Ways You Can Speed up Order Fulfillment in Warehousing

Speed and efficiency are everything when it comes to order fulfillment in warehousing. From the order coming in to the packaging, you lose profit every second it takes longer than it should. That’s why so many places study and research ways you can speed up order fulfillment in warehousing and why you should read ahead for some ideas.

Floor Design

Warehouses potentially lose massive amounts of time due to poor floor planning and weak storage area designs. For the best results when making changes, look for ways to make more direct paths in your warehouse that don’t intersect with each other. This’ll help speed up picking and help employees navigate the area when performing their duties. Additionally, a good floor design will give enough room for employees when they do their work.

Traffic Flow

Items naturally flow in and out of a warehouse. You should consider that flow when planning your building and storage area. Creating picking systems that bunch employees together and make them wait will only lower your efficiency. Try to have a separate area for picking items and a place for intake to avoid congestion.

Organization

A large alteration that doesn’t require a full change to your storage area is organizing and labeling everything. Grouping items together and putting frequently picked items near the front can speed up order fulfillment immensely. Labeling your storage area with signs can help workers navigate the area without confusion and speed up picking.

Technologies

Invest in technology that improves your efficiency. Although there will be an upfront cost, you’ll make back your money because it saves you time and expenses later. Things like automatic pickers can automate a lot of difficult tasks. Additionally, order fulfillment software has many important features that help with inventory management and enable workers.

Communication

Communication is key for any warehouse that’s looking for more efficiency. Bad communication leads to problems and confusion. Creating systems and using equipment for communication can eliminate confusion and speed up processing.

If you’re looking for ways you can speed up order fulfillment in warehousing, these steps are great places to start. They may have an initial cost, but they’ll be well worth it when you save a lot of money in the end.