Why Your Warehouse Putaway Process Matters & How to Optimize It
The location of your goods and items in your warehouse plays a more significant role than you may have thought. When you organize your inventory correctly, it makes processes easy and convenient. There is also a trickle-down effect on plenty of other tasks that are performed throughout the environment. Time is money, so locating items a few seconds faster saves you valuable time throughout production.
The bottom line is that it can pay – literally – to invest in your warehouse putaway process. In this article, we’ll discuss the putaway process, warehouse process flow, and more to help you optimize your operations. Here’s a closer look:
Putaway Meaning (And Why it Matters)
The putaway process is the act of moving and storing items in your warehouse. There’s likely to be multiple receiving bays and shipments arriving each day that make up the busy environment. Disruptions to the putaway process and difficulties locating items needed for outbound shipments will likely cause costly delays. That’s why warehouse managers should emphasize improving this process. Now let’s examine how one can go about this.
How to Optimize the Warehouse Putaway Process
1. Assess Your Current Putaway Process
Step one is simple: analyze. Assess your current putaway processes and determine where improvements can be made. No method is perfect, so find your weak points where you can improve. When it comes to the putaway process, it’s likely not going to be one thing that makes a difference; instead, plan to create several minor adjustments.
2. Reduce Travel Time
Process optimization is an integral part of streamlining the putaway process, as is limiting the steps you take to reduce your travel time. For example, it’s crucial to cut down on time it takes moving from the receiving area to storage. Once you determine the quickest route, make this clear to everyone who uses it. Mark the floor with stickers, practice it with your workers, and explain to your team why taking it is ideal.
3. Invest in the Right Storage Equipment
What you store your goods in is just as important as where you keep them. Storage equipment, such as pallet racks, cantilever racks, shelving, decking, and cabinets, can make the putaway process easier. The organization process is simple with the correct equipment. These storage solutions are more than just practical; they save space and allow for more room in your warehouse.
4. Keep Your Warehouse Clean
A clean, organized warehouse isn’t just a more efficient one – it’s also a much safer one. When you’re performing a putaway, the last thing you want is to run into obstacles. Make sure not to deviate from the defined path. Minimizing obstacles and hazards won’t just make putaway go smoother, but it will also reduce the number of accidents your facility has. That’s a win-win proposition.
A-Lined Handling Systems Can Help You Automate Warehouse Processes
A-Lined Handling Systems are the experts in optimizing warehouse processes.
We can evaluate your warehouse and suggest how to improve efficiency and profitability. A-Lined Handling Systems has the resources to boost putaway productivity and establish the best warehouse practices.
If you want to learn more about how you can optimize your warehouse putaway process, contact A-Lined Handling Systems today!