It’s often easy to overlook the subject of warehouse efficiency when the current system seems to be ticking over quite nicely. It’s a prime example of an “if it’s not broken, why fix it?” scenario, but just because something isn’t inherently broken it doesn’t mean it couldn’t be improved and enhanced significantly.

Truth is, if you haven’t taken a step back from the way you do business in your warehouse for some time in order to evaluate effectiveness and efficiency, chances are there’s room for improvement. There are various ways and means by which warehouse efficiency can be stepped up significantly, including the following examples:

1 – Better Use Of Space

First of all, it’s a good idea to take a look at the warehouse in its entirety and evaluate whether or not you are making best use of all available space. This is of course more important in warehouses where space is at a premium. More often than not, making better use of space means thinking vertically in order to ensure that minimal floor space is required in order to provide maximum storage space and space for movement.

2 – Shelving Systems

If your current shelf systems make it in any way awkward, inconvenient or difficult to access the items stored within your warehouse, this represents an immediate and important area for improvement. The more efficient your shelving systems are, the greater the efficiency of the entire warehouse in general.

3 – A Warehouse Within a Warehouse

If you are one of thousands of businesses where no more than 20% of your products account for more than 80% of your sales, you might want to think about the strategy of creating a warehouse within a warehouse. This essentially means grouping the 80% together in the most convenient and accessible location possible, in order to maximise ease of retrieval and general management.

4 – Lean Inventory

It can be difficult to break old habits, but to adopt a lean inventory strategy is to make an enormous difference to warehouse efficiency. The term basically refers to a method of operation whereby you only ever keep to hand exactly what you need for the immediate moment.

5 – Software Upgrades

You could also consider the option of upgrading the software you currently use, or perhaps even the computer hardware itself. So many incredible developments are being made in warehousing technology and software in each and every year that if you haven’t upgraded for some time, you might be surprised of the kind of kit that is available.

6 – Impeccable Order

Last but not least, it is fundamentally impossible to operate an effective and efficient warehouse if it is not kept in impeccable order at all times. This means taking an objective look at everything, from the general tidiness and organisation of the site to the quality of the trolleys used for carrying merchandise and right through to the way your inventory is managed. Once again, there will almost always be potential areas for improvement and a few small changes here and there really can add up to a big difference.