The global pandemic saw consumer demand for products grow to never-before-seen heights. E-commerce companies have been challenged by expectations for faster delivery as the public wants the convenience of receiving their purchases as quickly as possible. Warehouse managers have been feeling pressure to have requested items in stock since customers are likely to move on instead of waiting for their purchases to become available due to stock-outs.
The following tips will help you manage your inventory more effectively. They will assist you in evaluating your processes so that you can develop clear strategies to increase efficiency in your inventory management practices.
Warehouse Inventory Management Tips
1. Ask front-line employees for input.
To find out what the specific “pain points” are in the warehouse, ask the employees who work in that environment. Make a point of asking the employees with the following job functions what they think the difficulties are in the warehouse:
- Interacting with customers
- Interacting with suppliers
- Loading and unloading shipments
- Picking stock
- Stocking shelves
Ask them specifically which tasks take up most of their time during the workday. Find out whether there are any specific processes they can suggest that would increase efficiency.
2. Re-evaluate the warehouse layout.
Consider which products are moving most often off warehouse shelves and optimize the warehouse layout accordingly. Group products that are frequently sold together in bins that are close by so your pickers can save steps when assembling orders.
Move seasonal items or those that are no longer in demand away from heavy-traffic areas of the warehouse to make room for more popular ones. It is important to optimize the available space based on product demand throughout the year to increase efficiency in processing orders.
3. Look up to make the most of vertical space.
A warehouse only has a limited amount of square footage available. Warehouse managers are challenged with storing a growing number of products in a fixed amount of space. It pays to get creative and use all the available vertical space with shelves and bins stacked on top of each other. These should be used for products that sell less frequently so your pickers focus most of their time and attention on items stored close to the warehouse floor. Your team members should be able to access bestsellers quickly to fill customer orders.
4. Use software to automate processes and provide valuable inventory insights.
The right software can help you gain control over your warehouse inventory. It provides detailed information about which items are selling well and the ones that are less popular with customers. This valuable tool gives you the insight required to manage costs while ensuring customers receive their orders in a timely manner.
Sage 100 Offers a Complete Solution for SMBs
Are you running a small-to-mid-size business? Are you looking to move away from pen and paper inventory records to an automated solution? Sage 100 is a solution that gives you the flexibility to set up the software in the way that works best for your business.
Scalable. This business management solution is usually installed on an application server. It can be connected to multiple computer workstations. You can choose Sage 100 with confidence since it is capable of taking on more capacity as your business grows.
Flexible Hosting. Do you prefer to have your inventory management software hosted locally? No problem. With Sage 100, you can choose to host the software on your network or opt for a cloud-based format.
Product Bundles. Choose the product bundle that makes sense to your business now. Change it when you need to. Sage 100 can be configured to suit your company’s needs.
Would you like to find out more about Sage 100 and how it can help you manage your accounting and inventory needs? Contact us today to arrange your free consultation.