? Not sure where to start? Start by reading our article, which will help you understand what warehouse optimization is.
Zoning your warehouse
Each product category should belong in its own zone. Imagine a warehouse country divided into areas. This means that the entire room should be divided into certain areas. For example, a long-term storage area, awaiting shipment area, a picking area. The convenience is that when you need a particular item, you will always know where it is. It is also recommended to place the more in-demand items, which are less in storage, closer to the shipping area to reduce time costs; they should be easily accessible. Bulky goods should also be placed approximately there. Agree, because a shorter route takes less time and effort.
In the depth of the warehouse is recommended to store the most fragile and valuable items. This way they are less likely to come into contact with other goods, and they will not get caught up in the transportation of bulky goods.
Develop clear routes for the movement of goods from the loading area to the storage area. This will help minimize physical and time costs and avoid unwanted collisions.
Benefits of warehouse zoning include:
- Shorter unloading and loading times.
- lower labor costs
- More accurate warehouse operations
- Reducing the risk of damage to valuable goods
- Convenient storage of goods
- knowledge of the location of each category of goods
Conclusion
Zoning your warehouse will help you to turn its work into a well-functioning mechanism that can continuously bring you profit without taking up a lot of your precious time.
Content Addressable Warehousing (CAS)
Content addressed storage is storage that takes into account the process of transporting cargo (unloading, loading), its characteristics (storage conditions, size, type), and the characteristics of the warehouse (number of bays, zones). It is a long process, taking on average several months, but the result justifies all the work and efforts. Addressed storage is suitable for a wide range of goods, with different conditions and terms of storage.
Targeted storage
It is not very difficult to organize addressable storage at a warehouse. To do this you need to divide the warehouse into three main areas: storage, goods entrance, and exit. And also into two more types (already mentally): dynamic and static. The names speak for themselves. In the static storage, goods take a certain, specific place in the warehouse, it is assigned to him. With dynamic storage, the cargo goes anywhere, to any free space, but not lost, and gets a number which is assigned to it.
In this way, warehouse space is used most efficiently, because part of it is not empty, while another is idle under certain types of goods. All spaces are occupied, but goods are not lost. Of course, there may be failures with the entry of goods into the system, and then only the memory of the storekeeper can help, but most often this method of storage is the most optimal.
Next, each cell is assigned its own barcode. Each element (shipping zone, receiving, row, tier, rack) is given a sign (letter or number), and together this information forms a code. That is, for this optimization will need to buy a label printer and a device that looks like a gun – a data collection terminal. This minicomputer is used to read the codes from the goods. The data about the goods is entered into inventory optimization software. This archive stores all information about the goods, including their movement in the warehouse. The mechanization of the work process often scares people, but this innovation will greatly simplify the work, although it will have to improve the skills of some employees in order to handle the equipment skillfully.
Efficient organization of the work of warehouse staff
- Efficient manager who knows all the processes and nuances, experienced, preferably “grown” from the employees of the warehouse.
- Do not exceed the number of staff and ration working hours according to the paragraphs of the law, regulate the work process, use the billing of the resources of the warehouse.
- Avoid downtime of warehouse parts, distribute labor and technological resources evenly.
- Introduce piece-rate bonus pay according to performance indicators (volume of products shipped, speed of shipment, no breakage/scrap).
Conclusion
The warehouse plays a significant role in the supply chain, there is no limit to improvement – improving warehouse efficiency and profitability is an ongoing process in the company. I wish you successful optimization and continuous revenue growth!
