Warehousing practices: Helping you manage efficiently

Why are warehousing practices so important to implement? Why does each warehousing have a guideline list to adhere to? The answer is simple. Warehouses are huge places where inventories of customers are stacked and stocked and how can you manage that efficiently is by following some warehousing practices. What warehousing practices you need to adopt are the ones that allow you to be flexible based on the demands and improve efficiency to a great extent. Here, we will look into five best practices that can help you do just that.

Implement cross-docking

Cross-docking is a huge plus for a warehouse because it eliminates storing of inventory; instead, you can directly move shipments from manufacturing plants to the final delivery point without worrying about storage. In cross-docking, the inbound truck will be unloaded in the staging area, entered into the warehousing system and sorted as per the customers’ requirements, and immediately reloaded to the outbound truck. This always works well with huge facilities that have many dock doors to easily move trailers as required.

Schedule shipments at close intervals

Whenever there is a huge gap between shipment loading and unloading, the work slows down. Just imagine you have allotted a few staff to load trucks, but as soon as a truck is loaded, there is a big gap and then another truck arrives, this gives staff to slow down, and again they have the get back to the momentum of loading. So it’s always best to schedule the shipments close to each other and the workers will have a steady stream of work and will improve the efficiency of the warehouse.

Active staff and members

Well, the warehouse staff are always working one job or the other, but if they are always mentored by a member of the management, then it adds an extra advantage. The staff feels that he can show his best and works harder and better while the member of management can have a close look at the activities and if any measures are lacking he can put forth the seniors to make improvements in the warehouse. There are always ways to innovate and optimize warehouse operations and a frequent watch can help make things a lot better.

Using RFID tags and automation

With technology, things are changing how they used to be in every industry, same for logistics and warehousing. Usage of scanners and RFID tags are extremely important as they can easily track and trace the items and shipment respectively and if they are integrated with the WMS system then it will surely streamline the picking process.  The more automation, the more efficient the warehouse will be. Each and every process from scanning, picking, and other activities can be easily done via automation.

Improve safety

Safety! It is important to have safety for the warehouse, the staff, and the heavy machinery. How? Staff have to be protected from injury as there is a lot of loading and unloading, usage of heavy machinery, and accidents can happen anywhere, hence protective gear is important for the staff at all times of work. The warehouse and the machinery have to be insured in case there is any damage to the warehouse due to natural calamity or man-made errors. So safety is important as prevention is better than cure.
Following these simple warehouse practices will help improve operational efficiency as well as improve staff’s confidence at work. 20Cube logistics has 2.1 million square feet of warehouse space across India and it has taken all the necessary steps to keep the warehouse safe and follow strict protocols during the usual days as well as during pandemics. With automation, the operations have been smooth and running efficiently even during unprecedented times without any hassle.