Some companies may choose to use new workers in the shipping and receiving area, although they may be better served to assign pros to handle these difficult jobs. Experienced people who understand and know the products seldom mix things that are similar in appearance but are somewhat different and they really know how to stock bins and shelves correctly and therefore, work more efficiently.
It is a good idea if you have new employees 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 can take some getting used to. Moreover, it is very easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders once 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 being organized and scheduling arrivals, you would eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard and also eliminate pressure on receivers and shippers. The more effectively you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you will need to operate which would save you a lot of money on utilities in the long run.
Operate with different shifts for shipping and receiving. If you are able to, receive products during one shift and separate your shipping to another shift. Organizing yourself in this manner may allow you to reduce the staging area needs by 50%. You might 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 occur down the road and could keep track of orders more effectively.
Speed up the process of unloading. This will really help you out as the longer a truck sits at your door for loading or unloading, the more congested your yard can become. According to studies, around 60 percent of mass merchants are capable of unloading trucks in under an hour, whereas around 20 to 30 percent of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Take time to observe and time operations in order to see how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is important because floor defects can cause forklift operators to slow down or take detours. This could result in a reduction of productivity. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also cause wheel wear and vehicle damage. In certain situations, floors which are really damaged could result in product damage and loads tipping.