Using the summer to optimise storage

Not only at the very beginning, but also during ongoing operations, it is worthwhile to question warehouse processes again and again: changing customer needs, product range changes or (seasonal) fluctuations in orders require modern and, above all, agile warehousing. Ideally, you use quieter phases of the business year for process analysis and optimisation.

From a certain order volume onwards, every online retailer has to think about the right inventory management system. Increasing product diversification as well as a faster turnover rate of goods otherwise lead to chaos, unnecessarily long processing times, high error rates and dissatisfied customers.

Not infrequently, the “summer slump” comes in handy here: During the summer months, many online shops record significantly lower turnover than, for example, during the Christmas business. Sales plummet by up to 30% when customers are rarely at home.

On the one hand, you can counter this summer slump with shop pages optimised for smartphones and other mobile devices (mobile first). On the other hand, the quieter summer weeks can also be ideally used to optimise your warehouse.

Less turnover in summer? Prepare your warehouse for the Christmas business!

In 2020, the Christmas business will take place online

This year, experts expect an even more significant shift in Christmas sales from retail to online shops. Customers will tend to avoid crowded shopping streets and shop from home. All the more reason to tidy up your warehouse now! Discover the right warehouse supplies for this.

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Start by freeing up stock space. Discount products that have turned out to be stock items. This way you will generate traffic on the webshop and reduce your stock for new products at the same time. In addition to selling through your own online shop, you can also reduce your stock levels through other methods of stock reduction, for example as a parcel insert, in factory or telephone sales or through so-called remnant buyers. Always a good option: Donate leftover stock!

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Tip No.2: Analyse last Christmas sales

Were there bottlenecks in goods, time, space or necessary resources? Were the most needed products also the most accessible? Where beyond that were there difficulties in taking orders, picking, or packing and shipping goods? Plan for the need for shipping packaging, gift packaging or look into the use of personalised packaging. It can also make sense to buy folding boxes now and put them in stock: they are delivered flat and do not take up much space. Here are some more suggestions on what preparations for the year-end business you can - and should - make now.

Tip No.3: Rethink your storage method

In a way, the right storage method is decisive for the war. From the classic start-up, which not infrequently begins in a makeshift home warehouse, to rented storage space to your own warehouse space: with the right organisation and sufficient space, a lot of money can be saved. This already starts with the packaging material or the shipping material: More space in the warehouse means advantages in purchasing: it certainly makes a difference whether I order 250 boxes a month or 3,000 once a year

Warehouse optimisation in three essential steps

Analysis of tasks: What are the workflows, processes and tasks?

These include

Goods receipt with checking the delivery notes, checking the contents, quality controls, recording in the merchandise management system, internal transport routes, storage at the correct storage location…
Order processing with order entry, processing, finding the ordered goods in the warehouse and picking the order.
goods issue with the dispatch of the order including the creation of delivery notes, shipping labels and invoices, and the packing and dispatch of the goods.

All processes and procedures are broken down to the smallest “level” and evaluated: How often do the tasks occur? How much time do they take? Where are there possibly unnecessary duplications in the processes? Where could walking or transport routes be simplified?

Tip: Sounds banal, but in far too many cases it does not happen: Get active feedback from those who carry out the activities or cover the distances every day. Are the actions easy? Can everything be reached intuitively? When it comes to storage equipment, big improvements can be made with little investment. Slanted shelves in the racks, for example, facilitate orientation and access during order picking, packing tables that can be continuously adjusted in height pay for themselves through more ergonomic work – and thus more pleasant and effective work over a longer period of time.

Tip:

Check your stocks of shipping and packing materials. This way you are – and remain – able to act even during peak periods

Analysis of existing warehouse equipment

What equipment or aids are needed – and are they available in sufficient quantities in the right place at the right time?

Analyse the performance of the existing equipment. Are there any “forced breaks” due to empty batteries? Are the tools also designed for a higher workload? Or do you have to “improvise”?

Your business is dynamic. This also means that the availability and performance of existing equipment such as transport trolleys, lift trucks, platform trolleys, forklift trucks etc. must be checked again and again. This starts on a small scale: If employees in the warehouse are repeatedly slowed down because they first have to find a cutter or tape measure, this costs time and nerves.

Analysis of the inventory

The ABC analysis helps here, for example according to access frequency: goods with the highest access frequency (A) must be stored in the most easily accessible place. Goods with low access frequency (C) may be stored at the back (or top). The 80:20 rule, known as the Pareto principle, applies: 20% of all stored products account for 80% of goods movements – and as A products they must always be directly accessible.

Identify your frequently requested A-products and revise the storage accordingly. Also observe: Are there any recognisable trends, for example due to the seasons? What was right in February is not necessarily right in August – raclette machine vs. swimming pool filter.

There are supposed to be people who like to tidy up. For all others, a simple "defence strategy" applies:

Don't let chaos arise in the first place! Because especially in warehouses and factories, long searches, uncoordinated processes and poorly planned transport routes are not only annoying, but above all: expensive! Above a certain size and turnover rate, it is indispensable to automate workflows and processes. We show how automation can work in the warehouse: https://www.rajapack.de/verpackungsnews/modernes-kommissionieren-4-0/[/su_note]