Find Your Warehouse Weak Point

Find Your Warehouse Weak Point

Find Your Warehouse Weak Point & Learn How To Strengthen It

Looking for ways to save time and money while increasing efficiency in your warehouse operations?

Explore the infographic below to find solutions for the eight most common sources of inefficiency in warehouses today.

Receiving

Problem

  • Shortages and discrepancies cannot be easily identified
  • Scanning errors, incorrect labelling and lack of labelling cause bottlenecks
  • Productivity suffers

Solution

  • Mobile access to WMS during receiving enables managers to scan and reconcile incoming inventory
  • Label incoming goods on the spot with mobile printers to streamline put-away
  • Save time by eliminating the need to move to a fixed computer terminal

Result

  • Boost productivity
  • Provide instant inventory visibility and availability
  • Eliminate dock congestion
  • Error-proof the receiving process

Put-away & Replenishment

Problem

  • Materials may need to be moved more than once, wasting valuable time
  • Inventory in multiple locations increases picking time
  • Purchasing cycles and manufacturing schedules are difficult to manage

Solution

  • Workers have the exact locations of both inventory en route and final storage
  • Upon put-away, status of goods is updated immediately in warehouse management system (WMS) to show in-stock
  • Workers can complete transactions in the put-away aisle instantaneously

Result

  • Improve processing time up to 62%
  • Save up to 30 minutes per worker, per day
  • Reduce dock-to-stock cycle times
  • Optimise inventory availability and accuracy
  • Enable prompt order fulfilment

Inventory & Materials Management

Problem

  • False out-of-stocks and lost sales
  • Costly, unnecessary repurchasing and storage

Solution

  • Improve productivity, inventory visibility and utilisation of MHE
  • Confirm correct item placement
  • Confirm inventory levels of every asset in your warehouse

Result

  • Get faster cycle counts with fewer workers
  • Ensure regulatory compliance
  • Improve accuracy and order fulfilment

Picking

Problem

  • Difficulty meeting same-day shipping demands
  • Costly returns and sanctions imposed by vendors

Solution

  • Automatically deliver pick lists and optimised routes to mobile devices
  • Allow workers full use of their hands
  • Guide workers directly to items

Result

  • Achieve 99.9% picking accuracy, virtually eliminating returns
  • Improve efficiency and accuracy to facilitate same-day shipping
  • Increase productivity per worker to pick more orders per day
  • Reduce training requirements for temporary and seasonal workers

Packing & Staging

Problem

  • Busy packers may not catch slight differences in similar items
  • Single items on multi-line orders are easy to miss visually
  • Addresses can be entered incorrectly
  • Large orders could be misplaced or separated during dynamic staging
  • Inefficient use of space can’t accommodate spikes in demand

Solution

  • Confirm orders are complete and correct items were picked
  • Guarantee shipping details are accurate
  • Ensure items are instantly deducted from inventory as they are picked
  • Eliminate out-of-stocks
  • Significantly reduce staging errors including missing cartons or skids

Result

  • Ensure order and shipping accuracy
  • Eliminate reshipping costs
  • Increase speed and efficiency
  • Eliminate out-of-stocks
  • Reduce dedicated staging areas for greater space efficiency

Shipping

Problem

  • More lorries on the road, increasing fuel and maintenance costs
  • Delayed deliveries due to loading errors
  • Damaged packages

Solution

  • Ensure packages are being loaded on the right lorry
  • Utilise captured package dimensions to optimise use of trailer space
  • Send confirmation to warehouse management system (WMS) that packages have been loaded

Result

  • Increase profitability
  • Improve parcel visibility and traceability
  • Promote customer satisfaction
  • Ensure faster, more efficient loading processess
  • Provide accurate delivery information

Cross-Docking

Problem

  • Workers handling shipments multiple times leads to poor utilisation of material handling equipment (MHE) and personnel
  • Order status cannot be updated quickly for customers
  • Shipment delays and routing errors impact customer service, satisfaction and retention

Solution

  • Process incoming shipments and aggregate those assigned to the same dock
  • Ensure shipments are delivered to the right dock at the right time, and loaded onto the right lorry in the right order
  • Efficiently direct lift lorry operators to the nearest trailer

Result

  • Improve utilisation of MHE and personnel
  • Increase speed, accuracy and efficiency
  • Maintain up-to-the-second inventory
  • Increase customer satisfaction
  • Eliminate delays during delivery

Reverse Logistics

Problem

  • Brick and mortar stores can’t access order history to process online purchase returns
  • Delays occur as workers validate returns, identify and assess items and process credits
  • Returned goods are often misplaced or not labelled, reducing efficiency
  • Stores may not have visibility into distribution centre inventory—and vice versa

Solution

  • Identify returned items—whether purchased online or in-store—with barcodes upon receipt
  • Take photos of returned goods to eliminate disputes over the condition
  • Validate the status of a return, issue credit and notify the customer instantaneously
  • Ensure items are added to inventory and instantly available for fulfilment of new orders

Result

  • Reduce overall processing time
  • Improve worker productivity
  • Reduce unnecessary reordering
  • Restock goods promptly
  • Protect customer satisfaction levels