How to improve the efficiency of your warehouse

With the rise of e-commerce and the exponential growth of orders, optimal storage management is key to ensuring efficient, sustainable and profitable merchandise distribution for companies.

Improving the organization and management of a warehouse saves time, increases productivity and reduces costs, among other benefits. In this article we present 5 ways to improve the efficiency of your warehouse .

How to achieve the efficiency and effectiveness of a warehouse?

1. Automate as many processes as possible

Currently, there are various transport systems that are easily integrated into warehouse management systems (WMS), allowing automate manual processes to optimize the productivity of your warehouse, minimizing human errors and streamlining operations.

In addition, through integration with order management systems (ERP), it is possible to have adequate inventory control and have the necessary information to make forecasts and better manage demand.

There are even technological solutions that allow optimal organization and management of warehouse inputs and outputs, from an interactive dashboard where the status of operations can be viewed in real time. Knowing your merchandise flows and the status of shipments and deliveries, you can plan the operation to reduce unforeseen events that affect the development of your logistics process, optimizing costs and times.

2. Make the most of the space

One of the keys to improving the efficiency of your warehouse is to make good use of space. And the best way to optimize space is by structuring work areas and organizing merchandise to facilitate its location and avoid unnecessary movement.

To organize the warehouse space, it is necessary to clearly define its work and storage areas , so that the operators can follow a clear logistics route, identifying the areas for picking, arrival and departure, loading and unloading, etc.

On the other hand, as space is always limited, it is essential to find a way to distribute the merchandise strategically, in a way that facilitates the logistics process, while allowing maximum use of space.

In addition, with the right software, the warehouse operator can scan a QR code on the merchandise to view or edit the shipment information, facilitating the location of the product in the warehouse, changes in status and assignment of locations, among others. stuff.

3. Study well the order preparation system

The picking or order preparation system is very important, since it largely depends on it whether the customer receives their orders in a timely manner or not; therefore, it has a direct impact on the final satisfaction of the clients .

How many orders per day does your warehouse ship? What is your growth forecast? It is not the same to prepare 100 orders, 500 or more than 1,000. Identify the needs of your warehouse and analyze your picking system to find out if it is the most appropriate and efficient.

There are different logistics strategies depending on the number of orders that are made and the projection you make of your business. On an industrial scale, logistics technology is essential to automate and increase the productivity of your warehouse.
Currently, various SaaS solutions ensure stock is correctly cataloged and labeled once the products have been taken to the warehouse, allowing them to reduce their dwell time and guaranteeing rapid replenishment.

4. Establish a zone of high-rotation stocks

Stock rotation is a fundamental factor to take into account in the organization and management of the warehouse in order to make the logistics administration of merchandise more efficient. The higher your ratio, the greater the flow of uploads and downloads in the warehouse.

Establishing a specific area near the entrance and exit of goods will facilitate the transport of products with high turnover, saving time and reducing the risk of accidents during transportation that could damage the product. 

As we already mentioned, lack of space is one of the most common problems in warehouses. Therefore, attending to its strategic distribution, with tools that automate processes and facilitate stock management , is essential to optimize the supply chain .

5. Perform quality checks to avoid errors

How many products do you currently have in your warehouse? How long does it take to prepare and deliver a product? How long does it take to reach the customer? How many deliveries do you make in the week? What is the satisfaction rate and how do you retain your customers ?

Customers do not forgive errors in their orders. An efficient logistics service consists of avoiding them as much as possible, and for this it is essential that you incorporate periodic quality controls that try to answer such questions, among others.

There are multiple types of management indicators, depending on the step of the logistics process that you want to monitor: entry or exit of the product, picking, packaging, shipping. Set the appropriate KPIs and you'll get the data you need to be able to optimize your storage management.

Thanks to technological progress, today it is possible to have solutions that allow you to customize your KPIs so that you can consult statistics in real time and anticipate decision-making to avoid errors.

conclusion

The more you can automate and organize your storage and order preparation system, the more efficient and productive your warehouse will be. But as we saw, not everything depends on the human will.

Given the exponential growth in the volume of goods, and the expectations of increasingly demanding customers in terms of the speed and quality of their deliveries, today it is practically impossible to keep up with this evolution without technological support.

The flexibility of VONZU allows it to adapt to the needs of clients from all types of sectors, helping companies to scale their business and grow operationally. Get started for free right away, here .