TIPS FOR WAREHOUSE REORGANIZATION

The unprecedented growth of e-commerce in recent years has helped businesses sell more and more easily, which means they have to expand their warehouses. Average warehouse space has increased dramatically. In the US, it is estimated that US businesses will need an additional 330 million square feet of additional warehouse space by 2025 to keep up with demand.

With inventory and warehouse space increasing, businesses will need to improve the way they operate their warehouses for efficiency. Here are some warehouse organization ideas, ranging from easy fixes to structural updates, that can save as much as 90% of your usable space.

Three reasons you should invest in a warehouse organization

Researchers have confirmed the existence of a correlation between our physical and mental health and our living and working environment. Several case studies show that warehouse organization problems have a big impact on employee satisfaction, productivity, and even revenue.

1. Reason 1: Employee satisfaction

A more efficient warehouse organization will improve employee safety and motivation, reduce turnover, and increase your chances of attracting top talent.

A review published by Public Health England found that a disorganized work environment hinders creativity and can lead to employee dissatisfaction. The same study also found that improving the physical work environment for employees can reflect a company's employer brand. Besides motivating employees, efficiently organized warehouses are also safer because they reduce the risk of injury in the workplace.

2. Reason 2: Labor productivity

Princeton University Neuroscience Institute conducted a study to demonstrate how clutter affects the ability to concentrate and process information. Research shows that clutter overloads the brain with stimuli and distracts you from the task at hand. Another study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to examine the impact of clutter on brain function. It turns out that a cluttered, disorganized workspace can affect the brain's ability to react and interfere with its functioning: people are more likely to make mistakes, become sluggish, and tire easily more - all of these will directly affect the productivity of workers and thereby affect revenue.

3. Reason 3: Revenue

Inefficient, messy warehouse arrangements affect both employee satisfaction and their productivity, both of which affect business revenue. While warehouse organization solutions can take a lot of effort and investment to implement, they can make up for it more, by fixing the revenue leaks listed above and increasing production efficiency export and operate.

How to organize an effective warehouse?

Once you've identified the reasons to improve your inventory, it's time to take action. To begin with, you need to determine the specific current situation, start by study the floors vertically and horizontally.

1. Study your floor plan

Evaluate the space you have with the space you need for tasks. Is it due to limited space that your furniture has to be cluttered? Are there any objects or tasks that are required to occupy a certain space that must not be changed? Is there a certain restriction? Also, consider how to move between rooms, and areas of your space, including hallways and all the nooks and crannies. You need to guide employees and merchandise on how to move through departments and rooms seamlessly, so try to identify any obstacles that might interfere with human movement or goods, or to improve the path to reduce collisions.

2. Think horizontally and verticaly

To maximize the efficient use of available space, view your warehouse in both height and width and answer questions like:

Do you see any dead corners or empty slots?
Are your shelves wide and tall enough to hold items without too much excess space?
Do your shelves run up to the ceiling or stop mid-way, wasted space above the shelf?
If you arrange all your shelves to ceiling height to maximize space, what kind of support will your staff need to handle the shelves at the top?
What kind of goods can be stored there (maximum weight capacity)?

3. Ask your staffs

Your employees are the people who work directly with the warehouse every day, so they are the best source of insight into warehouse optimization. Ask them what they need to improve in the warehouse, what they feel is unsatisfactory or inappropriate, and share their new improvement ideas.

4. Visit other warehouses

Learning from your peers and competitors is a very effective way of learning. Visiting other warehouses will let you learn from the most advanced warehouse organization technologies to tips for more efficient warehouse management, giving you tons of ideas and inspiration.

5. Consult the experts

Warehouse experts will save you a lot of money and time (compared to having to do your own research and learn from many different sources). Modula has led the world in the development of innovative and efficient warehouse solutions. Our experts are always available to provide and guide you with the right solutions for your storage needs, the size, nature and operation of your business.

Tips to organize your warehouse more efficiently

1. Sort by Container

Instead of displaying all merchandise or displaying merchandise by date, this aims to quickly identify and retrieve product categories by quickly scanning with 1D or 2D codes. Organize your inventory into boxes or crates of the right size or material. Watch out for damp, moldy, watery hazards.

More information: Handheld code scanner Mars Tohken for warehouse applications

2. Build a detailed labeling system

A detailed and easy-to-use label system makes it easy to instantly retrieve information and items. The label usually includes the item name, quantity, and expiration date (if applicable) on each box or container. You can also use barcodes to track stored goods.

3. Using shelves

Instead of placing goods on the floor or on top of each other, put your products and frequently used items on shelves. Then products or supplies will be within reach, easily accessible without the user having to bend over or use a ladder. During racking, frequently used items should be placed in shelves that are level with or easily accessible for user convenience, as well as pushing less frequently used items to higher floors or further back in your shelf plan.

4. Use signage and safety warnings for employees

The warehouse area is an area containing many objects, blocking the view, containing many dangers for employees such as slippery floors, difficult-to-spot exits in an emergency, and easy getting lost in the warehouse, etc.

You can place paper signs or electronic signs to give directions, making it easier for your employees to find their way and navigate the way. In addition, use warning signs to indicate potential hazards such as slippery floors, hard-to-see stairs or the path to the nearest exit. Placing signposts and warning signs will help your employees easily navigate in large spaces moving in the warehouse easily and be alert to hazards, helping them save time when moving in the warehouse and feel more secure in their work environment.

5. Using maps

Imagine you have just walked into a large shopping mall with many different stores. How to quickly find the store that holds the item you need? Of course, you will often look to the map of the mall located near the entrances, elevators and central area. The map will help us determine exactly where we are and the location of the stores, thereby better orienting and quickly finding the exact store you are looking for.

This also works for a warehouse. Especially for warehouses that are large or complex, having a map that makes it easy for employees to locate, navigate, and reduce productivity losses due to lost employees is extremely helpful. Useful if you hire seasonal workers. You can place them at entrances, back doors, or send soft copies for employees to use on their mobile devices.

6. Warehouse organization is everyone's responsibility

The warehouse is a common property of the business, so in many cases, employees may feel that it is not their job to organize the warehouse or that someone else will do the work for them. Make sure all of your employees are aware that the warehouse is a shared property and that everyone is responsible for maintaining an organized, efficient common space. You can organize regular training courses for employees to remind them of the importance of organizing a proper warehouse. Highlight the benefits they can get such as working in a safer space, a healthier, more convenient and more productive work environment for themselves and their team.

7. Organize regular warehouse audits

You should hold regular warehouse audits to ensure the improvements are effective and sustainable, and continuously optimize your space. You can schedule a monthly or quarterly warehouse organization audit. Identify the person in charge of each task, ask the staff, and check with human resources (HR) for any incident reports and other data to aggregate into a source of insights to assist further improvements.

To see real change in your warehouse efficiency, you'll need to think beyond just mapping and labeling merchandise. One of the biggest obstacles in operating large-scale warehouses is the long manual execution time and frequent human error - two things that warehouse automation can solve. As an example, two storage solutions from Modula have helped companies like Audi, Biotec, and Dessauult Falcon Jet improve their warehouse organization with many outstanding advantages such as:

Eliminate the need for forklifts and weight zeroes
Maintain warehouse specific temperature ranges
Manage more than 20,000 items and help users find the right item they are looking for in just one click.

8. Efficient storage solution - vertical storage

Modula Lift vertical smart warehouse can utilize every centimeter of the height of the warehouse to optimize the use of space. Modula Lift comes in different shapes and sizes to meet your storage needs.

Internal trays with a capacity of up to 990 kg help keep your documents, goods, or accessories safe from damage or theft and are easily accessible at the touch of a button. You don't need to invest in any other expensive equipment and don't have to put in the effort to find and arrange items because Modula Lift has done it for you. Your warehouse will also be freed from piles of cardboard, boxes, and papers, reducing the risk of termites, unpleasant odors, and space-consuming.

A motorized elevator in the center of the warehouse moves selected items and delivers them to the operator, while your warehouse remains organized and clean. The standout feature of a vertical warehouse system is that they allow you to save up to 90% of your warehouse floor space. In other words: using a vertical smart warehouse saves you space and increases your existing capacity.

More information: Modula Lift - Smart vertical warehouse

9. Horizontal storage solution

Modula Horizontal Carousel is a suitable solution for production and distribution areas where ceiling height is not sufficient for vertical storage solutions. Designed to be extremely ergonomic, the Modula Horizontal Carousel can be used in areas with complex architectural and geometrical problems (distorted houses, ...)

It works on a horizontal rotation: when the operator “calls” for a specific item, the conveyor belt positions and rotates the item from the shelf to the surface. Horizontal conveyors can be grouped up to four products; when the moderator selects items from one of them, the others move and prepare the next batch of items, allowing a maximum draw of 550 items per hour per station.

Automated warehouse solutions are complete with Warehouse Software Solutions that work in real-time and come with a user-friendly PC interface. The warehouse process can be quick, easy, and even fun, for the benefit of all: customers, employees, and business owners!

More information: Modula Horizontal Carousel - Smart horizontal warehouse

Summary

Easy, small-scale organizational fixes for quick productivity. However, they are only sustainable when they are consistent. Structural upgrades such as automated storage systems offer great long-term benefits. Although expensive, they are sustainable and are the ultimate, long-term solution to your warehouse organization's needs.