Even if there are many companies that begin workers in the receiving area, they will be a lot better off to allot pro's to deal with the put-away jobs. Experienced people who know and understand the products rarely mix things that may look the same but are somewhat different and they really know how to stock shelves and bins properly and thus, work much more effectively.
It is a good idea if you have new staff to start them out by filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to learn the products, paperwork and customers along with any electronic inventory system that may take some getting used to. In addition, it is really easy to check their efficiency by going over their work orders once they are packed for shipment.
Because you do not want to have many trucks arriving at the same time, the next step is to plan truck arrival. By scheduling arrivals and being organized, you will eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers. The more efficiently you could plan the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you would have to operate which would really save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
Operate with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you are able to, receive goods in one shift and separate your shipping to another shift. Organizing yourself in this manner may enable you to lessen the staging area needs by 50%. You might also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. In addition, by separating your shipping and receiving, you can keep track of orders more efficiently and will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road.
Speed up the unloading process. 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, about 60 percent of mass merchants can unload trucks in under an hour, whilst approximately 20 to 30% of the grocery industry performs at a similar standard. Take time to observe and time operations to be able to see how your facility measures up overall.
Maintain your floors because any defects in the surface of the floor could cause a lift truck operator to slow down or take a detour. The uneven floors could greatly decrease efficiency. Deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors or potholes also cause vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some situations, floors that are really damaged can cause product damage and loads tipping.