Inventory management is one of the most complex and potentially costly processes of any commercial facility. Without properly planned and executed warehouse procedures, inefficiencies will run you into the ground and cause your customer service to suffer from the bottom up. In a time when online ordering has become the standard, your warehouse processes are more important than ever.
If you want to improve warehouse efficiency and cut costs at the same time, there are several practices you can implement that will help you achieve this goal:
Provide incentive pay.
Labor costs have increased exponentially this year with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies such as Amazon are offering up to $17 per hour for warehouse positions, making the labor market for such jobs to become incredibly competitive. It is difficult to cut labor costs, but there are ways in which you can incentivize maximum productivity. Incentive pay for performance objectives offers your employees the motivation to meet company goals while keeping basic labor costs down.
Measure your successes and failures.
The best way to improve efficiency in any area of your business is by measuring your progress. If you don’t know or understand your KPI’s, then there’s no clear path to progress. You should be measuring costs, line productivity, and downtime, and determine your weakest areas from these numbers.
Simplify your procedures.
Oftentimes in commercial warehouses, new procedures are added to old ones rather than being restructured. As time passes, the procedures to operation become complicated, inefficient, and not followed by the floor staff. This can cost you greatly because a streamlined warehouse is a profitable one. Reevaluate your operational procedures and cut out redundancies or inefficiencies whenever possible.
Plan for breakdowns.
Every warehouse will have breakdowns at some point. Typically, this leads to expensive downtime and chaos among the staff. However, if you plan for these breakdowns and proactively avoid them with preventative maintenance, you can significantly reduce the impact of these occurrences.
Of these steps, preventative maintenance of equipment is the simplest and most impactful way to maximize efficiency in your warehouse. To learn about preventative maintenance planning and other ways you can create a better warehouse environment, contact MaintenX today!
