10 Common Warehouse Mistakes

Are you making these common warehouse mistakes?

Is your business making these incredibly common warehouse mistakes? Here, we’ll discuss what they are, and help you strategize and overcome the challenges of maximizing your warehouse operations efficiency now and in the future.

Most Common Warehouse Challenges
and Potential Solutions

1. High Elevation Environment

Problem
Too many warehouses contain products stored at too high a height for a safe working environment.

Solution
Create stable and portable work platforms.

• Lifts can assist employees in getting their work done safely in high elevation conditions.
• Telescoping boom lifts, controlled by an operator on top of the work platform, can extend the vertical reach of your employee
• Articulating boom lifts can be driven at full elevation to enable your employees to reach positions that a telescoping boom lift cannot.
• Use scissor lifts when more workspace and lifting capacity is needed. Scissor lifts provide a broader work platform and can handle heavier loads.

2. Labor Intensive Environment

Problem
Using personnel when transporting products from one location to another in the warehouse wastes valuable time that employees could spend on other vital tasks.

Solution
Incorporate using machinery to move product.

• Incorporate a weasel in your facility, a transporting system facilitating automatic carts by navigating on an optical tracking path moving product throughout the warehouse.

3. Holding Excess Inventory

Problem
A common problem with wholesalers is excess inventory. Wholesalers frequently make large purchases of products because of bulk quantity discounts.

Solution
Reduce inventory levels. To make your supply chain leaner ties up less money in your stock. Some suppliers offer the means for you to purchase large orders at a discount but have them delivered in smaller quantities as your warehouse needs them.

4. Inaccurate Inventory

Problem
Inaccurate inventory counts increase expenses, create lost revenue, and increase low productivity. Inaccurate inventory lists also cause challenges in maintaining incorrect stock stockpiles and levels of obsolete inventory. Picking problems develop when pickers receive erroneous information leading to inefficiency.

Solution
Today’s technology of automated systems offers accurate and real-time information about stock levels.

• Develop and implement a check and balance to automated systems by doing a regular physical inventory to count inventory and match it to the computer database inventory.

5. Clutter and Disorganization

Problem
Disorganized aisles, loading docks, and general warehouse spaces have serious safety implications and indicate poor efficiency. A disorganized and messy warehouse obstructs the flow of people, machinery, and product, reducing productivity in your facility.

Solution
Enforce a strict regimen of proper cleaning and organization. Allow for a time at the end of each work shift for employees to clean and clear up their work areas. Allowing the time for employees to clean and organize at the end of their day enables the next group of staff to start productive work without delay saving valuable time and money.

6. Poor Safety and Health Management

Problem
Even an organized warehouse is not automatically a safe warehouse. Worker compensation claims and OSHA fines can lead to massive payouts from your business. Over time, employees who do not work in safe environments often slow down their productivity, taking a toll on your business and overall costs.

Solution
First and foremost, be proactive by optimizing and enforcing your safety practices.

• Perform regular risk assessments, look for visible and hidden hazards in the warehouse environment.
• Have a reporting system for reporting accidents and near misses.
• Analyze causes for accidents and act to eliminate them.
• Do not overlook safety and health because your warehouse is busy.

7. Lack of Preventative Maintenance

Problem
Some companies disregard a routine preventative maintenance program with the mindset that it’s too expensive. In truth, the cost of not having a preventive maintenance program is more costly than having one.

Solution
Establish efficient warehouse operations with proper maintenance checks for your loading dock, doors, and storage and handling equipment.

• Create and implement a comprehensive preventative maintenance checklist

8. Poor facility Layout and Workflow

Problem
Inadequate, inefficient use of storage space have potential negative impacts on your company profits and employee safety.

Solution
Maximize the use of space in your warehouse.

• Assess the floor and vertical space available and determine the best uses.
• Make inventory easily accessible by placing it at the most convenient location.
• Forklifts maximize storage spaces by configuring items in both horizontal and vertical areas.

9. Employee Turnover

Problem
Insufficient employee training and development is a common reason leading to workers resigning and leaving your company.

Solution
Develop a comprehensive employee training and development department.

• Ensure there are detailed training plans for every position within your company.
• Ensure each worker has a career development plan specific to their aspirations.
• Properly trained employees are more efficient, have higher work quality production, and have decreased risk of injuries.

10. No plan for Future and Change

Problem
Not planning for the future or for continual change results in a company that isn’t growing and evolving and will eventually collapse.

Solution
Develop a plan that anticipates future expansion and reduction and have a contingency plan. Evaluate your strategy regularly and update your program each time you evaluate it. Your strategic planning for the future should include the following process:

• Outline your current operations.
• Determine your current inventory needs.
• Define weaknesses and needs for change in your current operations.
• Identify alternative solutions.
• Anticipate changes in market demand.
• Anticipate changes in inventory.
• Anticipate process changes.
• Keep well-informed of the most recent technology used in your industry.
• Anticipate supply chain interruptions and have a regularly updated list of alternate supply chain sources.

Parts Brite can help you today

With our sales office located in Southern California Parts Brite quickly ships high-quality aftermarket loading dock parts directly from our manufacturers to your warehouse anywhere in the United States, Mexico, and Canada saving you time and money.
At Parts Brite we are aware of rising trends, technologies, and challenges that your business faces every day. Parts Brite is committed to staying up to date on the industry operational challenges and strive to help you get the most from your business. To learn more about how we can help you, or to ask us a question, please call Parts Brite today toll-free at 1-855-PARTSBRITE (1-855-727-8727).