Practice makes perfect, or so they say. You can perfect the picking and packing activities in your manufacturing warehouse by incorporating some best practices into warehouse management.
Little mistakes can really add up when it comes to warehouse management. If even a half percent (0.05%) of mistakes in picking leads to returns, this can quickly add up in costs of customers lost, replacing stock in the warehouse, processing new orders and more.
To make your manufacturing warehouse an efficient “picking and packing” machine, it’s important to monitor activities there for quality control, just as you would other areas of your manufacturing facility. Attention to detail and quality don’t stop at the end of the assembly line.
Areas to examine include:
Improvements in manufacturing warehouse processes don’t just occur from the top-down. You can motivate and inspire your warehouse staff to add to the process improvements.
If you can monitor data on picking and packing, hold a contest to see which team can generate the lowest number of order mistakes. Award prizes or bonuses to the team with zero mistakes per month. Software that tracks return data can help you set the parameters for a contest. Monitor metrics such as returns for incorrect or incomplete orders, which leads straight back to the picking and packing process.
Rarely is it something catastrophic that can harm a company’s profitability. It’s usually small, frequent mistakes that lead to bigger losses. It’s almost like something invisible is siphoning money away. But it’s not invisible. It’s just the little mistakes, like problems in the picking and packing area, that are leading to larger losses. You can take steps to prevent them by using these best practices as well as data from your warehouse management and ERP systems to fix the little problems now before they turn into big losses later.
PositiveVision provides consulting and services to manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution companies. We can help you with choosing an ERP package and creating or adapting dashboards for your executive team. Two ERP software packages we offer to help you manage business information and improve product development processes are Sage 300 and SYSPRO. Sage 300 offers a powerful, flexible ERP system built so that it grows with your business. SYSPRO automates many businesses processes and can help you improve communications with customers, among other benefits.
With the right data, you can better manage your business. Learn more on our website or contact us today.