Even though there are lots of businesses who begin employees in the receiving area, they would be much better off to allot professionals to deal with the put-away jobs. Qualified people who really know and understand the products rarely mix objects that are similar in appearance but are quite different and they really know how to stock shelves and bins properly and hence, work much more effectively.
The best tip for new staff is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with a terrific opportunity to learn the products, paperwork and customers as well as any electronic inventory system which might take some getting used to. Additionally, it is very easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for shipment.
The next suggestion is to plan the truck arrival, since you truly do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By planning arrivals and being organized, you would eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers and also eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard. The more efficiently you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you will have to work which would save you money on utilities in the long run.
If you can, operate different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive goods in one shift and separate the shipped products to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way may enable you to reduce the staging area requirements by 50%. You may also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. As well, by separating your shipping and receiving, you could keep track of orders more effectively and would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road.
Speed up the process of unloading. This would really help you out because the longer a truck sits at your door for unloading or loading, the more congested your yard could become. Based on studies, roughly 60% of mass merchants could unload trucks in less than an hour, whereas around 20 to 30 percent of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Make time to observe and time operations in order to see precisely how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is important because floor defects could cause forklift operators to take detours or slow down. This may result in a reduction of productivity. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also cause vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some cases, floors which are really damaged could lead to product damage and loads tipping.