3 Steps to Improving Warehouse Efficiency

Over the next several months we will be taking a look at some different ways you can achieve greater warehouse efficiency. This month, specifically we will target organization, picking methods and cycle counting.

More often than not, as your company lengthens the amount of time that you have been in business, your warehouse is likely to get out of hand. From bin locations that increase workload to picking methods that aren’t appropriate for the industry, there many ways in which your company’s efficiency may be decreased by your current processes. Therefore we wanted to provide a couple of ideas for better organization that you may wish to consider:

1. Revisit Bin Location Organization

You should consider reviewing the organization of your warehouse at least once a year in order to maintain maximum productivity. What may have been a good set up when you first started, might now be a stumbling block for your pickers. As you bring in new product lines and add inventory, it is likely that you have to ‘stash’ it wherever it will fit, leading to decreased efficiency and increased picking times. While it may seem like a hassle to re-organize everything, having a better set up can improve picking times by 30-50%!

A good rule of thumb when organizing your warehouse is to put higher volume items in the easier to reach areas as well as in a location closer to your shipping area (if it is appropriate to do so), and lower volume items in bin shelving further away.

2. Take a New Look at Picking Methods

Consider using your MAS software to sequence orders so that they are grouped by pick path or areas within your warehouse that will streamline the picking process for your staff. Additionally you may want to take a new look at your picking methods and examine whether they are still appropriate for you. There are many options to choose from including:

• Single order
• Multi-order
• Batch picking
• Zone picking

3. Consider Implementing Cycle Counts

We know how much you love and look forward to your annual physical inventory count...the long hours, the overtime, having to shut down operations, and the seemingly unending amount of counting...it’s such a fun time for everyone...(wink, wink). While we wouldn’t dream of asking you to give up your favorite yearly event, we wanted to make sure you were aware of another option just in case you might be willing to try something easier and more effective.

Cycle counting is a great alternative or addition to a yearly physical count. It is a process with which you count inventory in regular intervals throughout the year which keeps your back-office systems more accurate. Companies with well organized and smartly run warehouses often find that if they can succeed with the cycle count process they can do away with the annual count altogether.

Sage MAS ERP requires you to freeze your inventory during counting, so many mistakenly believe that they can only do their counting if they shut down operations. However what you may not know is that you also have the ability to freeze only certain product lines at a time while keeping others active which allows you to implement a cycle counting technique. Then you can count smaller portions during business hours (if you experience certain times of day when material isn’t moving – possibly before or after the busy part of the day.)

Subscribe to our blog to make sure you receive our next blog in this series, where we take a more in-depth look at some specific cycle inventory counting methods.

If you'd like to start improving warehouse efficiency, click here for more information on the specific features and benefits of Sage MAS ERP.