Even though there are lots of companies who begin workers in the receiving area, they will be a lot better off to assign pro's to deal with the put-away jobs. Experienced individuals who truly know and understand the products rarely mix things that may seem the same but are somewhat different and they truly know how to stock bins and shelves properly and therefore, work much more efficiently.
It is a good idea if you have new employees to start them out by filling orders. This provides them with an excellent chance to know the products, customers and paperwork along with any electronic inventory system that might take some getting used to. Furthermore, it is very easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders when they are packed for delivery.
The next suggestion is to plan the truck arrival, as you really do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By being organized and scheduling arrivals, you would eliminate too much waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers. The more effectively you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you would have to operate that will save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
Work with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you are able to, receive products in one shift and separate your shipping to another shift. Organizing yourself in this manner can allow you to lessen the staging area needs by 50 percent. You may also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. Also, by separating your shipping and receiving, you would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road and could keep track of orders more effectively.
Speed up the unloading process. This would really help you out because the longer a truck sits at your door for loading or unloading, the more congested your yard could become. Based on studies, around 60% of mass merchants are capable of unloading trucks in less than 60 minutes, while about 20 to 30% of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Make time to observe and time operations to be able to see precisely how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is crucial because floor defects can cause forklift operators to slow down or take detours. This can result in a reduction of efficiency. Uneven floors or deteriorating floor section seams or potholes also lead to vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some situations, floors that are really damaged can lead to product damage and loads tipping.