Even if there are lots of businesses who start workers in the receiving area, they will be a lot better off to assign pro's to handle the put-away jobs. Experienced people who truly understand and know the products rarely mix objects that might seem the same but are quite different and they really know how to properly stock bins and shelves and thus, work much more efficiently.
The best tip for new staff is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to know the products, paperwork and clients along with any electronic inventory system which can take some getting used to. In addition, it is easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders once they are packed for delivery.
Since you do not want to have a lot of trucks arriving at the same time, the next step is to plan truck arrival. By being organized and scheduling arrivals, you will eliminate too much waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers. The more effectively you can schedule the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you will have to work which will save you money on utilities in the long run.
Operate with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you can, receive products in one shift and separate your shipping to another shift. Organizing yourself in this manner can allow you to lessen the staging area needs by 50%. You might also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks within the warehouse. Moreover, by separating your shipping and receiving, you could keep track of orders more efficiently and will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road.
If the process of unloading is sped up, this will really help you out since the unloaded truck could congest your yard. Based on studies, approximately 60% of mass merchants could unload trucks in under an hour, whereas about 20 to 30 percent of the grocery industry performs 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 crucial as floor defects can cause forklift operators to take detours or slow down. This could lead to a reduction of efficiency. Deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors or potholes also lead to wheel wear and vehicle damage. In certain cases, floors which are really damaged can lead to product damage and loads tipping.