7 ways to boost warehouse productivity

Are you looking for a more efficient way to achieve your warehouse productivity goals? If you need to reduce picking times, increase throughput rates and keep your costs to a minimum, follow our tips below and give your warehouse production levels the ultimate boost.

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1. Automate your picking operations

Using conveyor systems, advanced warehouse software and barcode scanners will allow you to automate your picking operations and increase it’s efficiency. Not only will you be able to achieve speedier picking but also increased accuracy, which will lead to lower postage costs and improved customer satisfaction.

2. Goods-to-person technology

Using technology that brings the items to the pickers’ station, preventing them from having to travel all over the warehouse can also save a significant amount of time on order fulfilment. The quicker it is for employees to pick and pack their orders, the more they can get sent out in a day, resulting in higher levels of productivity. View our WMS and picking page for more information

3. Use a WCS

Warehouse control systems allow you to improve the efficiency of processes that would typically slow down the performance of your warehouse management system. These tools can be used to control all sorts of warehouse equipment including conveyor and sortation systems.

4. Utilise RFID technology

Radio frequency identification technology can be used to increase the accuracy and efficiency of your warehouse operations. By providing a greater insight to your critical processes and allowing for real-time inventory management, RFID will allow warehouse staff to benefit from a better sense of coordination in the supply chain.

5. Measure workers’ performance

A great way to incentivise warehouse staff to improve their accuracy and picking rates is to measure their performance. Using data collection tools and software, you will be able to track their efforts and create benchmarking results for them to work towards. This typically works best when integrated with a reward system to acknowledge exceptional workers.

6. Encourage task interweaving

If you want your warehouse staff to make better use of their time, you may want to encourage a process called task interweaving. This basically means that when workers have picked orders and dropped them off at the dock, on their way back to the picking station, they carry out other productive tasks such as picking products for the next order. Highlighting this as best practice is sure to boost warehouse productivity.

7. Restructure your warehouse

How would you rate your warehouse’s layout out of 10? Could it do with reorganising? Changing the layout of your warehouse so that your most popular products are located in easy-to-access areas for speedy picking is one of the easiest ways to boost warehouse productivity.

Interested in finding out more about boosting warehouse productivity? Take a look at our automated warehouse solutions and get in touch to speak to one of our experts.

Image credit: Gwan Kho