How to Properly Store Your Warehouse Stock

Storing your warehouse stock properly is very important. It ensures efficient and effective operations and makes receiving, picking and shipping much smoother and easier. Here are a few tips on how you can properly store your warehouse stock.

Label Everything

You need to mark every box that comes into the receiving point. Everything that leaves this point should be clearly marked with a legible barcode label. Doing so will make it easier for you to track the boxes within the warehouses. Make sure you keep a central repository of every information in the barcodes to promote accurate communication with the warehouse management tool you are using.

Make Fast-Moving Items Easily Accessible

If have ever managed a warehouse, you will realize there are those items that tend to move faster than others. They are popularly known as high velocity items. Make sure you place such items in areas that are easy to access. The warehouse workers are going to access them more often than any other item in the warehouse. If you place them at the furthest end, then it means they will have to disorganized other items in order to reach them. This can be quite expensive since you will spend a lot on labor and moving equipment.

Apply Cycle Counts

Most of us are used to counting the stock once a year. While this often works, waiting for too long can make you to lose track of your stock. Instead of counting after a year, come up with a cycle counting routine. In this routine, you count your stock once or more times in a particular cycle. The cycle can be after every two months, four months or half a year. Doing so will help you get an accurate overview of the amount of stock you have in the warehouse.

Take Cleaning Seriously

Cleaning should be your priority if you run a warehouse. Clean everything that arrives at the receiving point and put them on the shelves neatly. Do not shove anything at the corner or in the aisle. If the items come with packaging materials, clean such materials before they pile up in the warehouse. Regular cleaning will help keep everything in the warehouse it its place.

Be Careful With Items That Freeze

You need to be careful with some liquids and chemicals. Such items tend to freeze when stored in places with low temperatures. You need to make sure your warehouse does not have extremely low temperatures that could promote freezing. Use a high-quality HVAC system to bring in more heat in the warehouse, especially during winters. Alternatively, you can use drum heaters to protect such items from freezing.

Come Up With a Daily Checklist

You need to develop a daily checklist for your warehouse. The checklist will help keep the managers informed about what needs to be done in the warehouse each day. It can include items such as courting the stock, cleaning the shelves, processing shipments and reconciling the inventory list. A checklist will help you stay updated about the daily events within the warehouse and detect potential problems earlier.