Several companies might choose to utilize new workers in the shipping and receiving area, although they might be better served to allocate professionals to deal with these demanding tasks. Experienced people who truly understand and know the products seldom mix items which might seem the same but are somewhat different and they really know how to stock shelves and bins correctly and thus, work more efficiently.
It is a great idea if you have new staff to start them out by filling orders. This provides them with an excellent chance to learn the products, paperwork and clients as well as any electronic inventory system that can take some getting used to. Additionally, it is easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for shipment.
The next tip is to plan the truck arrival, since you truly do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By planning arrivals and being organized, you will eliminate too much waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers. The more efficiently you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you would need to work that would really save you money on utilities in the long run.
If you are able to, operate different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive products in one shift and separate the shipped products to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way can allow you to reduce the staging area needs by 50%. You might also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. In addition, 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 efficiently.
Speed up the process of unloading. This would tremendously help you out because the longer a truck sits at your door for unloading or loading, the more congested your yard could become. According to research, around 60% of mass merchants are capable of unloading trucks in less than an hour, whereas about 20 to 30 percent of the grocery business works at a similar standard. Make time to observe and time operations to be able to see precisely how your facility measures up overall.
Maintain your floors as any defects in the floor's surface could cause a forklift operator to slow down or take a detour. The uneven floors can really reduce productivity. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also result in vehicle damage and wheel wear. In certain situations, floors which are really damaged could lead to loads tipping and product damage.