Some companies might prefer to use new employees in the shipping and receiving area, though they may be better served to allocate pros to handle these difficult tasks. Experienced people who understand and know the products rarely mix objects that are similar in appearance but are quite different and they truly know how to properly stock bins and shelves and hence, work more effectively.
It is a great idea if you have new staff to start them out by filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to know the products, customers and paperwork as well as any electronic inventory system which might take some getting used to. Additionally, it is really easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders when they are packed for delivery.
The next suggestion is to plan the truck arrival, because you really do not want all trucks to arrive at the same time. By planning arrivals and being organized, you would eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers and also eliminate too much waiting time in the yard. The more effectively you can plan the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you would need to work that would truly save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
If you can, work different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive goods during one shift and separate the shipped items to a different shift. Organizing yourself in this manner may allow you to lessen the staging area requirements by 50%. You might also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. Also, by separating your shipping and receiving, you can keep track of orders more efficiently and would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road.
Speed up the process of unloading. This will really help you out since the longer a truck sits at your door for unloading or loading, the more congested your yard can become. According to research, approximately 60% of mass merchants could unload trucks in less than 60 minutes, whereas around 20 to 30% of the grocery industry performs at a similar standard. Make time to observe and time operations in order to see exactly how your facility measures up overall.
Maintain your floors because any defects in the floor's surface can cause a lift truck operator to take a detour or slow down. The uneven floors can greatly decrease production. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also result in vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some situations, floors which are really damaged can lead to loads tipping and product damage.