The Most Common Warehouse Mistakes To Avoid

Warehousing and distribution have never been more complicated than they are now. Constraints like omni-channel distribution and delivery speed have put a lot of pressure on overall operations. Given the enormity of today’s difficulties, distribution center (DC) managers and facility engineers should try to prevent the most typical warehousing blunders. Here are some of the most common warehouse mistakes to avoid.

Lack of Inventory Accuracy

When something goes wrong at the start, it usually goes wrong at the end. Nothing is more vital than maintaining inventory accuracy within the warehouse. Inventory monitoring is practically impossible in today’s DC environment without the usage of a Warehouse Management System (WMS) or Warehouse Execution System (WES). The requirement to select the same product from multiple locations is a key barrier for DCs today. For example, having the same stock-keeping unit (SKU) in a split case area where workers collect different “parts” to fulfill online purchases might make sense. At the same time, for larger orders, it could make sense to have this same SKU in a whole case pick area.

Failure To Optimize Picking Paths

Poor order pickup path optimization within the warehouse is a very common error we see in the field. The cost of labor is the single most important factor that can affect profitability in a warehouse. Warehouse personnel must operate as effectively as possible. The position of SKUs in respect to their pick velocity should be carefully studied to achieve optimal efficiency. It’s also critical that you keep SKUs that workers frequently pick together as close to one another as possible within the warehouse. Learn how to optimize picking paths with a warehouse layout that can improve efficiency!

Utilization of Paper Processes

You’d be shocked how many businesses still rely on manual, paper-based operations. These processes are not only slow and prone to errors but also frequently result in unnecessary stages that you can avoid by using an automated process. Picking on paper, for example, is a thing of the past. Pick-to-light (PTL), pick-to-voice (PTV), and augmented reality (AR) are examples of newer warehouse picking technologies that improve operator efficiency and save money.

We hope you have enjoyed our article on the most common warehouse mistakes to avoid! While undertaking these tasks can be somewhat difficult, we assure you that if you do these things, you will notice a significant productivity boost in your warehouse!