(678) 534-0450

(678) 534-0450

(678) 534-0450

Picking and Racking Tips From The Ecommerce Experts

Warehouse racking is one of the most crucial components of an infrastructure that enables smooth operation and optimum organization of your warehouse. Pallet racks allow warehouses to utilize their space usage and effectively track their goods while providing quick access for streamlined picking.

However, you must understand that having the right kind of pallet rack is just one piece of a broader puzzle. The overall performance of your warehouse often relies on a variety of other considerations, such as facility layout, aisle width, product requirement, and efficient training, to ensure safe and productive use of the pallet racking system in place and many more.

We have put together this detailed warehouse racking guide where we have included multiple insights and techniques for warehouse operators to optimize the usage of space and infrastructure.

Following these tips will help you to generate more revenue and profits. More importantly, these tips help you to boost the performance of your warehouse management endeavor.

You might like this useful: Pallet rack identification guide

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Importance of Warehouse Racking

There’s no doubt that your warehouse racking strategies can either hinder or speed up your overall warehouse operations. Warehouse managers can maximize their already existing spaces with proper racking techniques.

This, in turn, improves the warehouse organization, both in terms of productivity and expenses. A streamlined picking process is then brought into the equation to ensure the optimal usage of time and labor.

There are certain factors that play a major role in warehouse racking, such as the warehouse architecture itself. Your racking options are influenced by the following factors:

  • Your warehouse’s aisle width
  • Loading positions
  • Loading areas, etc

It is always recommended that you consider these factors beforehand in order to get the best performance out of your warehouse management team.

Your project budget

This one is probably the most important aspect that you should never ignore. Before you go ahead and opt for a new warehouse solution, consider the estimated expense of your current racking system, as well as the cost of its solution planning and installation.

You should not always opt for the cheapest, especially when your revenue depends on efficiency. You also need to be sure that the pallet racking system you chose suits your requirements and meets the target you have set for your order fulfillment center. So, don’t cut corners when you don’t have to.

Instead of merely going for the cheapest standard pallet rack, our suggestion is to choose the best product in the market. Be willing to invest a bit more in systems such as “push back” racking or “pallet flow”, if you need a more advanced storage solution. Your initial investments will add more profits to your account books in the near future.

| Know more on how to cut your investment by installing used warehouse equipment

Opt for a Centralized System

The order loop in a warehouse begins when a picking order arrives. However, the full period involves many phases before that, such as payment authentication and data collection. The process also involves the following phases, such as the distribution of the product to the transport agency.

It is crucial that picking activities are organized in the supply chain in such a manner that it coordinates with the other parties involved in the order fulfillment process. You might want to invest in a software system to keep track of all phases of your operation.

Arrangement

Always remember to arrange the racks inside your warehouse with the most common products in mind.

  • Make sure that you keep the most popular things closest to you.
  • More precisely, ensure keeping these items closest to the entrance of the picking area. This will enable your workers to pick the items quickly.
  • In many scenarios, it is seen that half of the orders in a warehouse comes from 10 percent of the total number of goods present in your collection.
  • Ensure arranging the items according to their reputation and keep the least popular items at the back. This would significantly enhance the pace of your team’s order selection process.

Choose the right picking approach to improve warehouse throughput

Throughput is the inventory indicator that is collected and delivered by order fulfillment through the outbound dock doors from the inbound dock doors. If you didn’t notice already, picking also influences your warehouse throughput statistics directly. Choosing and sticking to the right picking approach will thus improve your distribution center’s throughput.

Figure Out Storage Efficiency

Performance in storage refers to the amount of space available for a single pallet to be stored. Warehouses are estimated in square feet. However, considering the total cubic height of the structure, the amount of space a single pallet occupies is substantially less.

How do you determine how much the quantity of square footage is consumed by one of your pallets? The following formula would help: Multiply the length of the storage unit in inches with its width. Then divide the amount by 144. This will give you the square feet of the storage unit. This way, you can implement better storage strategies to improve warehouse efficiency.

Focus on the picking process and its purpose

Sometimes, the picking process can be the most time-consuming process of your warehouse operation. However, there is always room for improvement. And if you don’t improve your process early, the task would end up becoming a bottleneck.

Remember that the more items your workers can pick, the more orders they can deliver. And this directly impacts your revenue. With more products being delivered in a day, the number of invoices you can raise will increase, leading to more profits. So make sure that you focus on the right purpose of your warehouse racking and picking process.

 

Our Thoughts

If you run an enterprise that aims to provide customers with the same/next-day arrival, maximizing your order fulfillment activities is a must. E-commerce stores and retailers can generate quicker delivery spans by revving up their order cycle times. Having the right pallet racks and systems in place will help you meet the quick delivery demands of your customers.

Even, for businesses looking to succeed in the face of ever-changing customer demands and the changing market world, a successful order fulfillment mechanism is a must-have. Remember, the world is now not the same as it was before facing the unparalleled obstacles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. E-Commerce is flourishing and competition is soaring.

If you want to defend your market share, you should take sound decisions fast. Although there is also a need for substantial expenditure in time and money to install state-of-the-art warehouse picking and racking solutions, there are significant benefits that you wouldn’t want to miss out on. Follow us for more interesting facts on warehousing solutions.

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