How to Organize a Warehouse

To organize a warehouse you should make a floor plan, maximize floorspace with vertical storage, label everything, clean daily, ask for employee feedback and use a warehouse management system.

Organization in a garage or warehouse is more important than anywhere else in your business. Having an organized space can mean improved safety, efficiency, and lower labor costs. The alternative is a warehouse or garage that is sloppy, dangerous, and falls short of goals.

Organization seem difficult or daunting. But it’s easier than you’d think, and these tips will help you keep your warehouse running at its best possible efficiency.

1. Make a Floor Plan
   It may seem obvious that you need to organize your space, but cutting corners here will mean less efficiency and safety risks. Make sure you find the best possible way to store your items, have employees move through safely, and reduce the travel time for picking and packing. Time spent here will mean time saved and money earned.
   
   
2. Maximize Garage & Warehouse Space
   Warehouse space is expensive. Employees, rent, and items in storage all cost companies a lot. It makes sense to try to make your use of space as efficient as possible. One way to do this is to use more vertical space. Try to get your items stored as high as possible while ensuring that they can be removed safely. You can also try making your aisles narrower. Just make sure forklifts and machinery can move safely in and out of them.
   
   
3. Label Everything
   You will save a lot of time and money by clearly labeling work areas, shelves, products, safety hazards, and paths that employees should take. If things aren’t properly labeled, you risk losing items, making mistakes, and having your employees waste time looking for things. It doesn’t take much time to label your warehouse, but it ends up making the whole thing run smoother.
   
   
4. Clean Daily
   Making a daily cleaning plan will make sure there are no items or packaging getting in the way of your workers. By having your employees clean just a half an hour a day you can keep your warehouse clean and efficient. Try having your employees clean for the last half hour of the day. They’ll be sure to clean quickly so they can get home on time.
   
   
5. Ask for Feedback
   Tell your employees that you are trying to find the best possible layout for the warehouse. Ask them if there are any things that bother or annoy them about the layout of the space they work in. Because they are there many hours a week, they will be sure to have good ideas for the layout and organization that you might not have thought of.
   
   
6. Use a Warehouse Management System
   Using a warehouse management system has many benefits. It will allow your employees to quickly locate items, it will improve the accuracy of picking and packing, and it will give you accurate data about your inventory. The increase in efficiency from using a warehouse management system will pay for itself and help you to stay organized.
   
   

These tips will help you keep your warehouse clean, efficient, and safe. Make sure you get the most from your warehouse.

If you are looking to have a steel garage building or metal warehouse building built, Universal Steel offers the highest quality steel construction. Contact us online today for a free quote or call (770)449-6588.