Warehouse productivity is essential to both employee and customer satisfaction. A smoothly running, efficient warehouse may seem like a pipe dream at times, so we have come up with a few key ways to improve your warehouse’s productivity.
- Track units or lines picked, received, and put away per day by each worker in your warehouse.
- Set goals or benchmarks for the team and for each worker and let them see where they stand compared to those benchmarks throughout the day.
- Give them efficient pick paths. Avoid having them walk back and forth across the warehouse for each item.
- Keep the pick paths clear of unnecessary items such as carts, empty, boxes, trash, etc…. Having items such as these in the wrong place not only creates safety issues it slows your workers down.
- Ensure your inventory is accurate and where it should be. The more accurate your inventory the less time pickers spend looking for missing items.
- Ensure your workers have the tools needed to perform their job. Not having the needed tools slows your staff down. Make sure that batteries are being charged, scanner guns are operating correctly, and that carts are in good working condition.
- Listen to your employees. In many cases, the person who is dealing with inefficient processes every day is the perfect person to offer suggestions for change. Make sure ideas for improvement are heard and properly evaluated.
In summary, the time it takes to maximize your productivity is well worth it! That time will be saved later, when your employees do not have to run around your warehouse to find what they need.
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7 Ways to Improve Warehouse Productivity