Warehouse management is essential for efficient and competitive logistics. In particular in a context in which the rise of e-commerce. It requires an ever faster and more personalized preparation of orders.
Warehouses have gone from being a space used exclusively for the storage of goods. It becomes an essential part of the supply chain. For this reason, managing the warehouse correctly is essential to ensure the competitiveness of the company.
What does it mean to manage a Warehouse?
Warehouse management consists of organizing and supervising the processes of receipt. Storage, stock control, order preparation and shipment of goods within the logistics installation.
The warehouse manager controls the logistical operations manually or with the help of a warehouse management software (WMS). It automates activities and eliminates the risk of errors.
Unlike inventory management, which coordinates only the inbound and outbound of goods. Managing a warehouse also includes organizing all the processes that take place in the logistics installation, from product location criteria to picking. Tips for good logistics
Objectives in warehouse Management:
The needs of Logistics 4.0 have resulted in more complex logistics processes. Warehouses have had to increase their productivity and efficiency to ensure that costs do not reduce the competitiveness of companies. A good management of the warehouse allows to eliminate the extra costs in the control of the stock and in the preparation of the orders. Two of the most expensive operations for a warehouse.
In addition to the growing number of references to stock, e-commerce has increased the seasonality of products and peaks in demand. With proper management, organizing merchandise is much easier and can adapt to customer needs at different times of the year.
Manage the warehouse step by Step:
Correct warehouse management must consider all the processes, from the physical distribution of the goods to the strategies and criteria for preparing and sending orders. Let’s see eight key points in warehouse management:
1. Definition of the warehouse Layout:
The first step to manage a warehouse well is to establish a layout in accordance with the characteristics of the product. The logistics installation can be divided into two areas, each of them intended for a process. Loading and unloading, storage and order preparation. Depending on the type of product or the operating cycles. It may also be necessary, among other areas, to mount the kits or to consolidate orders. Tips to choose the forklift for warehouse
2. Choice of the right storage System:
The characteristics of the products determine which storage system is most suitable for each warehouse. If an intensive storage system is chosen, it is essential that the Logistics Manager first choose the method of handling the goods (FIFO or LIFO). Since this decision affects the organization of the operating cycles and the distribution of the warehouse space.
3. Position the Articles in the best possible Way:
The Logistics Manager must establish a set of rules and location criteria to speed up the preparation of orders. For example, based on the turnover rate, the best-selling products can be located near the shipping area to reduce the movement of operators.
4. Digitization and inventory Control:
The best way to ensure efficient warehouse management is with management software such as Easy. This program includes a wide range of features that can be adapted to any type of warehouse, product or operating cycle.
One of the main functions of Easy is the automation of the most complex order preparation processes: location management, creation of picking routes and organization of picking activities
5. Establish an effective goods receipt process
The goods receipt process is vital for efficient stock control. There are many solutions to increase the throughput of receiving operations: assign a replenishment buffer for picking locations, set up a collection area to facilitate cross-docking order preparation or even automate a storage area installing a stacker crane for Miniload containers that acts as a temporary buffer for the goods.
