Warehouse Managers Should Set New Year’s Goal of Improving Operations

Warehouse managers are always looking to improve operations by cutting inefficient workflows and saving money. However, according to Logistics Viewpoints, businesses should make a New Year’s resolution to look more closely at supply chain operations to determine areas where improvements can be made.

First, managers should look at the systems and technologies they have in place that are monitoring warehouse operations. Many are already using ERP systems to collect information on how time and money are being spent in the warehouse and what tasks employees are completing every day. Another tip Logistics Viewpoints suggested was making sure warehouse employees are equipped with the most up-to-date hardware, like barcode scanners and other data collection tools. This technology can feed information into an ERP system so managers can see what is getting done, and what products are coming in and going out of the warehouse.

Warehouse managers may want to take the Logistics Viewpoints advice and invest more time and possibly money into improving operations. According to a recent survey of warehouses and distribution center managers, nearly 80 percent have been charged in the last six months with determining how to cut operational costs by an average of 19 percent.

The Cost of Inefficiency in the Warehouse

The survey found that workers lose about 15 minutes every eight hours they work due to an inefficient process. For a small warehouse of 50 workers, this could mean 3,000 hours a year the company will have lost. The number is significantly larger for bigger organizations.

With the use of data collection tools, warehouse workers could easily track the products they handle each day, giving managers the ability to identify operations that cause a loss of time.