Internal warehouse organization: Steps to follow
The internal organization of warehouses where raw materials, materials and finished goods are stored is one of the important activities in the area of production and distribution. For industrial enterprises, construction companies, carriers, suppliers and traditional trading companies or ecommerce businesses, organizing warehouse activities is a priority. Here are the steps to follow and the criteria to keep in mind for a successful start.
Determine the warehouse location according to efficiency and cost-effectiveness criteria
As a first step, choose the location of the warehouse according to the specifics of your business. Whether you are buying, building or renting warehouses, draw up a list of relevant practical criteria to identify the most suitable locations.
When deciding on the warehouse location, you should take into account the reduction of transport distances and transport costs as well as the real possibility of setting up rational transport flows and offering optimal services to customers.
For warehouses located within an enterprise or on the premises of a manufacturing company, it is recommended to organize a central unit to supply production divisions and workshops, which is located as close as possible to the units it serves. In the case of distribution companies intending to set up a network of warehouses from the outset or to extend their existing one, it is important to establish regional central warehouses whose location satisfies optimum conditions of access and proximity.
Ensure optimal internal organization at warehouse level
Ensuring a seamless workflow from the receipt of materials to their reaching the place where they are used is a must. Therefore, the internal warehouse organization should be designed so as to allow easy access to material resources, without them being “placed” directly in the workflow line.
For an optimal organization of the storage space, the physical-chemical and technical specifications of the raw materials and maintenance equipment, the frequency of orders, the stock turnover speed, the ABC classes and the characteristics required for the technical equipment of the warehouse are taken into account: industrial furniture, machinery, thermal and refrigeration installations, lighting systems and electrical generators, devices used during activities in the receiving, handling (putaway, picking), loading, transport and unloading areas.
The next step is to map out the workflows by drawing up a plan for the organization of the usable spaces, specifying dimensions, partitions and compartments, access routes for usual activities and emergency situations.
Consideration will be given to the size and location of machinery, aisles, circulation paths for transport vehicles within the warehouse, docks, elevators, packing and labelling stations, as well as office space, consoles and other coordination, record-keeping and control instruments.
The internal warehouse organization depends on the turnover of goods and digitalizing workflows in the storage facilities helps to optimize activities. Material resources can be allocated to zones according to the frequency of raw material, material or product deliveries, using the ABC grouping system: zone A contains high-demand items, zone B, the medium-demand items, and zone C, the low-demand items.
The next step refers to the manner in which stocks should be managed and consists in selecting suitable software solutions dedicated to logistics activities with a view to establishing optimal workflows that comply with European storage standards (for example, HACCP).
Implement supply chain software solutions
The purpose of warehouse and inventory management software solutions such as the WMS systems is to make rational and efficient use of all resources, eliminate human errors and redundancies, reduce long distance travel between different areas of the storage facility, etc.
Digitalization in logistics aims to establish a ‘single point of contact’ based on integrated logistics software solutions like desktop-based or web-based WMS, which ensure the digitization of data flows and the optimization of warehouse activities. Warehouse and stock management systems integrate quickly and easily with logistics management systems that automate pre-receiving and post-loading workflows (before and after stock management and handling within the storage facility).
The Axes Software team can also digitise logistics operations outside the warehouse. In addition to xTrack WMS (Warehouse Management System), the logistics solutions in the xTrack LMS (Logistics Management Suite) include other systems such as xTrack TMS (Transport Management System), xTrack FIN (invoicing application), xTrack POD (Proof of Delivery), xTrack YMS (Yard Management System) and xTrack PMS (returnable packaging management system).
Our specialists offer you the possibility to extend the level of portability to android environments, run client applications from web browser interfaces, improve the stability and scalability of the solutions by migration to the cloud, quickly deploy and use the xTrack WMS as a SaaS solution, integrate superior algorithms for optimization and new logistics operation technologies: RFID, Pick by Voice, Pick by Light.
Consider the steps you need to take to organize your manufacturing unit warehouses or online and offline store warehouses and work with logistics software system specialists to efficiently control workflows in your storage facility. Using the Internet of Things (IoT), managing any warehouse, including ecommerce warehouses, where tens of thousands of orders are processed daily, is greatly simplified and the high accuracy of the data collected provides a true picture of inventory and warehouse performance.
Learn more about the xTrack WMS solution and how it can help you organize and optimize your warehouse activities efficiently. Request a discussion with one of our consultants by filling in the Contact Us form below!
