Even if there are a lot of businesses that start workers in the receiving area, they would be a lot better off to allot professionals to handle the put-away jobs. Qualified individuals who understand and know the products seldom mix items which may seem the same but are somewhat different and they really know how to stock bins and shelves correctly and thus, work a lot more efficiently.
The best tip for new staff is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to learn the products, paperwork and customers along with any electronic inventory system which can take some getting used to. Moreover, it is easy to check their efficiency by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for shipment.
The next tip is to plan the truck arrival, because you really do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By being organized and planning arrivals, you will eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers and also eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard. The more effectively you can plan the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you would need to work which would save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
Operate with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you can, receive goods during one shift and separate your shipping to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way could allow you to reduce the staging area needs by 50%. You might also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. Additionally, by separating your shipping and receiving, you can keep track of orders more effectively and would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road.
If the unloading process is sped up, this would tremendously help you out because the unloaded truck could congest your yard. Based on studies, about 60% of mass merchants could unload trucks in under 60 minutes, whereas around 20 to 30% of the grocery industry performs at a similar standard. Make time to watch and time operations to be able to see how your facility measures up overall.
Maintain your floors as any defects in the floor's surface can cause a forklift operator to take a detour or slow down. The uneven floors could greatly decrease production. Potholes or uneven floors or deteriorating floor section seams also lead to vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some situations, really damaged floors can lead to loads tipping and product damage.