- Managing expectations
- Reducing risk
- Proper scheduling
- Warehouse functions
- Receiving goods
- Item put-away
- Order picking
- Inspection, packaging, and shipping
This component of the supply chain is integral in the process of supervising the flow of goods from manufacturers to warehouses then to the point of sales. Many professionals, even agents from HR in the Philippines, try to help other companies optimize their warehouse management by holding HR seminars in the Philippines on maximizing operations as well as other integral topics. Let’s take a look at the basics of warehouse management:
Managing Expectations
The first step of inventory management involves managing your expectations. Especially when implementing a new inventory management system. Adopting a new system or if you’re starting out with inventory management, it’s essential to always meet the demands and expectations of company directors, logistics managers, and operations.
Managing expectations won’t just involve keeping up with the demands of your clients, you need to effectively manage the expectations of your warehouse staff as well. This involves being transparent and keeping your fellow employees up to date with what’s going on. It is the job of management to properly communicate with their employees and clients in order to manage expectations from every point of the process to ensure smooth operating transitions.
Reducing Risk
One must always foresee all potential risks that may occur and come up with various measures to prevent impending problems from arising. There are a variety of risks that could happen with a person’s warehouse space and a disruption in the supply chain. Here are a few risks that one should be prepared for:
- Fire
This is one of the most destructive risks that could happen to a warehouse. Apart from the damage of products, people’s lives are at risk as well. There are lots of preventive measures that could mitigate potential fires. Ensure that every corner of your warehouse has a fire suppression system, install smoke alarms, and most important of all, train your employees to practice fire safety and when to identify fire hazards.
- Flood
The frequency of this risk depends on where your warehouse is situated. Areas that are prone to high water flood levels may be at risk for inventory and warehouse damage. It is nearly impossible to totally prevent the effects of a flood, but there are ways to reduce the impact of a flood.
First of all, everyone working at the warehouse must be aware of the flood warnings of the area. Next, have regular flood risk assessments and inspections for goods that are susceptible to flood damage and reshelve them. Never forget to regularly clean and maintain drains. Another thing you could do is to install barriers to seal doors, windows, floors, or any other potential areas where water may leak through during a flood. Finally, keep everything of top priority and anything electrically powered, such as wires, above the ground. If your warehouse was hit by a flood, have a professional inspect the area and only resume operations once the warehouse is totally clean and dry.
Proper Scheduling
In order to ensure seamless operations and smooth transfer of goods, warehouse management will involve the use of a proper scheduling system. Systematically scheduling tasks, priorities, and objectives require effective communication and clear delivery of data from different warehouse management teams.
When coming up with a schedule, try to be as realistic as possible and allocate allowances for any unexpected circumstances. A flexible plan allows your warehouse employees to work within a timeframe that will accommodate every team member and accomplish their goals.
Warehouse Functions
By definition, a warehouse is a place that is used to store goods. But for business, they’re more than just storage spaces for your inventory; there’s a system involved, many forms, functions, and configuration come to play when a workhouse is managed properly for business. Let’s take a look at the major functions of a warehouse:
Receiving Goods
The first step that involves managing a warehouse in the supply chain is receiving the goods. Receiving the items or goods will determine the pace of the process. Enhancing the process of receiving an item can be done through receiving advanced notifications from a supplier, synchronizing warehouse equipment to avoid congestion, and preparing items that are set to exit the warehouse for transport.
Item Put-Away
This step in the process of inventory management is all about organization. Dozens of information comes with goods that are received by the warehouse. Warehouse managers typically sort out their goods using two methods, direct put away and batched put away. Direct put away involves knowing where the goods will be stored even before they arrive, batched put away means that similar items and goods are grouped together.
Order Picking
Order picking is the process right after or when the warehouse receives goods. It is also the most taxing and time-consuming part of the warehouse management process. The difficulty of order picking will depend on the size and number of packages received. You could have one picker for one order, one picker for multiple orders, or multiple pickers for multiple orders.
Inspection, Packaging, and Shipping
The final step of warehouse management involves the last order preparations, quality inspection, proper packaging, and ensuring safe and swift shipping. A lot may go on during this final stage: creating dispatch notes, shipping labels, weighing, and packaging.
Key Takeaway
Warehouse management involves a whole lot of meticulous process and an optimized operations team. If you’re looking to enhance your operations team, you and your employees could attend an HR seminar in the Philippines. Your inventory management teams will find value in improving operations through these talks that are held by the country’s most highly-reputable experts.
