Every warehouse needs to ensure optimal efficiency while reducing costs for smooth operations. Even the most skilled warehouse inventory managers can make common mistakes that would affect business operations. This brief guide shares some of the most common mistakes businesses make when stocking inventory and how to deal with them.
What Is Warehouse Inventory?
Warehouse inventory refers to the tracking, managing, and storing of products within a storage facility. Effective inventory management ensures that the right products are available when needed, avoiding problems like shortage or overstocking that can affect customer satisfaction and business operations. Its processes include reviewing received goods, organising items for easy access, and tracking stocks to ensure timely delivery. When orders are picked and packed securely, it results in optimal order fulfilment. Regular audits can also help in preventing mistakes and maintaining stock.
5 Common Inventory Management Mistakes and Best Practices:
Poor Warehouse Layout
Inadequate Inventory Management
Ignoring Environmental Impact
Failing to Rotate Stock
Ignoring Safety Protocols
1. Poor Warehouse Layout
Planning a poor warehouse layout is the biggest and most common blunder you can make. Not only does a disorganised warehouse eat up a lot of unnecessary space but it also wastes time and productivity with inefficient and misplaced stock.
Best Practice: Make sure your warehouse layout streamlines traffic flow and maintains easy access to the stock. Mapping your warehouse with labels, proper shelving, and separate zones for orders and reviewing them regularly will significantly increase your operations. You can also seek out storage solutions in Singapore if you cannot afford a fixed storage facility.
2. Inadequate Inventory Management
Another major mistake businesses make is improper implementation of inventory management systems. With inadequate tracking, businesses can either face low stocks or a surplus, leading to high costs and ineffective operations.
Best Practice: Businesses should consider a cloud-based inventory management system that provides real-time updates of stocks. As a result, you can ensure accurate supply chain operations and streamline the ordering process even if you are using a rental for storage, as it provides data from multiple points. Several Singaporean companies, such as U Stars and Daiso, have already switched to these effective inventory storage solutions to manage their processes with real-time insights.
3. Ignoring Environmental Impact
One of the biggest warehouse storage errors is avoiding environmental factors, such as extreme temperatures or varying humidity levels. For instance, electronic devices will malfunction and food products will degrade faster if not stored properly.
Best Practice: Installing climate controls and regularly checking the environmental conditions will help businesses protect the inventory in warehouses. Always evaluate your specific products’ environmental needs and regulate suitable controls.
4. Failing to Rotate Stock Warehouse inventory managers often make the mistake of not keeping up with stock rotation. It causes expired products to remain on the shelves and are often unintentionally dispatched, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Best Practice: Businesses can simply address this issue with the FIFO (First In, First Out) method. Using the older stocks first will help in avoiding storage problems and free up space for newer products, which in turn helps to to retain customers.
5. Ignoring Safety Protocols:
Given that safety is the core responsibility of every business, ignoring safety laws and regulations affects both staff and inventory. You can face severe losses with potential damage to your investment.
Best Practice: Implementing clear safety protocols and making sure everyone is adhering to them is important for everyone’s safety and improving your operational efficiency. Practice safety activities as part of a structured routine and conduct regular checks to ensure overall safety.
The Benefits of Warehouse Inventory Management
Businesses benefit significantly from efficient warehouse inventory management that streamlines their operations. For instance, it allows businesses to avoid shortage or overstocking, cutting down their storage and handling costs for better stock management. Furthermore, accurate stock management enables timely order fulfilment, which increases customer satisfaction by ensuring that consumers receive their goods on time and with reliability. Therefore, streamlined inventory processes boost operational efficiency, reducing the time employees spend locating items and allowing them to focus on more productive tasks. Effective inventory management offers scalability and allows companies to manage inventory levels, developing growth opportunities for the business.
Store Your Warehouse Inventory Properly Now
To ensure a productive, safe, and effective warehouse, avoid the aforementioned common mistakes. Optimising the layout, storing the inventory properly, considering environmental factors, ensuring stock rotation, and implementing safety protocols all play a part in the smooth operation of your business.
In need of professional assistance? Loft Logistics offer premium storage solutions that cater to your unique business needs. Get in touch with our experts to find out how we can effectively handle the aforementioned issues and more.