Why and how can you improve your warehouse management?

Warehouse management means warehousing and preparation of products intended for sale, over a circuit of varying lengths.

And in a world where consumption is exploding, particularly with e-commerce, and where the end customer is ever more pressed for time and more demanding, warehouse management is becoming an essential lever for performance and competitiveness in the supply chain.

What's more, by optimizing your warehouse organization and inventory management, you can drastically cut costs while boosting productivity. In short, you're a double winner.

Find out more about the challenges of good logistics management and some tips for improving it.

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Warehouse management: definition

Warehouse management encompasses :

• item management,
• inventory management
• warehousing management (locations),
• order preparation management,
• management of shipping and transport of goods to consignees.

It aims for the best possible organization of space, storage and goods flows.

How does a warehouse work?

A warehouse is a building where goods are stored for more than 24 hours, before being sent to an adjoining logistics platform for preparation and dispatch.

Warehouses are generally used by :

• industrial manufacturers,
• import-export companies
• wholesalers
• carriers,
• customs, etc.

They feature shelving, also known as racks, which accommodate pallets and parcels from several manufacturers or suppliers, before continuing on to other manufacturers, traders, shops or end customers.

☝️ A warehouse can have several owners and be managed by a subcontracted logistics provider, who handles storage, picking and sometimes transport.

The importance and challenges of good warehouse management

Good organization, via an efficient warehouse management system, has many advantages, to help teams perform better and, in turn, guarantee quality of service and customer satisfaction.

Good warehouse management means :

• better management and control of stock, to anticipate shortages and wastage, as well as hygiene and safety risks, depending on the specific nature of the products;
• offer a better service, with faster order preparation and no errors or breakages;
• optimize space utilization to the maximum, and thus reduce warehousing costs;
• to organize storage in such a way as to make it easier for handlers to find their way around, make their movements more fluid, and avoid any risk of accident;
• leave enough space for operations such as loading and unloading goods, as well as moving carts and other equipment;
• save time on internal operations such as transport and picking.

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How do you manage a warehouse?

There's no ONE way to organize a warehouse- it all depends on the products you're storing, how many you're storing and your processes - but here are a few universal tips.

1 - Define a strategy based on management needs

There are small and large warehouses, and each will have different management needs, which can be prioritized as follows, according to logistics expert Raja:

In addition to a sufficiently large warehouse, you need to be well organized, and that means recruiting the right people.

For large warehouses with a high flow of goods, you'll need dedicated professionals for every stage of your processes:

• warehousemen, who receive, list and sort merchandise;
• stock managers, who organize incoming and outgoing flows;
• order pickers, who pick, sort, pack and check goods before dispatch;
• logistics managers, who supervise the whole process, i.e. warehouse management as a whole.

2 - Structure your warehouse layout

Define a specific area for each operation, as shown in the diagram above:

• Receiving goods,
• moving goods to the storage area (conveyor zone),
• storage area,
• allotment,
• kit assembly,
• order preparation,
• dispatch of goods.

Not only does each zone have its own function, but each of them must be able to communicate with the next in a logical way, to reduce flows to a minimum.

Example: the receiving area should be close to the storage area, and the order-picking area close to the shipping area.

☝️ Don't neglect signposting, so that handlers can easily find their way around. Number products and dedicated areas, and if necessary, draw up a signposted logistical route, to make it easier for them to find their way around the warehouse.

3 - Optimize your storage area

Another tip: it's all about optimizing space, not sticking all your goods together. It's essential that products and zones are legible, to avoid wasting time searching for goods and retrieving them.

It's also crucial to store goods according to their turnover rate, but also according to their specific characteristics:

• the most frequently ordered products are the most easily accessible and the closest to the preparation area;
• the heaviest and bulkiest products are naturally stored at the bottom, which also eliminates the risk of injury;
• fresh and perishable products are stored in a well-defined area for sanitary checks;
• chemical and hazardous products are obviously stored separately.

4 - Cross-docking

In conventional supply chain management, the warehouse is the stage between the supplier and the vendor. It is used to store goods until the order is placed: it is therefore a discontinuous, asynchronous flow.

In the case of cross-docking, the warehouse is merely transitory. As soon as the goods arrive, the warehouse manager receives them and dispatches them directly to the final recipient, without having to store them, arrange them on racks or prepare them.

This is a particularly cost-effective practice for mass retailers and wholesalers, for example, who handle large volumes in continuous flow.

It still requires a minimum of warehouse management, especially in terms of planning, but it's a cost-effective organization that eliminates the intermediate stage of product storage.

5 - Provide a pleasant, safe working environment

In addition to the quality of the organization, both in terms of space and human resources, there's another factor to consider: a pleasant, safe working environment.

You already know the essentials:

• limit the carrying of heavy loads,
• limiting unnecessary travel.

Here, the quality of the equipment and the clear definition of work processes are essential.

Forklifts, conveyors, pallet trucks and even barcode scanners have a lot to contribute to optimal warehouse management, which also involves motivating your staff and ensuring their well-being!

A WMS (Warehouse Management System) solution is becoming an increasingly essential tool for intelligent warehouse management, particularly for automating inventory management. It offers many key functionalities to optimize the basic functions of warehouse management and the work of your employees, in a simple and intuitive way.

🛠️ Here are two tools:

Generix WMS, aimed at manufacturers, omnichannel distributors and logistics service providers alike.

It is particularly well-suited to the e-commerce sector and to fast-growing warehouses with high organizational requirements, and enables :

• optimize warehouse organization (slotting) and storage costs,
• calculating and facilitating movements between different warehouse areas,
• replication of a successful model, to facilitate the creation and management of a new warehouse in just a few weeks.

Odoo Inventory is inventory management software for companies of all sizes. Equipped with a multitude of functionalities and an ergonomic interface, the solution facilitates logistics processes within your company with :

• a global view of warehouse stocks to avoid stock-outs and manage the constant replenishment of your products,
• the integration of a barcode scanner system to easily track your products and optimize your inventory,
• automated transfers between warehouses and delivery points.

To find out about other warehouse management software, please consult our directory.

How do you optimize your warehouse management? What methods and tools do you use?