Even though there are many companies who start employees in the receiving area, they would be much better off to assign pro's to deal with the put-away tasks. Qualified people who truly understand and know the products seldom mix items which are similar in appearance but are quite different and they know how to correctly stock shelves and bins and hence, work more efficiently.
The best suggestion for new staff is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to learn the products, paperwork and clients along with any electronic inventory system which may take some getting used to. Additionally, it is very easy to check their efficiency 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 really do not want all trucks to come at the same time. By planning arrivals and being organized, you would eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers and also eliminate too much waiting time in the yard. The more efficiently you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you would have to work that would save you money on utilities in the long run.
Operate with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you can, receive products during one shift and separate your shipping to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way may allow you to lessen the staging area needs by 50%. You may also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. What's more, by separating your shipping and receiving, you can keep track of orders more efficiently and would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road.
If the unloading process is sped up, this will really help you out because the unloaded truck can congest your yard. According to research, around 60 percent of mass merchants could unload trucks in under an hour, while approximately 20 to 30% of the grocery business performs at a similar standard. Make time to observe and time operations to be able to see exactly how your facility measures up overall.
Maintain your floors because any defects in the floor's surface could cause a lift truck operator to take a detour or slow down. The uneven floors can greatly reduce production. Uneven floors or deteriorating floor section seams or potholes also cause vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some cases, floors which are really damaged can lead to loads tipping and product damage.