The goal: getting the right stock to the right customer at the right time
Posted on 26 July 2024 in General
The fundamental aspect of warehouse management is knowing what stock you have in the warehouse and where it is. This is followed by the critical aspect of ensuring you are able to get the right stock to the right customers at the right time.
It may sound like a simple logical and overused statement, but don’t underestimate how much goes into this.
The process starts when the stock is first received; knowing how much is coming in, and then determining where to ‘put it’ in the warehouse. There is a whole science to this aspect alone. Imagine if you always put all fast moving items together, which may initially sound logical, but the congestion that would be created if pickers were all trying to pick stock from this same location at the same time. This is where you get inefficiencies, loss of productivity, resulting in delivery delays.
One example is large retailers many of whom book a specific delivery time slot for suppliers but if that is missed the supplier can end up losing the entire order at worst and at best being penalised This often stems from the supplier potentially not knowing where the stock is or congestion created by poorly ‘put away’ stock.
When you combine all the elements from ‘putting stock away’, to picking and preparing it for despatch, to delivering it to the right customer, the results are massive bottom line benefits.
In his third article on Warehouse Management, Steve will elaborate on cost reductions and business benefits.
For further information visit: www.cquential.com