Are you struggling to handle your warehouse inventory? Do you seem to fall behind schedule regularly even when everything is going right? If so, the culprit may be an invisible link in the chain – the putaway process. This is the process of moving your incoming inventory from the receiving zone to an ideal location for storage, which can have a surprising number of complications.
A slow or irregular putaway process can slow you down and make it harder to track your inventory when the time is right. In order to optimize your putaway process, you’ll want to ensure your transport and storage systems are as smooth as possible. You’ll need to know everything to ensure your putaway process is safe, secure, and easy to manage.
3 Types of Warehouse Putaway
The first thing you’ll need to decide is what system you want to use for warehouse putaway, and the right option will depend on your business.
Dynamic Putaway
This approach focuses on storing your incoming inventory in the most convenient place possible, which will vary depending on the product and its dimensions. This system works best when your inventory is relatively homogenous – a business that knows what it’s shipping and knows how many of one item can fit in a single location, for instance.
Not separating your inventory carefully when storing it and using different locations as needed can be useful if you have a strong inventory management system to always find something when needed.
Direct Putaway
Direct putaway is the system that uses the least go-betweens and variables and is ideal for shorter-term storage. You immediately transport the inventory to its final storage location in your warehouse – where it’s waiting for you when it’s time to ship it out. The benefit here is that you have the fewest possible touchpoints where something could get lost. To make this system work, you’ll need to invest in top-notch inventory management software to ensure you can turn the inventory in and out quickly with no mix-ups.
Fixed-Location Putaway
This is the ideal system if you have a lot of different types of inventory coming in, and the best way to keep track of them is to have a specific location for each type. You can designate one area for your lighter inventory and another for heavy inventory. If you have climate-sensitive material, you can designate an area specifically for its needs.
This will reduce the need for inventory management, as you’ll know where each type of item is, and there will be less to sort through. This system is best for any multi-purpose facility where you’re moving a large amount of merchandise.
Tips to Effectively Manage Your Putaway
Keep Your Warehouse Clean and Organized
Keeping your warehouse clean can make a world of difference when it comes to finding inventory in a timely fashion. If you’re searching for inventory, you might miss critical deadlines or even send the wrong package to someone. This can cost you time, money, and reputation if it’s not handled properly, so preventing it by organizing and sorting out problems regularly can be very helpful.
Minimize Travel Time
One common pitfall for storage facilities is that they often haven’t maximized their efficiency. Suppose your inventory is spending a lot of unnecessary time in transit or moving from warehouse to warehouse. In that case, this could not only mean shipping times are longer – it could provide more potential points for inventory to get lost or mislabeled in an inventory.
Invest in a Modern Warehouse Management System
Many warehouses make the mistake of going it old-school, losing out on the advantage modern technology can provide them. Warehouse management systems are software solutions that allow you to catalog and keep track of your entire inventory, which is safely stored in a secure network. If used effectively, you’ll be able to look up the location, label, contents, and final destination of any item in your warehouse within seconds.
Streamlining Ecommerce Operations
Many companies don’t want to invest in warehouse storage because the real estate and other costs can be prohibitive. Plus, it’s a specialized area – so why not work with the specialists? Increasingly, companies dealing with a lot of inventory are using third-party fulfillment companies for small businesses to handle their inventory and storage needs. This takes this critical element off your shoulders and lets you concentrate on the parts of your business only you can do.
The Key To Shipping Success
Your warehouse is the last critical waystation for your business. Which of the three types of storage you use can make all the difference in how smoothly your shipping goes. Which one is right for your business?
Whichever tactic you use, having an efficient and smoothly-operating warehouse is key. That’s why third-party warehouse services are becoming more popular. An effective warehouse operation is a key to an effective and fast-growing business. Also, the bonded warehouse is one of the best options that help to manage your business process.
