Some businesses might choose to use new workers in the shipping and receiving area, although they may be better served to allocate professionals to handle these challenging tasks. Experienced individuals who understand and know the products rarely mix things which might seem the same but are somewhat different and they know how to properly stock shelves and bins and hence, work a lot more efficiently.
The best suggestion for new employees is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to know the products, paperwork and customers as well as any electronic inventory system which may take some getting used to. Furthermore, it is very easy to check their efficiency by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for delivery.
The next suggestion is to plan the truck arrival, as you truly do not want all trucks to come at the same time. By being organized and scheduling arrivals, you would eliminate too much waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers. The more efficiently you could plan the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you will have to operate which would save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
Operate with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you are able to, receive goods during one shift and separate your shipping to a different shift. Organizing yourself in this way can enable you to lessen 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 would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road and can keep track of orders more effectively.
Speed up the unloading process. This would tremendously help you out because the longer a truck sits at your door for loading or unloading, the more congested your yard can become. Based on research, roughly 60 percent of mass merchants can unload trucks in under an hour, whereas around 20 to 30 percent of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Take time to observe and time operations to be able to see exactly how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is crucial as floor defects may cause forklift operators to take detours or slow down. This may lead to a reduction of efficiency. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also lead to vehicle damage and wheel wear. In certain situations, floors which are really damaged could result in product damage and loads tipping.