THE BENEFITS OF REAL-TIME VISIBILITY TO THE WAREHOUSE OPERATION
Between surging labor costs, a shortage of workers, and facility rents climbing across North America, there’s not a warehousing operation today that isn’t operating with ever shrinking margins. Fortunately, a warehouse manager can harness the benefits of real-time visibility that can have a dramatic effect on the bottom line. WHAT IS REAL-TIME VISIBILITY OF WAREHOUSE […]
Gamification of Your Warehouse
Playing games at work might not be what you immediately think of when it comes to improving productivity and engagement amongst your employees, yet that is exactly what is fast becoming an industry go-to. It is a technology known as as gamifying, and the gamification of your warehouse can not only improve your employees’ output […]
What is a Cycle Count?
Your warehouse is full of inventory, but how do you get an accurate picture of what is on any given shelf tomorrow? Next week? Later this afternoon? You could get your warehouse staff to conduct a physical inventory, auditing your entire facility’s stock. But unless you are running a small operation with limited SKUs, a […]
The Costliest Warehousing Mistakes
There has never been a more demanding or challenging time to run a warehouse. Staying competitive means navigating supply chain issues, the demand of a booming online sales market, and expectations of speedy delivery. Each operation has unique quirks, however, there are a few costly warehousing mistakes that every facility risks falling prey to. Avoiding […]
What is Cross-Docking
Last week we looked at how cross-docking can improve your productivity and reduce delivery lead times. But you may be asking, what is cross-docking? In its purest form, it is the process of moving inventory direct from a truck in receiving to an awaiting truck at shipping: You may already practice cross-docking when you take inventory […]
What Does A Warehouse Manager Manage
I recently spoke with a warehouse manager who bluntly told me the three things she has to control and manage: LABOR Labor has a big impact on budget and can be scheduled as needed at a local level. If you see projected inbound or outbound activity in the near term you can work to get […]
WMS Benefit Categories
Numerous benefit categories result from successfully using a warehouse management system (WMS). The categories have varying levels of savings associated with each and can be characterized as tangible or intangible. A tangible savings is a quantitative dollar figure directly related to a specific action or process impacted by the WMS. For example, hardware for a […]
Reasons for System Directed Put-away
Last month we discussed the use of boom rooms in the warehouse and the idea of using system directed putaway to keep flammable product in a safe space. There are many other reasons you might want to use your warehouse management system to help determine where product should be stored. Product picked together Labor consumes […]
Boom Room. Sometimes being lean simply means being simple.
On a tour of the home improvement company distribution center, I observed a simple, and generally low-cost solutions to improving warehouse performance and safety. Many warehouses have flammable type products requiring special handling and storage in a controlled environment. Generally, the area will have an early suppression fast response (ESFR) system and will be easily […]
The Golden Zone
In August 2020, we discussed the concept of slotting using ABC profiling to help improve productivity in the warehouse (Know Your ABCs). The example provided focused on reducing pick travel distance and time by keeping the fast moving “A” items near the shipping dock, “B” items in the middle of the building, and “C” items […]