Warehouse costs can be one of the biggest expenses for SMEs. When you take into account the employees, stock, maintenance, utilities and the warehouse space itself, the expense starts to rack up.
So, it’s important to shave off as much as you can from your warehousing costs while being careful not to lose any of your efficiency.
Staff
Training your staff to work to the most efficient levels possible is the easiest and most effective way to improve productivity, and thus get a better return on investment.
Make sure that they’re all working smart, reducing unnecessary tasks, and communicating with each other and other departments so that everyone is clear on their responsibilities and tasks.
However, it goes without saying that the less staff you need to run your warehouse; the less money you’ll have to spend.
On top of basic wages, you also have to take into account overtime, extra pay for bank holidays, potential training costs and maybe even temporary staff when things get busy.
While we’re not suggesting you replace your workforce with robots(like some of these big name companies!), the costs do add up, and where possible you should try to automate processes so that they can be carried out with fewer employees.
Space
Planning and organizing how to best use your space is crucial in a warehouse space. There are a number of ways in which you can do this, such as placing staff and equipment strategically to minimise unnecessary movement around the space.
Installing some higher racking or perhaps a mezzanine flooring is also a great idea to vastly improve how much storage space you have.
However, if you are planning on reconfiguring your warehouse to improve productivity, always bear in mind employee safety.
If it simply isn’t possible to wring any more space out of your existing warehouse, why not try outsourcing?
Outsourcing to a third party firm can help cut costs in a number of areas and be a much more flexible option.
Masters Logistical are a warehousing specialist based in Cambridgeshire and have put together this article explaining ten reasons why outsourcing is a great option.
Operations
If you haven’t already, try to move as much of your paperwork online. It’s a great way to reduce costs but its also just a lot easier to manage and keep track of.
There is a whole manner of other warehouse technology you can also look into which will improve your overall productivity and reduce costs, such as automatic labelling, a barcode system and scanning guns.
Introducing more advanced technology into the warehouse should reduce waste, errors, and time wasted by staff carrying out menial tasks.
Remember, all of these measures are sure to take time to implement, so don’t expect a quick fix.
It’s also important to take into account the needs of your specific company and the limitations of your warehouse, and you may have to look into cutting costs in other aspects.
