Pick, Pack, and Ship: How to Run an Efficient Warehouse Business

Lizzie Weakley

January 22, 2018

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Work at the warehouse is naturally busy. Time is of the essence, and you are often dealing with excessively large orders. By picking, packing, and shipping in the right manner, you can run an efficient warehouse business.

Schedules

Schedules are incredibly important to an efficient warehouse business. If employees don’t know the deadlines of projects, they won’t be able to execute then in a timely fashion. Make sure that everybody in the warehouse is aware of the weekly schedule. You can post this on walls or send out a company-wide email. Because warehouses move at such fast paces, you will want to consider weekly or daily schedules. Other companies resort to monthly schedules, but this is not specific enough for warehouses. You need to be able to see the hours of the day on the chart.

Delegate Employees

Different employees should be doing different jobs. Not everybody has to be on the floor at once, and work shifts should be aligned to maximized efficiency. With a strong team of project managers and correspondents, the warehouse will function smoothly. Before the day begins, make sure everybody knows their responsibilities and expectations. In other industries, this sort of organization can be bypassed because teams have varied goals. However, when it comes to warehouses, the whole business is aimed at packaging and shipping. If there is a holdup at one junction, the entire chain will be backed up until it is cleared. Therefore, it is especially crucial that no person is left behind in regards to his or her task.

The Right Equipment

You need good and reliable equipment to make sure that your warehouse business functions the way you need it to. The equipment you have will determine how well you will be able to transport and store product for your clients. For example, if you storing or shipping of product, you will need pallet wrapping equipment from a company like Fox Packaging Services. This will help make sure your client’s products are properly taken care of in storage and in transit.

External Services

It is difficult to do everything alone. When your warehouse conducts business with other entities, look for the other party to complete their fair share. Packaging companies are great for this cause, as they will pack boxes on their own without any additional costs. At the end of the day, their services will save you a massive amount of time and money. External services show depth and breadth as well. Once you have established a few connections, it will be much easier to make deals with further companies who have similar goals.

A warehouse business can be daunting, but with the right approach, you will easily be able to control your teams and ship out packages. Start with a small warehouse and naturally let it expand into a full company.