Even though there are numerous companies who begin workers in the receiving area, they would be a lot better off to allot professionals to handle the put-away jobs. Qualified people who really understand and know the products seldom mix items which may look the same but are quite different and they know how to correctly stock shelves and bins and hence, work more effectively.
It is a good idea if you have new staff to start them out by filling orders. This provides them with a great chance to learn the products, clients and paperwork along with any electronic inventory system which might take some getting used to. In addition, it is really easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for shipment.
As you do not want to have lots of trucks arriving at the same time, the next step is to schedule truck arrival. By scheduling arrivals and being organized, you will eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers. The more efficiently you can plan the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you would need to work that will really save you money on utilities in the long run.
If you can, operate different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive goods during one shift and separate the shipped products to another shift. Organizing yourself in this manner may enable you to reduce the staging area needs by 50 percent. You might also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks within the warehouse. Furthermore, by separating your shipping and receiving, you can keep track of orders more efficiently and would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road.
Speed up the process of unloading. This would really help you out as the longer a truck sits at your door for unloading or loading, the more congested your yard can become. According to studies, approximately 60 percent of mass merchants could unload trucks in less than an hour, while about 20 to 30 percent of the grocery business works at a similar standard. Make time to watch and time operations to be able to see how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is key since floor defects could cause lift truck operators to slow down or take detours. This may lead to a reduction of productivity. Deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors or potholes also result in vehicle damage and wheel wear. In certain cases, floors which are really damaged can lead to product damage and loads tipping.