Holiday Warehouse Management and Best Practices
Holidays are the time for relaxing and celebrating, but when it comes to warehouse management, the workload is doubled due to holiday sales and high demands. It is true that an efficient warehouse will have tested management practices to keep things under control throughout the year, but holiday season demands that any inventory or warehouse must regulate a comprehensive control system to ensure the customers’ orders and concerns are duly addressed by having a clear idea of in-stock items.
In order to make things easy for warehouse managers during this time of the year, we have developed a list of pointers to keep in mind to ensure smooth work flow.
Making Sure Your Pallet Racking System is Ready
By insuring that your pallet racking has no structural damage, you can be confident you will have no problems during the holiday rush. If you do find that there are problems, you can fix them before they cause you an injury or down time. It can take less time to replace a beam or upright in your pallet rack system then it will to have it break when the holiday rush is in full swing. This break may not only cost you time, but it could cost you an injury and the loss of product. This holiday season can be safe in your warehouse, if you take the time to make it one.
Keep a Watchful Eye
It is understandable that you are busier than ever during this season. But you have to leave your tablets and computers alone for a while and take a good look at the happenings of your warehouse. Keeping an eye on the processes will not only give you an idea about the strengths and weaknesses of your inventory, but your active interest will give your employees a boost to perform better as well. Furthermore, it will give you a fresher perspective on solving problems and addressing issues.
Pre-planning the Storage Floors
Depending on the size of your warehouse, plan a course of action concerning to picking processes. It is essential that you make sure to minimize picking in order to increase order speed and prevent any inventory mistakes. Pre-plan the layout and designate individual inventory zones for pallet, case, and item picking. This will take the additional burden of locating and extracting the items off your shoulders, and will save you a lot of time. Moreover, it is wise to keep ample industrial shelving handy, just in case you need to accommodate surplus stock items.
Monitor Your Returns
Holiday season witnesses the returned goods in copious amounts. In order to avoid inventory issues to dishevel all your planning, you need to make sure that these returned goods are strictly monitored. This will give you a clear idea of items that can be re-sold and what needs to be renovated in order to put them back on sale, and what needs to be discarded. You can also use this knowledge to address future orders, and your warehouse will be able to cater to the needs of customers effectively.
Time Management and Streamlining the Channels
Effective time management is the key to outstanding performance during holiday seasons. You’d want to make sure that all the orders are delivered on time, and that no two orders are confused together. This is why it is crucial that you streamline your warehouse processes and avoid channeling them into two or more divisions. This will make it easier for you to know the correct number of in-stock products. Also, you will also be able to avoid the risk of a popular item being divided into multiple channels, which will ultimately make things easier for you.
Holidays affect warehouses vehemently, but it is the time of huge sales as well. With these tips to stay afloat during busy times, you will surely have a stellar holiday season.
From all Your Friends at Material Handling Exchange, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
