Common Warehouse Management Problems

 Accidental redundancy

Most warehouses perform multiple operations on each item, and those operations are strung together to create workflows. But if a workflow isn’t well organized, you may find that the same operation is being accidentally performed more than once. These redundancies increase your labor costs and take up extra time when you have to go back and reverse the mistake. This happens more often in large warehouses than in smaller ones, since there’s more space and more inventory to deal with.

Redundancy is often noticed in order picking, which is when products are picked from their storage locations in a warehouse to fulfil an order. In smaller warehouses, order picking is a one-person job which leaves little room for error. But in a larger warehouse, multiple people work together to pick products from different parts of the warehouse to fulfill a single order. Since the same order is passed around to multiple people, there’s a bigger chance for mistakes, like picking too many of the same products.

A solution is to invest in technology, such as a modern warehouse execution system (WES), that will help you automate the processes that are prone to redundancy in your warehouse. For instance, to help reduce redundancy in order picking, you could use barcode technology to scan the products that have been picked for the order and have the system notify the user of any duplicates.

Messy warehouse layout

Over the years, rising storage costs have pushed warehouse managers into making more efficient use of their warehouse space. But a survey conducted by Logistics Management back in 2018 suggests that it doesn’t always work—the average warehouse capacity utilized by manufacturers was only around 68%. Not having enough storage because of ineffective use of space is still a common pain point in warehouses.

Putting together an optimal warehouse layout can solve this problem. This includes maximizing use of the floor space and vertical space while leaving enough room for warehouse employees to pass through. It also means looking into ways to use automation and equipment to reduce labor and labor costs, improving the accessibility of products in the warehouse, categorizing inventory in a systematized way, and ensuring that inventory is stored safely.

To start optimizing your use of warehouse space:

• Look into the technology that can help you organise your warehouse’s layout, such as a warehouse management system (WMS). Some WMSs can offer you a 3D model of the most optimal arrangement, if given the dimensions and measurements of your warehouse and inventory. You can also consider an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), which is a network of several computer-controlled pieces of equipment that automates your putaway and picking processes. Besides improving the speed and efficiency of your processes, an AS/RS can save a huge amount of otherwise wasted warehouse floor space.

• If you’re not ready to upgrade your technology, you can always start simple instead. Use your existing solution for managing your inventory and sales to figure out what items from your inventory sell the quickest. Then make sure that you’re storing those items in the most easily accessible locations, so that they can be picked and put away faster.

Bad inventory management

Have you been experiencing any of these issues?

• Expecting to find a product in a certain location, but realizing that it’s actually placed somewhere else.

• Accepting an order on the assumption that you have enough stock to fulfill it, and only later finding out that you don’t. Now you have to place a backorder, which significantly extends your order lead time.

• Denying an order after assuming that you don’t have enough stock to fulfill it, but then finding out that you do.

• Trying to put away stock that you’ve received but having trouble finding where to place it.

Any of these problems can indicate that you haven’t been maintaining accurate records of your inventory and updating them consistently. According to a study conducted by Wasp Barcode Technologies, 43% of small businesses either don’t track inventory or use a manual method. Another survey by Peoplevox, found that 34% of businesses have delayed shipping because the products mentioned in the order were not actually in stock. Miscalculations can easily happen when inventory checking processes are done manually, since this leaves plenty of room for human error. Sometimes they can also happen when using outdated software.

One way to overcome these warehouse challenges is by switching to a newer solution. This could either be a system that’s specific to inventory management or an overall warehouse management software that includes real-time inventory management features. A typical system first collects your inventory data through a handheld or fixed device such as a barcode scanner. This information is then sent to your software solution, which catalogues and tracks your inventory.

 Common Warehouse Management Problems