Even though there are many businesses that start workers in the receiving area, they would be a lot better off to assign pro's to deal with the put-away tasks. Experienced individuals who really understand and know the products rarely mix objects that are similar in appearance but are quite different and they know how to properly stock bins and shelves and thus, work much more efficiently.
It is a great idea if you have new employees to start them out by filling orders. This provides them with an excellent chance to learn the products, clients and paperwork along with any electronic inventory system that might take some getting used to. Furthermore, it is easy to check their efficiency by going over their work orders when they are packed for delivery.
The next suggestion is to plan the truck arrival, as you truly do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By planning arrivals and being organized, 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 fewer dock doors you will have to operate which would truly save you money on utilities in the long run.
If you are able to, work different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive products in one shift and separate the shipped products to a different shift. Organizing yourself in this manner may enable you to reduce the staging area needs by 50%. You may also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks within the warehouse. In addition, by separating your shipping and receiving, you could keep track of orders more efficiently 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 since the unloaded truck could congest your yard. Based on studies, approximately 60 percent of mass merchants are capable of unloading trucks in under an hour, whereas approximately 20 to 30 percent of the grocery business performs at a similar standard. Take time to observe and time operations in order to see exactly how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is important because floor defects can cause forklift operators to take detours or slow down. This may result in a reduction of productivity. Potholes or uneven floors or deteriorating floor section seams also cause vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some cases, really damaged floors can lead to loads tipping and product damage.