Even if there are a lot of businesses that start workers in the receiving area, they will be much better off to assign professionals to handle the put-away jobs. Experienced people who really understand and know the products rarely mix items that may look the same but are quite different and they truly know how to properly stock bins and shelves and therefore, work more effectively.
The best tip for new employees is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with an excellent chance to learn the products, clients and paperwork along with any electronic inventory system which may take some getting used to. In addition, it is very easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders when they are packed for delivery.
Since you do not want to have lots of trucks arriving at the same time, the next step is to schedule truck arrival. By planning arrivals and being organized, you would eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers and also eliminate too much waiting time in the yard. The more effectively you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you will have to operate that would save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
If you can, 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 could enable you to reduce the staging area needs by 50 percent. You might also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks within the warehouse. Additionally, by separating your shipping and receiving, you can keep track of orders more effectively and would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road.
Speed up the unloading process. 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. According to studies, about 60 percent of mass merchants could unload trucks in less than 60 minutes, whereas around 20 to 30% of the grocery business performs at a similar standard. Take time to watch and time operations in order to see how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is important as floor defects could cause lift truck operators to take detours or slow down. This may lead to a reduction of productivity. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also cause vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some cases, really damaged floors could cause product damage and loads tipping.