Even though there are numerous companies that start employees in the receiving area, they would be a lot better off to assign pro's to deal with the put-away tasks. Experienced individuals who know and understand the products seldom mix items that are similar in appearance but are quite different and they truly know how to stock shelves and bins correctly and thus, work much more efficiently.
It is a great idea if you have new staff to start them out by filling orders. This provides them with a great opportunity to learn the products, paperwork and clients as well as any electronic inventory system that may take some getting used to. Additionally, it is easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders once they are packed for delivery.
As you do not want to have many trucks arriving at the same time, the next step is to schedule truck arrival. By being organized and scheduling arrivals, you would eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers. The more effectively you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you will need to operate which will save you money on utilities in the long run.
If you can, work different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive products in one shift and separate the shipped products to a different shift. Organizing yourself in this manner can enable you to lessen the staging area requirements by 50%. You might also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks within the warehouse. Also, by separating your shipping and receiving, you could keep track of orders more effectively and will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road.
If the process of unloading is sped up, this would really help you out as the unloaded truck could congest your yard. According to studies, approximately 60% of mass merchants are capable of unloading trucks in under 60 minutes, whereas about 20 to 30% of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Take time to observe and time operations to be able to see how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is important because floor defects may cause lift truck operators to slow down or take detours. This can lead to a reduction of efficiency. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also cause wheel wear and vehicle damage. In some situations, floors which are really damaged could result in product damage and loads tipping.