Almost every business that deals with a product have some warehouse setup. Shelves stacked high with items that keep the company going are always changing through the busy and slow seasons. As a business owner or manager, it’s time to improve your warehouse efficiency by employing some of today’s innovations. Stay ahead of the game with these tips that ultimately boost your bottom line.
Advanced Inventory Software
Don’t resort to counting the inventory with old-fashioned, manual labor. Invest in inventory software that makes manual counting a thing of the past. This software keeps track of your inventory counts along with its movements. In the past, it was easy to lose an item in the warehouse if it was simply misplaced on another aisle. Today’s software tracks the items and notifies you if there are any issues. As a result, your warehouse staff can focus on other priorities. Chasing missing stock contributes to hundreds of lost, man hours through the years.
Easy Access Tools
Regardless of the technology added to your warehouse, a few classic items are still necessary. Dollies, pallet jacks, and other tools are critical to a well-run warehouse. They give you a rapid way to haul items around without injuring your body.
Don’t forget to maintain these mechanical items. Wipe them down, and change out the wheels when necessary. Large casters on shop carts and dollies can be quickly swapped out so that the inventory can flow smoothly through the warehouse. Without these tools available to the workers, productivity slows down considerably.
Robotic Help
Some larger businesses are looking ahead to robotic help. Today’s innovations include robots that actually scan shelves. They’re looking for missing or misplaced items. The robots can also pick out items that are expired, such as in food warehouses.
If you’re a smaller business, robots attached to the shelving itself are a possibility. They perform counts and notify workers of misplaced items too. This technology is an investment, however, so do your research. Adding the right system to your warehouse can pay off in only a short, time period.
Use both your software and keen insight to keep up with inventory that may be stuck in your warehouse. These items are simply not moving as quickly as they should. Prioritize their sales by incentivizing your salespeople and offering discounts to customers. Moving the products is just as important as organizing their locations in the warehouse.
