The warehouse is a busy, bustling place. Whether you’re shipping products or storing them for later, it’s important to keep track of inventory and other key factors to ensure everything’s running smoothly. To do this effectively, you need to know what you have on hand and where it’s located—that means being organized! This post will cover five tips for managing your space more efficiently. Take a look.
Table of Contents
Know Your Floor Plan
When managing your warehouse space, knowing what you have is important. What are the dimensions? How much space do you have available, and how much of that is currently in use?
If you’re unsure how much space is available or how much of it is being used, try measuring the dimensions of your warehouse to get an idea. Then take a look at what’s occupying each section of the floor plan—no matter how long ago items were stored there.
If there’s still stuff in those areas and they’re out of date, consider moving it elsewhere to make your warehouse more efficient.
Keep a Record of What You Have in Inventory
There are many reasons to keep a record of your inventory. One reason is that you know what you have in stock and what you don’t have in stock. This doesn’t mean keeping track of everything on your shelves, but knowing your high-value items and how many of them you have available.
It’s important to know if there is enough of an item for the demand and if there is no need for more products because you’re selling out quickly. Also, knowing where products came from helps with quality control and recalls since these records can help trace back to where it all started.
Organize With Pallet Racking and Roll Cages
Pallet racks are steel shelving systems that store goods on top of the racks. Moreover, roll cages are shelves with wheels that store smaller items like boxes or bottles. Using both, you can create a warehouse storage system where goods are stored on top of pallets, and roll cages provide additional storage space underneath the pallets. You can also install high density mobile shelving for added storage flexibility.
Set Up a System for Handling Returns
When handling returns, keep these tips in mind:
- Make sure you have a system in place for returns. Do you have a policy about when customers can return items? When should they contact you, and how?
- Make sure your returns policy is clearly communicated to your customers. Also, ensure that your employees are trained on the policy to answer questions from customers who want to return an item.
- Have a clear process for handling returns. When someone brings back an item that needs to be returned, should it go back into inventory or be sent directly back to the manufacturer? Have answers to such questions.
Also, consider high density mobile shelving for storing the returned packages.
Make the Most of Vertical Space
While floor-to-ceiling racks make it easy to store items on a horizontal plane, they don’t always make sense for every type of product or situation.
For example, keep your items in boxes stacked up high on shelves. You’ll have no way to access them unless you use ladders or reach trucks—which can be dangerous and inefficient.
If you could arrange those same boxes vertically, one atop another (like in an upright freezer), it would be much easier for employees to find what they need without having to haul heavy equipment around their workspace.
Conclusion
With these tips, you can optimize the space in your warehouse. Keep track of what’s in inventory, set up a return process for damaged or defective items, and organize with pallet racking and roll cages.
You’ll be surprised at how much more efficient your operation will become once these steps are taken.