Even though there are numerous businesses that begin employees in the receiving area, they would be a lot better off to allot pro's to deal with the put-away tasks. Qualified individuals who really know and understand the products seldom mix items that are similar in appearance but are somewhat different and they really know how to stock bins and shelves properly and therefore, work a lot more effectively.
The best tip for new employees is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with a great opportunity to learn the products, customers and paperwork along with any electronic inventory system that can take some getting used to. Additionally, it is very easy to check their efficiency by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for shipment.
The next suggestion is to schedule the truck arrival, because you really do not want all trucks to come at the same time. By being organized and scheduling arrivals, you would eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers. The more efficiently you can schedule the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you will have to operate that will save you money on utilities in the long run.
If you are able to, operate different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive goods in one shift and separate the shipped products to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way can allow you to reduce the staging area requirements by 50%. You may also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks within the warehouse. Additionally, by separating your shipping and receiving, you could keep track of orders more effectively and will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road.
Speed up the unloading process. This would really help you out since the longer a truck sits at your door for unloading or loading, the more congested your yard could become. According to studies, about 60% of mass merchants can unload trucks in under an hour, while around 20 to 30% of the grocery industry performs at a similar standard. Make time to watch and time operations in order to see how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is crucial since floor defects may cause lift truck operators to take detours or slow down. This can lead to a reduction of productivity. Potholes or uneven floors or deteriorating floor section seams also cause vehicle damage and wheel wear. In certain situations, really damaged floors can lead to loads tipping and product damage.