Running a business will have its share of challenges, especially when you have multiple warehouses to oversee. Supervising a single warehouse is already a burden for many, but having more will put your management skills to the test.
Ensuring high efficiency and productivity when managing multiple warehouses can be challenging. Hence, you can check out several best practices worth implementing to streamline daily operations. Here are some of them:
- Utilize A Reliable Warehouse Management System
When managing several warehouses, you have numerous important tasks under your belt. It’s crucial to ensure all daily operations flow as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Consider checking warehouse management software options if you don’t want the burdensome workload and stress to overwhelm you.
The main purpose of warehouse management software is to allow better handling of the workload that comes with overseeing multiple warehouses. A reliable one will provide clear visibility on all operations from storage until your products reach the store shelves.
Most of the available software nowadays is equipped with features providing a better overview and management of the inventory. They can also provide data on picking, receiving, shipping, tracking labour and product movement, and many more.
The main advantage of using a reliable one is its automation for various tasks. This will help you improve overall productivity and efficiency in warehouse operations.
- Simplify The Order Picking Process
The order picking process involves product retrieval from the warehouse for proper packing and shipping. The accuracy and speed of the process can significantly influence operational expenditures, client satisfaction, and profitability, to name a few.
As part of the operational tasks in a warehouse, the order picking task can be hectic. It’s considered labour-intensive yet plays an important role in fulfilling an order. Remember that a high percentage of the operating costs go to the order picking process.
There are different methods of order picking, and it varies from one company to another. Therefore, it’s best to select the appropriate one since it’s critical in ensuring accurate and timely order fulfilment. When managing multiple warehouses, some order picking methods worth checking include wave and cluster picking.
Wave picking involves gathering orders scheduled for fulfilment. Generally, there’s a designated inventory or storage area where an employee picks items from and performs them during specific times throughout the day.
As for cluster picking, assigned employees pick items for multiple orders. The employee carefully gathers every order of a specific item so delivery can be done at once. Both are suitable methods for warehouses handling large volumes of orders daily.
- Maintain Well-Balanced Stocks
One of the crucial considerations when managing multiple warehouses is ensuring all stocks are balanced. Utilizing the key warehouse data can help determine the number of available stocks. Doing so enables you to maximize the available storage space while avoiding potential delays in the fulfilment phase.
It would help to monitor crucial data to ensure adequate stock levels, including product sales, inventory turnover, and lead time rates. Having an insight into these figures will allow you to maintain the right number of stocks in your warehouses.
The key point to remember is to maintain good control of the number of stocks, keeping them balanced to reduce operational costs.
- Integrate Proper Synchronization Of Asset And Inventory Management
One of the crucial considerations if you have several warehouses to manage is streamlining the management or tracking of assets and inventory. Asset tracking involves the routine monitoring of all equipment in the manufacturing process. It also includes checking all the equipment that assists with fulfilment and warehouse tasks, such as forklifts, service carts, or pallet jacks.
Inventory management refers to monitoring all products, such as existing stock, those that require replenishing, and surplus products. Tracking your inventory will make it possible to save time and effort in the long run.
Integrating and streamlining the management of assets and inventory brings several benefits. These include knowing if a piece of specific equipment is in good condition to process orders, the availability of a product and location, and products ready for shipping, to name a few.
In simple terms, managing both crucial elements will ensure efficiency in the fulfilment phase of the warehouse operations.
- Prioritize The Storage And Distribution Of Top-Selling Items
A crucial practice to help streamline multiple warehouse management is closely monitoring your best-selling items. Assessing which products are selling rapidly and the number of sales every month can help you implement a restocking scheme. This will ensure your best-selling products will never go out of stock.
The information can also be used to determine which stocks to prioritize. In such circumstances, it allows you to organize the warehouse efficiently. In the long run, it helps maintain a good efficiency level during daily operations and results in streamlined warehouse fulfilment and better client satisfaction.
Final Thoughts
Managing several warehouses isn’t an uncomplicated undertaking. Luckily, if you have a reliable warehouse management system and are able to implement some of the best practices in warehouse management, you’ll stay on the right track.
With the help of these valuable insights in streamlining the management of multiple warehouses, you can ensure the overall productivity and efficiency of your warehouse operations for years to come.
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