Several businesses may prefer to utilize new workers in the shipping and receiving area, though they might be better served to assign pros to deal with these difficult tasks. Experienced people who understand and know the products rarely mix items which are similar in appearance but are somewhat different and they know how to stock bins and shelves correctly and thus, work a lot more effectively.
The best suggestion for new staff is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to know the products, clients and paperwork along with any electronic inventory system which can take some getting used to. In addition, it is easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders when they are packed for shipment.
The next suggestion is to plan the truck arrival, as you truly do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By scheduling arrivals and being organized, you would eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers and also eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard. The more efficiently you can schedule the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you will need to operate that would really 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 during one shift and separate the shipped items to a different shift. Organizing yourself in this manner can allow you to lessen the staging area needs by 50%. You may 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 efficiently and will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road.
Speed up the process of unloading. This would tremendously help you out as the longer a truck sits at your door for loading or unloading, the more congested your yard could become. According to studies, around 60% of mass merchants are capable of unloading trucks in less than 60 minutes, whereas approximately 20 to 30% 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.
Maintain your floors since any defects in the surface of the floor can cause a lift truck operator to take a detour or slow down. The uneven floors can greatly decrease productivity. Uneven floors or deteriorating floor section seams or potholes also cause wheel wear and vehicle damage. In some cases, floors which are really damaged can cause product damage and loads tipping.