4 common warehousing problems

Have you ever run out of warehouse space, but just remembered you’ve got a delivery on the way? Do you find it difficult to locate goods in your warehouse due to poor storage procedures?

Warehousing, like most other business activities, is not without its hurdles and problems. If ignored, warehousing issues can quickly develop, costing your business time and money. When it comes to warehousing, at Masters, we have seen it all, so we’ve put together a list of common warehousing problems – and our solutions for solving them.

• Inefficiency

A slow, inefficient and unproductive warehousing operation is likely to be caused by a number of smaller issues in the process and these can quickly amount into bigger problems, for example, the motivation and ability of your staff. To increase productivity, it is important to ensure that your staff are motivated. At Masters, we use a bonus scheme that is based on how well the business is performing. We also make sure our staff are constantly developing and invest regularly in training that helps to increase productivity and efficiency.

• Capacity

Having enough storage space is vital to an effective warehousing operation. A report from UKWA showed that most warehouses have, on average, no more than 7.5% of space vacant, which is why you need to have your warehouse well organised. Correctly organising your warehouse can maximise the amount of goods that can be stored, for example, using narrow-isle equipment will allow you to place racking closer together. However, sometimes this isn’t enough to safely store all of your goods. In this situation, consider outsourcing your overflow warehousing until space can become available.

• Stock Control

Tracking each of your product’s whereabouts in your warehouse is a mammoth task, and losing track can have costly consequences for your business. We use Stirling warehouse management system, which allows us to locate and retrieve goods in an instant. Better still, our portal allows our clients to view this information too, so they never lose track of how much stock they have, and they know exactly where it is in our warehouse.

The nature of warehouses means that stock is constantly on the move. Whether it is coming in, being stored or going out, there are goods traveling in multiple directions, which can make the process confusing. We recommend that you track which items of stock have the quickest turnover so that you can store them more efficiently and keep downtime to a minimum. You should also implement an effective FIFO system, to ensure perishable goods do not go to waste.

• Damaged Goods

To protect the quality of the stock, care is paramount. Storing goods in inappropriate places could lead to them getting damaged. Ultimately if it is going to leave the warehouse broken, you’ve failed. Ensure your team take suitable actions when it comes to storing goods appropriately, and that they are not substituting quality for speed.

We hope that this blog helps you overcome some of your warehousing problems. If you would like to find out more about anything you’ve read, please call us on 01353 648222 or email [enquirymail]

Are you noticing problems in your warehouse? Our warehousing customers save time and money. Find out more about our warehousing solutions.
Alternatively, call us on 01353 648 222 for more information.