Warehouse mismanagement accounts for millions of dollars in lost revenue for American companies every year.
Don’t be one of them.
Here are the seven most common mistakes that could be keeping you from running more efficient operations.
1. Inaccurate Forecasting. Imperfect shipping forecasts mean you’ll either under-staff or over-staff, either of which will cost you money. Forecasting issues are often caused by buggy inventory software. If you’re seeing problems here, start using the right inventory tracking software for your needs. You’ll get measurable metrics that let you view and analyze near real-time data. Ultimately, this translates into faster, more effective communication regarding the performance of your facility, services, vendors and carriers.
2. Insufficient Technology Training. It’s a common scenario: Only a few people know how to use the computer system or software efficiently, while everyone else has to come to them for help. What happens when one of those employees is unavailable? Does everyone stand around waiting, wasting valuable time? It’s not enough to have a good inventory management system if nobody knows how to use it. Ensure that every person who might need to use the system is sufficiently trained to do so.
3. Bad Warehouse Layout. Where you put things matters. So many companies waste countless hours each year just looking for inventory. Simple tweaks in the way you organize your physical space can go far in streamlining your day-to-day operations.
4. Obsolete Inventory Management. Why shut down your entire operation to catch up on inventory? Today, technology makes it possible to track it in real time. In many cases, there is no need to miss out on a whole day’s worth of business when you can keep tabs on inventory as you go.
5. Manual Tracking. Speaking of outdated inventory practices, manually entering data into a spreadsheet is a great way to lose money. Today, software is available to take care of this and it often does so faster and more accurately than human personnel are able to.
6. Pushing paper. Printing and hand-filing your reports and documents is, frankly, a waste of resources when information can be safely sent and stored digitally. Doing so saves you time and money, helps to free you up from confusing clutter, and eliminates the possibility of certain human errors such as losing or improperly filing paperwork.
7. Thinking Short Term. The theme of this list is that most warehouse inefficiencies are caused by a failure to see the bigger picture. It’s difficult to focus on reaching your long-term goals when you are bogged down by daily tasks. When you have a good warehouse management system in place, you can free yourself and your employees to work toward achieving your long-range business objectives.
Costa Solutions can help by providing qualified labor and quality management systems. Costa can fill in the gaps and streamline your warehouse operations by competently managing loading and unloading, scheduling, packaging and stocking, and auditing, security, and even janitorial services. Contact Costa to discuss ways you can save money and operate more efficiently.