When your business has grown to such a level that you physically cannot contain it in your space, now becomes the prime opportunity to venture into a larger location.
A business warehouse is one of those environments that clearly shows you are doing well, but to ensure it is as productive, if not more productive than what you’re doing already, there are a few things you have to implement right off the bat.
Introducing Lean Inventory Practices
When you are keeping track of your inventory, it’s very easy to go overboard and buy more facilities and resources than is necessary.
We can do this because we very innocently think that it’s better to over prepare. But by implementing lean inventory practices, especially the very beginning, it gets you into the habit of trimming the fat.
You may have implemented office processes that make life easier for your employees, it’s now time to take this approach and transfer it to the warehouse.
Production Line Productivity
Warehouses need a strict approach to keeping the production line going. There are numerous aspects of this, from efficient communication with the product seller to the physical aspects of the work, as well as appropriate technology.
You can install belt conveyors around the general factory area to ensure the productivity is constant, but you need to ensure that you have workers with the right attitude. A production line is only as effective as its worst worker.
Teaching teamwork and ways to make sure that everybody is going at an appropriate pace will help to maintain productivity, speed, but also good working ethics.
Tracking The Errors
While your production line is only as effective as the worst worker, learning from the mistakes is an essential process, not just in the production line, but in every area of the warehouse.
There are ways for you to track employee errors to improve the overall quality of the environment, but it’s about building on these errors, not just so they don’t happen again, but to find bigger and better ways to improve efficiency, as well as a more positive company culture.
This means tracking the errors, but providing constructive criticism, and framing it in a way that is more positive, rather than emotionally beating your employees with the bad things they are doing.
Safety And Cleanliness
One of the more obvious approaches that we need to implement in a warehouse environment is a good safety record, but also ensure that the environment is clean and resourceful for your employees.
A safe environment is essential so your employees can work to the best of their ability, but you are also complying with the various rules and regulations depending on your local area.
If you have found the leap from a modest working environment to a massive warehouse a shock to the system, you may find that the business makes more sense in a larger if you are used to small offices, you could end up being somewhat intimidated. But when you move your business into a warehouse, it’s a sure-fire sign that your business is going in the right direction. And in fact, it could feel like a new home!