8 tips for a better-organised warehouse

Are you one of those managers who needs warehouse organisation ideas in order to achieve better productivity, fewer accidents, more stock control and maximise storage space? An unbeatable way of achieving this is to follow our eight tips below, which will help you to improve your warehouse organisation properly and stop wasting time and money.

1) Revise your warehouse’s design

The first key element and often the motive behind a poorly organised installation is the warehouse’s design. If it isn’t consistently organised, your facility will not reach its full potential.

When it comes to your space, keep the three following issues in mind, among others:

Your workflows: Be sure to have a clearly defined space needed for production zones and workflow areas.
Access to goods: Do your operators need access to the goods? Some types of racks offer direct access to pallets and others don’t. So, have you opted for the right solution?
Your storage capacity: If there are gaps in storage space purposing, this means that you are losing out on the opportunity to store more goods.

2) Label your goods properly

Imagine you are in the middle of high season and have to process more orders than usual; and, to deal with this increased activity you hire non-permanent staff. Keep in mind that work done by new operators is a non-money maker if your goods have not been labelled meticulously. In fact, these last issues waste time during the order picking process, as well as your organisation’s money.

Labels often include GS1-128 barcodes. These codes have numeric and alphanumeric characters that detail a product’s characteristics, such as its batch number, manufacturing date and expiry date. Mislabelled goods could be missing this important information.

3) Select the best storage system

This is one of the more important warehouse organisation ideas. Do you only use a fraction of the storage capacity available in your logistics centre? If the answer is ‘yes’; rethink the storage solutions that you are using. Conventional pallet racking, for example, have the ability to adapt to any unit load, weight and volume. These types of racks are good for warehouses that need to store very diverse products and pallets of different sizes and characteristics. Meanwhile, high-density racks, such as drive-in pallet racking, live pallet racking and push-back pallet racking, make the most of the surface area and provide a higher storage capacity.

Automated storage systems are also an option for warehouses with high goods flows. This type of solution better leverages available space, offers more control of the goods, ensures agile operations, and greatly reduces errors that would otherwise occur with manual product management. Examples of automated storage solutions include stacker cranes for pallets, stacker cranes for boxes (miniload) and pallet conveyor systems.

Automated storage systems are recommended for warehouses with high goods flows

4) Call a consultant

Logistics consulting businesses offer services for logistics professionals to help them smooth out their entire supply chain.

To renovate your warehouse or purchase a new storage solution, whether automated or not, these business professionals will help take an in-depth look at your needs and detect flaws in your current logistics management; in this case, rethinking your warehouse’s organisation.

Given that these organisations assess companies on a daily basis, they will also have a better understanding of the situations you could run into.

5) Improve inventory organisation

Warehouse organisation is important for avoiding stockouts, reducing storage costs, and managing perishable products, to name a few aspects. It’s crucial to analyse products in the warehouse according to the ABC analysis. “A” products are considered to be of the highest turnover and are consumed the most. “B” products are of average turnover and “C” products are the ones that are consumed the least. Category A products should be stored closest to the loading docks, while category C products need to be located further away.

It’s also necessary to determine whether inventory should be managed according to the FIFO (first in, first out) method, in which the first SKU slotted is the first to leave the warehouse, or the LIFO (last in, first out) method, whereby the last product stored is the first to exit. This leads to better and more streamlined product flows.

6) Optimise picking processes

One of the best ways to improve picking processes is to minimise as much as possible the distances operators need to travel to retrieve the goods needed to complete orders. This can be done by deploying a warehouse management system (WMS). This software tells operators the exact number of items that must be retrieved and the routes that must be followed so they travel the shortest possible distance in the warehouse. This way, they can prepare a greater number of orders more efficiently.

It’s also a good idea to choose the appropriate picking methods. Among them, three main types are most commonly used. With piece picking, operators complete orders one at a time, in sequence. In contrast, wave picking involves the preparation of different orders all at once.Zone picking is the third most commonly used method, whereby operators collect different orders at the same time in the same warehouse area.

To optimise picking even more, it may be necessary to utilise automated solutions, such as automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) for boxes. These systems apply the “goods-to-person” picking method in which the products needed to complete orders are brought directly to an operator at a pick station. This prevents the need for operators to travel the warehouse, thereby saving time.

Picking can be optimised with AS/RS for boxes

7) Enhance goods receipt processes

Correctly organising goods receipt processes is vital to having an efficient warehouse and managing operational expenses. In this vein, it’s important to determine how the loading docks are organised when reviewing a warehouse’s layout and to assess how many access points are necessary based on the loading docks’ characteristics.

Here again is where a WMS may also play a role in optimising goods receipts, as it can help you to prepare for incoming stock. The software will register the goods in the system and prepare a label to properly identify the inbound items. Then, it can assign the proper storage location to the goods in order to maximise space in the warehouse.

Another good warehouse organisation idea when it comes to goods receipt is to automate some of these processes. For example, it may be helpful to incorporate conveyor lines next to the loading and unloading docks to prevent operators from having to make long trips in the warehouse.

8) Implement a WMS

We’ve already mentioned how a warehouse management system can improve picking and goods receipt processes, but a WMS is a good warehouse organisation idea for many other requirements as well. For one thing, a WMS, such as Mecalux’s Easy WMS, greatly reduces errors in inventory management and other warehouse processes, which reduces costs and improves a company’s image.

Deploying a WMS can also result in greater storage capacity, enabling facilities to quickly dispatch orders. The software determines the best location for products (warehouse slotting), which maximises space utilisation. And Easy WMS, in particular, features modules and functionalities that tailor the software to a company’s specific needs. For these and many other reasons, a WMS is a good idea to give your warehouse organisation a boost.

Installing a WMS is a great warehouse organisation idea

Ideas for a better organised warehouse

By applying these eight warehouse organisation ideas in your facility, you’ll greatly improve your warehouse management. These tips are vital for improving order preparation, streamlining inventory management and maximising storage space, to name a few.

Keep in mind that using warehouse management system goes a long way towards improving your warehouse’s organisation. Deploying a WMS will help you to better arrange your facility by giving a boost to your goods receipt, stock management and order dispatch processes, among others.

So, if you’re looking for more ideas to enhance your warehouse organisation, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team of expert consultants can help you analyse your facility and show you how our solutions can aid in optimising your warehouse processes.