(Neatly distributed floor adds to easy warehouse management.)
Logistics and warehousing play an indispensable role in the transportation of goods across the country. Today, there is a worldwide demand by organizations on suitable measures to enhance the effectiveness of their distribution tasks. The present distribution and supply-chain framework rely heavily on warehouses. A warehouse is a fundamental part of the business infrastructure and is one of the key enablers in the global supply chain. It is the fulcrum for procurement, manufacturing and distribution services which collectively build robust economies. Utilizing lean standards, warehouses in India are bound to see an exceptional change in management and flow of products along with their capacity to meet the requests of clients.
A decent warehouse management should combine processes, so you can limit the overall travel time of products, and in turn expanding productivity and output. It can coordinate with your ERP or stock management framework so everything in your stock remains in sync. Through which you can work on improving your precision, decreasing expenses and enhancing consumer loyalty. Warehouse management has become mind-boggling; however if done right it can reduce costs, enhance customer loyalty and also operational proficiency.
Warehousing forms an indispensable part of any general supply network process. It is apparent that with the current global scenario and changes happening in Indian manufacturing and retailing sector, will further develop the warehouses. The present warehousing market in India can be categorized into three strata – the lower, middle and higher. While the lower and middle strata consist of go-downs and refurbished buildings now being used as storage facilities; the higher stratum consists of functional warehouses with better mechanical and technical support like the ones managed by high-end companies like DHL, FedEx, UPS, Amazon, or Flipkart. However, the way warehouses in India are managed is still inadequate and improper.
Here is a list of the top 7 essential steps to consider for easy warehouse management;
- Reason for having the warehouse: There could be several reasons why you should be considering the need
of having a warehouse. A warehouse should help you cut costs that you are unable to in daily operations. Integration of warehouse in your distribution channel also ups the ante of your customer service. Therefore, helping your organization to have a commercially successful footprint in your niche. Effectively managing warehouses also helps you gain expertise that becomes important whenever you’re expanding your business. Selecting a warehouse management system can be a challenge. Your company likely has very specific warehousing needs, and it can be difficult to sort through sales pitches and complicated jargon to find the best solution for your business. - Location of the warehouse: Think about the location your service providers and your clients operate from. Point out the areas where the greater parts of your conveyances are made. Is it from a particular business district or across the nation? It could be globally too. Ensure your warehouse is in the ideal area that limits costs for you, your customers, and your clients. If you’re planning to set up a warehouse in a location that you think would be noteworthy for all the circulation process or simple for trucks to get through by means of main roads; it could possibly be a good choice. In the event that you import or export products abroad, at that point, you’ll require a distribution centre that is near seaports.
- Storage Area: This is likely the most essential, yet an important point of inquiry for any warehouse provider.
Do they have the limit that you require? Past that, you need to inquire as to whether you’ll need more space as your business develops. Storage areas play an important role in warehouse management. Assuming that you’ll see warehouses being put to use for different functionality; like a small warehouse can be used for simple storage purpose or as a cold-storage unit. - Experience: Never go on the market without adequate experience. Warehousing in India needs strong management experience. E-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart work on the motto of fulfilling customer loyalty and for that they push themselves to achieve the fastest delivery possible. This is because the faster the products are sorted, packed and shipped from the warehouses; the better it gets delivered to the customers.
- Value-Added Services: Does your warehouse only handle basic storage and shipping services? Or is it able to offer packages that include value-added services like inspection, dispatch, inventory, reverse logistics, packaging, labelling, or reporting? Value-added enhances the way you run your warehouse. This includes services from the architectural design perspective as well as technological planning so that all supply chain processes can be carried out on all floors without any hindrance.
- Business risks: Running a warehouse comes with tones of risks. From moving and storing your freight to handling incident rates, safety procedures, and damage plans. Try to go for an insurance coverage to avoid any business risk. You want to be absolutely clear up front about what to and not to assume so there are no misunderstandings if damages do occur.
- Technology: Make sure that you deploy the best technology whatever that helps in keeping up with the best warehouse management benchmarks. Select the technology you think will help you in scaling your business higher. Whether it is related to manpower, or a new conveyor belt system to minimize human error, find out if your computer systems and software integrate with them. Also important is to find out if they can provide real-time reporting of inventory levels and other metrics.
It’s clear that presenting your warehouse in the market requires very careful consideration. Apart from these 7 essentials, there are other parameters like competitors in the area, easy paperwork under an association membership, quick fixation of damages caused on the floor, and more. The outcome of successful management is much larger than just opening a warehouse somewhere. The right warehouse management will have long-lasting effects on financial, operational, and competitiveness aspects of your business.