Best Strategies For Organizing Your Warehouse

Inventory management is a topic that may seem straightforward from a high-level perspective. However, as your company grows and inventory levels increase accordingly, things can become unwieldy more quickly than you might anticipate. 

Being prepared for these changes is crucial to remaining lean while fulfilling your customers’ wants and needs, and this preparation begins with having the right inventory management software in place. 

Managing inventory from the comfort of your home is one thing, but once your inventory levels grow to a point where you need to use a warehouse, you will have to adapt to keep your order and shipping process smooth and efficient. 

A recent Zebra study found that 87% of industry decision-makers surveyed plan to expand their warehouse use by 2024. Needless to say, as businesses and their inventories grow, so does their need to find adequate warehouse space and inventory management solutions such as Listing Mirror. 

But how should you optimize your warehouse and inventory for maximum results? Let’s dive in and take a look.

Warehouse Organization

Drawing up a floor plan should be your first step when planning a warehouse. It’s important to design your warehouse in such a way that allows for quick access to inventory, specifically the items most commonly used. Putting similar items in the same space will reduce inefficiency and save your employees time as they pick products. 

Also, be sure to place all shelving and storage areas in a way that keeps your workspace safe and free of clutter. It can be helpful to prototype your warehouse design on paper first to get a better idea of what will and won’t work and bring to light any limitations in square footage or structural deficiencies. The ideal floor plan will take into account both quality and quantity, as both are important in relation to inventory management.

The centralized order management system built into Listing Mirror can assist you in putting this kind of floor plan together by keeping all orders in one place and allowing you to accurately determine your floor plan needs and adjust for concerns. 

Label Everything!

Once your plan is put into place and all shelf and storage areas are responsibly laid out, it is key to label everything clearly and accurately. Keeping everything labeled makes it easier for your teams to get the products they need quickly and keep orders moving through without undue interruption. If you require equipment such as forklifts and pallet jacks, be sure to factor in space for these to be operated safely. 

As a general rule, products are kept at 80/20 levels. 80% are the most common products, leaving the remaining 20% least common. The downside to this thought process is that there is less room for adjustment as your customers’ buying habits evolve. With Listing Mirror’s inventory management software, though, you will be better able to manage inventory levels, keeping you in a position to be able to quickly pivot if need be. 

Optimize Your Inventory

As the COVID-19 pandemic winds down and businesses make the slow transition back to normal, they’re having to think deeply about how to better optimize their inventory, as well as how to offset the effects of future supply chain disruption. 

There is a growing focus on improving inventory visibility and developing better inventory strategies. In addition, companies are putting a greater emphasis on making inventory management a key component of their supply chain operating models. 

Here are a few tips for organizing your warehouse and, by extension, your inventory:

• Utilize demand forecasting to help account for supply chain fluctuations.
• Stock up on the right inventory in your warehouse so that you never run out.
• Consider how you might replace traditional inventory management with probabilistic inventory, should the need for such a model ever arise. 

Review, Review, Review

As with most business-related operations, both large and small, in order to remain dynamic, you must continually review your inventory management system and warehouse floor plan. It’s critical that your inventory can adjust, depending on the developing needs of your business and customers. 

Note that if you run an e-store, it’s important to keep your stock updated on your digital platforms as well. Keeping your stock status up to date and accurate is essential to providing a great customer experience. In fact, 31% of online shoppers switch to competitors the first time a product is unavailable on their preferred site. This number rises to half on the second occurrence, and reaches 70% on the third. 

Moreover, rarely are growing companies willing to level out—as you grow, your supply chain should grow alongside you. Performing regular maintenance will not only keep your workforce safe and injury-free but will also help you identify shortcomings in your current inventory management system.

Whatever your business needs going forward, Listing Mirror will be with you every step of the way. We offer inventory management, listing data, and order/fulfillment services to help you with every step of multichannel eCommerce. See the difference we can make for your business today with your 14-day free trial. Click the button below to get started!

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