The top three challenges to overcome in your warehouse

 

Effectively managing a busy warehouse can be a tough challenge as they are complex and complicated places.

So what's the secret weapon in the battle for efficiency? Ultimately it all comes down to good old fashioned planning. And whilst this isn't a new notion by any means, in fact it may seem a little obvious, there are an increasing number of innovative technologies available, namely Warehouse real time location systems (RTLS), which help to make warehouse planning both easier and more effective.

There are three vital elements to any warehouse:

- Pallets
- Forklifts
- People

Controlling and optimising the movement of these critical three components, and doing so in an efficient manner, is what leads to increasing your warehouse's productivity, safety and profitability.

 

The above may sound rather simple and rudimentary, however in practice any warehouse or operations manager will appreciate the difficulties involved in getting these elements to work cohesively together. However, with the right equipment and processes in place, it most certainly can be achieved.

During the journey to optimisation however, there are three key challenges to overcome:

 

Warehouse Challenge No. 1: Data Accuracy

The operations and effectiveness of any warehouse is only as good as the data that underpins the running of it. With incorrect data, warehouse managers are going to forever be counting the cost of lost pallets, mis-picks, missed deliveries and wasted time.

Ensuring data is accurate, particularly in large scale warehouse operations, will require some form of warehouse automation. While this may incur costs, the reliability of the data and time saved by not having to correct errors will ensure it pays for itself.

 

Warehouse Challenge No. 2: Manual Processes

One of the main reasons for data inaccuracy is the reliance on manual data collection processes. For instance, having the driver of your forklift truck scan his load and drop-off location. These interactions run the risk of incorrect data being entered but also eat up a lot of time in your driver's day.

Incorporating a warehouse automation system in these instances will not only deliver accurate data but also enable forklift truck drivers to forget about scanning and concentrate on driving, thereby increasing the productivity and safety within the warehouse.

 

Warehouse Challenge No. 3: Warehouse Layout

It doesn't sound like it should have that much of an impact, but the layout and positioning of things like pallets and racking has a great impact on warehouse efficiency. Think about it: If the goods in your warehouse can be moved to positions close to where logically fit into an order process, you're saving time.

 

Equally, your forklift truck and MHE drivers will be less inclined to take risky shortcuts to keep up with their targets.

By using warehouse automation and RTLS, you can see the journeys your forklift truck drivers make and how long their actions take to complete. Aside from the added benefit of increasing driver accountability, it allows you to see where you can improve the efficiency of your warehouse simply by adjusting the layout.

 

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