A well-managed warehouse is a key to the successful storage and delivery of goods. Efficient and smooth warehouse operations can make all the difference in ensuring that your goods are delivered on time and in good condition.
If you think warehouse management is all about storing the goods in the warehouse, you are wrong. There are also other processes involved in warehouse management, which help to smoothen the operations from receiving the goods to delivering them.
Here are five vital processes involved in warehouse management.
1. Receiving
This is the first step involved in warehouse management. Here, the goods arrive at the warehouse, and the staff check the goods to ensure the quantity is correct and the quality is intact.
Once the goods are received at the warehouse, the complete responsibility of the goods shifts to the warehouse manager. This means that the warehouse managers must:
-Ensure the goods remain in their actual condition until it gets shipped.
-Ensure the goods don’t pile up in the storage area.
When the goods reach the warehouse, GRN (Goods Receipt Note) will be generated and cross-checked with the packing list provided and it’ll be shared with the customer.
Warehouse managers usually use equipment like power pallet trucks and conveyors to move and organise the goods so that the process won’t slow down. For efficient management, some warehouses use a labour management system, which helps to allocate their staff as per the size of the order.
2. Put-away
Put-away is the process where the goods are moved to a storage place. The put-away process is a critical part of warehouse management because it determines how quickly and easily goods can be accessed when they are needed.
Here, the goods will be stored in either inventory or the main storage area according to the requirement. Furthermore, the nature, weight, and size of the goods are also considered to determine the storage place. Most warehouse management companies boast dedicated put-away teams and leverage automated or digitalized systems to make the process simpler. A well-planned put-away procedure can help to:
-Store the goods without delay
-Utilize the space efficiently
-Ensure the safety of goods
-Track and retrieve cargo easily
-Make it easier to dispatch the goods
3. Picking
The picking process in warehouse management is the procedure of selecting the right goods from the storage shelves in the warehouse and releasing the local market based on the requirement.
Needless to say, ensuring the right goods are picked is crucial in this process. Hence, a system of barcodes and scanners is used to track the items and ensure that the correct goods are selected.
Some of the technologies warehouses use here are:
- Put Walls
- Put-to-light Systems
- Goods-to-person Systems
- Cross-belt Sortation Systems
Ultimately, these technologies help to correctly pick the goods and dispatch them.
4. Packing the Goods
As the name suggests, the picked goods are packed in this process for dispatching. The goods are protected with boxes and labeled in this process. It’s essential to ensure the goods are perfectly packed the recipient getting damaged goods is the last thing any warehouse would want.
The packing material and method here are chosen according to the size, quantity, fragility, and nature of the goods. During packing, the staff also assesses the accuracy of the information on the label and the quality of the packing. Moreover, the goods are also made traceable by assigning certain tracking codes.
5. Dispatch and Sending Goods
This is the process where warehouse managers allocate resources for the goods and ship the goods to the destination. During the dispatch process, GDN (Goods Dispatch Note) will be generated and shared with the customer.
The utmost care and expert management are necessary here to tackle the overcrowding of goods and delay in successfully shipping the goods.
When the goods are made ready for shipping too early, the staging area can get crowded. And, when the dispatching delays, shipment delays. Hence, the warehouse manager should align the time for packing and dispatching with the carrier’s pick-up and loading time.
This particular process is integral because the time taken for delivery depends on how well the dispatching and shipping are done.
Wrapping Up
And, that’s that. These are the 5 vital processes in warehouse management. Ensuring all these processes are carried out error-free determines whether goods reach their destination intact and on time. Ultimately, it helps warehouse management companies to stand out. So, when you choose a logistics company for warehouse management, choose wisely by checking whether their processes are seamless.
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