Playing games at work might not be what you immediately think of when it comes to improving productivity and engagement amongst your employees, yet that is exactly what is fast becoming an industry go-to. It is a technology known as as gamifying, and the gamification of your warehouse can not only improve your employees’ output but also keeps them happier and increases retention. What is Gamification? Think of an old-school arcade game. Each level you play comes with a different challenge, puzzle, or goal. Along the way you can collect points and badges as achievements and progress are made. A ..read more

Your warehouse is full of inventory, but how do you get an accurate picture of what is on any given shelf tomorrow? Next week? Later this afternoon? You could get your warehouse staff to conduct a physical inventory, auditing your entire facility’s stock. But unless you are running a small operation with limited SKUs, a physical inventory can be a massive disruption. It may necessitate closing your shipping and receiving operations for an all-hands-on-deck count, inconveniencing your customers and causing serious delays. That’s where cycle counting comes in. HOW CYCLE COUNTING WORKS Cycle coun ..read more

Your inventory is the backbone of your business. As we discussed in a recent post, shortages erode customer loyalty and retention. At the same time, without proper inventory management, those same products on your shelf carry hidden liabilities. Heavily stocking your shelves for any eventuality can lead to a product sitting for a prolonged period of time, exposing them to damage, spoilage, theft, or raising the need to dispose of products in clearance sales or landfills. To avoid the pitfalls of being over or understocked, you need to find the Goldilocks zone through inventory management techn ..read more

There has never been a more demanding or challenging time to run a warehouse. Staying competitive means navigating supply chain issues, the demand of a booming online sales market, and expectations of speedy delivery. Each operation has unique quirks, however, there are a few costly warehousing mistakes that every facility risks falling prey to. Avoiding them could have a major impact on your company’s bottom line… WAREHOUSE LAYOUT ISSUES It all starts from the ground up. How you have designed your warehouse is the blueprint to how your employees will go about their day-to-day operations. We ..read more

A product’s journey might start with sales and marketing, but it is quickly in the hands of your warehouse. Ensuring that your customer has a hassle-free, convenient experience goes well beyond the point of sale. A warehouse management system is not just a crucial tool for operating your facility day-to-day. Let’s look at five ways a WMS improves customer service: INVENTORY TRACKING There are few things more frustrating as a customer than buying an item and being greeted by the words “backordered”. It is a quick way to lose trust and try your customers patience, and it could jeopardize repeat ..read more

Last week we looked at how cross-docking can improve your productivity and reduce delivery lead times. But you may be asking, what is cross-docking? In its purest form, it is the process of moving inventory direct from a truck in receiving to an awaiting truck at shipping: You may already practice cross-docking when you take inventory from an inbound truck to a person in the office. Maybe it is a letter or inventory sample. It is something that does not need to go into storage. If you have been in an LTL operation you have seen pure cross-docking where no inventory is stored (at least long te ..read more

In a recent post we referenced that a manager’s tools available are labor, space, and equipment. For certain operations with the correct order profiles, there is a way to improve labor productivity and reduce delivery lead times which will help reduce costs and improve customer service, and potentially save space. This is a method known as cross-docking. Let’s take a look at how it might work for you… WAREHOUSING Traditional warehouse operations are designed to receive inventory, put the inventory into storage and pick the inventory for shipment. This model works well for companies who have cu ..read more

I recently spoke with a warehouse manager who bluntly told me the three things she has to control and manage: LABOR Labor has a big impact on budget and can be scheduled as needed at a local level. If you see projected inbound or outbound activity in the near term you can work to get more employees in through either overtime or working with your local staffing partner. EQUIPMENT Equipment is another semi-flexible resource a manager can control. I say semi-flexible meaning it depends on the type of equipment. Fork trucks, and man-up order pickers can easily be idled if not needed or more can b ..read more

In recent months we outlined several advantages of using a warehouse management system (WMS) to direct product putaway to minimize operator decision making requirements. We pointed out the potential improvements in compliance, operator productivity, and overall space utilization. But as the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. In this example the cost appears in three ways. One, during system setup, significant attention and effort could be required to define the putaway strategies. Afterall, these smart systems are only as smart as the people who set them up. The potential to ..read more

Numerous benefit categories result from successfully using a warehouse management system (WMS). The categories have varying levels of savings associated with each and can be characterized as tangible or intangible. A tangible savings is a quantitative dollar figure directly related to a specific action or process impacted by the WMS. For example, hardware for a new system will cost 50% less to maintain than the existing system hardware. Intangible benefits are much tougher to quantify. A challenge to justifying systems is maintaining credibility and uniform buy in to the benefits associated wi ..read more