Even if there are a lot of businesses that start workers in the receiving area, they would be much better off to assign pro's to handle the put-away tasks. Qualified people who really know and understand the products seldom mix items which may look the same but are quite different and they know how to properly stock shelves and bins and hence, 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 chance to know the products, paperwork and customers as well as any electronic inventory system that could take some getting used to. In addition, it is really easy to check their efficiency by going over their work orders when they are packed for delivery.
Because 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 pressure on receivers and shippers and also eliminate excessive waiting time in the yard. The more effectively you could schedule the arrival of your trucks, the less dock doors you will need to work which would really 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 in one shift and separate the shipped items to another shift. Organizing yourself in this way can allow you to lessen the staging area needs by 50%. You might also be able to get rid of time-wasting bottlenecks within the warehouse. In addition, by separating your shipping and receiving, you can keep track of orders more efficiently and will know which shift to look over if any discrepancies occur down the road.
If the process of unloading is sped up, this would tremendously help you out as the unloaded truck can congest your yard. Based on research, around 60% of mass merchants can unload trucks in under 60 minutes, while about 20 to 30 percent of the grocery industry performs at a similar standard. Take time to watch and time operations in order to see how your facility measures up overall.
Floor maintenance is key as floor defects could cause lift truck operators to slow down or take detours. This could lead to a reduction of productivity. Potholes or deteriorating floor section seams or uneven floors also result in vehicle damage and wheel wear. In some cases, really damaged floors can result in loads tipping and product damage.