Simple Tips to Improve Warehouse Efficiency

Improve Warehouse Efficiency

Although it’s easy to only see the “front end” of marketing, such as design and content, the back end is just as important. Our warehouse packages and distributes thousands of items every week, ensuring our clients receive their items in a timely fashion.

Warehousing seems simple enough—items come in, they’re packaged, then shipped out. However, the process is a lot more complex than it looks and includes more than simply picking or packing. In fact, there’s an entire discipline dedicated to all things warehousing: supply chain management.

One of the main concerns of supply chain management is efficiency. With large-scale warehousing operations, process improvement at scale has become essential to running an efficient and competitive warehouse. It’s important for businesses to regularly evaluate the productivity of their warehouses.

Process improvement is a multifaceted effort and often involves collaboration among different departments. For example, data can provide measurable proof as to why or why not a process works, so warehouse managers often team up with data experts to develop their process improvement initiatives. Collaborative, comprehensive process improvement is a standard not only in large-scale warehousing operations but also among businesses in general.

Not all warehouses have the necessary resources to manage efficiency and productivity to such an extent. However, there are measures warehouses can take within their own teams to bolster efficiency. Here are three simple tips:

1. 5S: Developed in Japan, the 5S methodology refers to efficient workplace organization. The five S words are as follows: sort, straighten, standardize, shine, and sustain. Each S is fairly straightforward—“sort” refers to distinguishing needed items from unneeded items, “straighten” refers to keeping items in the correct place, “shine” refers to maintaining a clean workplace, “standardize” refers to establishing procedures to ensure the first three S practices are followed, and “sustain” refers to maintaining the established procedures. Although the 5S methodology seems basic, it saves warehouses a lot of time and frustration in the long run.

2. OEE: Overall Equipment Effectiveness, or OEE for short, is a powerful, not-too-complicated metric that provides insight into manufacturing productivity. OEE accounts for the various subcomponents of the manufacturing process: availability, performance, and quality. There are a couple different ways to calculate OEE, but both methods only require simple arithmetic. When OEE is measured correctly, it reveals shortcomings and bottlenecks in the warehouse that can later be addressed in process improvement initiatives.

3. Talk to Warehouse Staff: This tip may seem self-evident, but in many cases, warehouse workers don’t have a say in the production process. By having warehouse workers regularly think about and discuss process improvement with their managers, warehouses have more ideas for process improvement as well as more people invested in making their workplaces efficient. This tip ultimately works twofold because it not only aids in process improvement but also boosts employee morale by giving workers a say in discussions they may be told are “above their paygrade.” Collaboration is a powerful tool regardless of rank or position.

With a hefty production schedule and the daily demands of the warehouse, it can be difficult to regularly invest time and resources into process improvement. Although efficiency and productivity aren’t always on the minds of warehouse staff, they should be. In adopting an improvement-oriented mindset, warehouses will be better prepared to tackle potential problems as well as stay competitive in the warehousing industry.