3 Things Warehouses Must Do Well
- Distribute goods
- Locate inventory
- Manage facilities
These functions are essential for optimal warehouse operations, but these three areas are also where many warehouses fail to perform. Warehouse management has the goal of getting the products shipped in a timely, accurate fashion. That means inventory must be easy to find, and it means the facilities operate at optimal functionality.
Distribute Goods
Warehouses exist to store goods until they are needed, but if those goods are bottlenecked somewhere, there’s a problem. If a warehouse cannot handle things like cross-dock processing or wave-based distribution, that warehouse is not going to be able to distribute goods with the efficiency needed in today’s competitive arena. There are many ways to ship goods today, and a warehouse needs to be capable of using the method that is appropriate for that particular shipment.
Warehouse management – Locate Inventory
Before an item can be shipped, it must be found. In order to be found, inventory status has to be real-time down to SKU level. The layout and mechanics of storage must be optimal for locating the exact item needed for shipment. In addition, sales agents need to know what is open to sell so they can offer current inventory to potential clients.
Manage Facilities
In order to locate inventory and distribute goods efficiently, warehouse facilities must be managed effectively. From configuring of dedicated space to tracking process status and evaluating productivity, every detail of warehouse management is important.
Distributing goods, locating inventory, and managing facilities requires the right software. Well-designed warehouse management software is capable of handling all the details affecting your facilities because it can be customized for precise applications.
For a look at how ChainDrive can make your warehouse management successful, customize your request for a free live demo. Be sure to list the things you’d like to make sure your warehouse does well, and the areas that are currently not doing well — your “pain points” can be specifically addressed in your custom demo.