In the distribution center, active floor management could assist the managers to improve performance in 3 key ways. Be sure to walk the floor regularly to stay abreast of issues.
It helps to identify which workers might need more training by having regular presence on management on the floor. These frequent visits can be utilized to see who may be the next to be promoted to a managerial position; it shows you consider the floor and everything which happens there and the employees to be essential to the overall operation and very important; lastly, you could deal with issues as they occur.
Determine the Utilization of Space: First, you must determine the cube utilization within you workspace, making sure to check how much empty space is located near the ceiling. Implementing higher racks and narrow aisles and certain forklifts which operate in those kinds of settings can really increase how you transport and store materials. What may not look like much wasted space could translate into thousands of extra dollars and square feet with a few adjustments.
Check for Obsolete Inventory: For example, if a SKU or stock-keeping unit has not moved in over a year, then it is considered to be consuming valuable space. Moreover, if you have many half-full pallets stored or staged in aisles, you are also not using valuable space to its full potential. By re-organizing existing stock and doing an inventory overhaul, a lot of space could be made to accommodate objects which are moving faster.
How is the Flow of Product? Take the time to trace how exactly product flows through your facility regularly. Check to see if the flow is logical and sequential. Approximately 60 percent of direct labor within the warehouse is allotted to traveling from place to place. You could probably have less staff completing the same amount of work by being aware of product flow. Being able to move staff to complete other jobs rather than having personnel doubled up transporting items will get more work out of the same amount of personnel.
The order filling process must be reviewed and if it is identified that a variety of SKUs are mixed-up in one place. If orders do not need things of this mix, pickers are wasting time. One more huge time-waster is having the same SKU situated in multiple places within the warehouse. Get the employees used of going to a specific place for every particular item so that they are simply looking in one place and not traveling through the warehouse checking more than one place for the same item. These small changes can greatly enhance the overall effectiveness within your warehouse.