Even if there are a lot of businesses who begin employees in the receiving area, they will be a lot better off to allot pro's to deal with the put-away jobs. Qualified individuals who understand and know the products rarely mix things that are similar in appearance but are quite different and they really know how to stock shelves and bins correctly and hence, work much more effectively.
The best suggestion for new employees is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with a terrific opportunity to know the products, customers and paperwork as well as any electronic inventory system which can take some getting used to. In addition, it is very easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for shipment.
The next tip is to plan the truck arrival, because you truly do not want all trucks to come at the same time. By scheduling arrivals and being organized, you would eliminate too much waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers. The more efficiently you can plan the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you will need to operate that would really save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
Work with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you can, receive goods during one shift and separate your shipping to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way could enable you to lessen the staging area requirements by 50%. You might also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. As well, by separating your shipping and receiving, you could keep track of orders more effectively and would 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 as the unloaded truck can congest your yard. According to studies, around 60% of mass merchants could unload trucks in under 60 minutes, whilst approximately 20 to 30% of the grocery industry performs at a similar standard. Take time to watch and time operations to be able to see exactly how your facility measures up overall.
Maintain your floors as any defects in the surface of the floor can cause a lift truck operator to take a detour or slow down. The uneven floors can really reduce production. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also cause vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some cases, floors which are really damaged could result in product damage and loads tipping.