As a general rule of thumb the more productive your warehouse is, the more profitable it will be. You will be able to turn around orders faster, which in turn leads to more satisfied customers and repeat and increased orders.
If you want to enjoy the benefits of a productive and efficient warehouse environment, there are a few steps you can take to improve your business turnaround. These tips from Enerco Doors & Loading Bay Solutions should help get you started.
1. Maintain Employee Morale
It can be easy to overlook your employees’ needs, but there is a direct link between productivity and morale. There are plenty of ways, both big and small, to keep morale high. One of the most important of these is to ensure that the wages you are paying are a fair reflection of the work carried out, and offer wage increases periodically to keep in line with industry standards. If this isn’t possible, other employee incentives can work well too.
2. Improve Employee Comfort
Consider their comfort too; warehouse work can be tiring so it’s important to try to make the experience as comfortable as possible, with features such as air conditioning and soft flooring to reduce foot and ankle pains. Try to make sure that your employees have a rest area and access to a kitchen if possible. Even the smallest things can make a big difference – try installing a radio in your warehouse; many studies have shown that music can help improve productivity.
3. Invest In A High Speed Door
High speed doors react quickly, helping improve security, energy efficiency and overall productivity. There are many different rapid roll doors available on the market, with opening speeds of up to 2500mm per second. They can be controlled using the latest technology, including remote control access and motion and light sensors. The speedy opening and closing ensures that less heat escapes, improving the efficiency of your warehouse and saving you money.
4. Streamline Warehouse Layout
The layout of your warehouse is crucial to the speed at which an order is processed. It should be regularly reviewed to ensure that the process is as efficient as possible and that every square foot of space is being used efficiently. Ensure that similar items are stocked together, and that your inventory does not need to be moved unnecessarily. The layout should follow the chronological order of the journey an item will make before it is shipped.
5. Combine Orders
The time it takes for orders to be moved between various locations accounts for a large amount of time in most warehouse environments. Try to reduce this time by combining orders, using a batch or cluster order picking strategy. Zone picking can also provide an efficient solution, but this relies on your warehouse being organised correctly.
6. Upgrade Your Technologies
There are a wide range of technologies available to help make warehouse work faster and more efficient. One of the most obvious of these is the use of a conveyor belt. If this is not possible, there are many bar-code based systems and voice-activated technologies you can try to speed up the process.
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