Even if there are many companies who begin workers in the receiving area, they would be much better off to allot pro's to handle the put-away jobs. Experienced people who understand and know the products rarely mix objects that may look the same but are somewhat different and they know how to properly stock bins and shelves and thus, work more effectively.
The best suggestion for new staff is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with an excellent opportunity to learn the products, paperwork and clients along with any electronic inventory system which may take some getting used to. Moreover, it is easy to check their efficiency by going over their work orders as soon as they are packed for shipment.
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 planning arrivals and being organized, you will eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers. The more efficiently you can plan the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you would have to work that would save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
If you are able to, work different shifts for shipping and receiving. One method is to receive products in one shift and separate the shipped items to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way may enable you to reduce the staging area requirements by 50%. You may also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. Also, by separating your shipping and receiving, you will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies happen down the road and could keep track of orders more effectively.
Speed up the process of unloading. This would tremendously help you out because the longer a truck sits at your door for loading or unloading, the more congested your yard could become. According to research, about 60 percent of mass merchants are capable of unloading trucks in under an hour, whereas around 20 to 30% of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Make time to observe and time operations in order to see exactly how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is crucial since floor defects may cause forklift operators to take detours or slow down. This could result in a reduction of efficiency. Uneven floors or deteriorating floor section seams or potholes also result in wheel wear and vehicle damage. In certain situations, floors which are really damaged could lead to product damage and loads tipping.