Some businesses might choose to utilize new workers in the shipping and receiving area, though they may be better served to assign pros to handle these challenging tasks. Qualified individuals who understand and know the products rarely mix things which might look the same but are somewhat different and they know how to stock bins and shelves properly and hence, work a lot more effectively.
The best tip for new staff is to start them out filling orders. This provides them with a great opportunity to learn the products, paperwork and clients along with any electronic inventory system which might take some getting used to. In addition, it is easy to check their effectiveness by going over their work orders when they are packed for shipment.
The next suggestion is to schedule the truck arrival, because you truly do not want all trucks to come at the same time. By being organized and scheduling arrivals, you would eliminate pressure on shippers and receivers and also eliminate too much waiting time in the yard. The more efficiently you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the fewer dock doors you would have to work which will 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 another shift. Organizing yourself in this manner could allow you to lessen the staging area needs by 50 percent. You might also be able to eliminate time-wasting bottlenecks in the warehouse. Furthermore, by separating your shipping and receiving, you would know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road and could keep track of orders more efficiently.
If the process of unloading is sped up, this would tremendously help you out because the unloaded truck could congest your yard. Based on research, about 60 percent of mass merchants can unload trucks in less than an hour, whereas around 20 to 30% of the grocery industry works at a similar standard. Take time to watch and time operations to be able to see precisely how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is key because floor defects could 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 cause wheel wear and vehicle damage. In certain situations, floors which are really damaged could lead to loads tipping and product damage.