Even if there are a lot of companies who start workers in the receiving area, they would be much better off to assign professionals to deal with the put-away jobs. Qualified people who truly know and understand the products seldom mix things that might look the same but are somewhat different and they truly know how to properly stock shelves and bins and hence, work much more effectively.
The best tip for new employees is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with a great chance to learn the products, clients and paperwork as well as any electronic inventory system which might take some getting used to. Additionally, it is very easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for delivery.
The next suggestion is to plan the truck arrival, because you really do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By planning arrivals and being organized, you would eliminate too much waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers. The more effectively you can plan the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you would have to work that will truly save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
If you are able to, operate different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive goods during one shift and separate the shipped products to another shift. Organizing yourself in this manner may enable you to reduce the staging area needs by 50%. You may also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. In addition, by separating your shipping and receiving, you will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road and can keep track of orders more effectively.
Speed up the unloading process. This will tremendously help you out as the longer a truck sits at your door for unloading or loading, the more congested your yard can become. According to research, around 60% of mass merchants could unload trucks in less than an hour, whereas roughly 20 to 30 percent of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Take time to observe and time operations in order to see how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is important because floor defects can cause forklift operators to slow down or take detours. This could lead to a reduction of efficiency. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also result in wheel wear and vehicle damage. In certain cases, floors which are really damaged could lead to product damage and loads tipping.