Construction Warehouse Management is a concept associated with the reception of materials. Their storage, and the movement of items (within the warehouse itself or between assignments). Therefore, we are in Top Construction Companies In UAE.
Precisely because of its relevance, today we will focus our article on warehouse management in distribution companies. We will also detail 5 key aspects that will allow us to do it efficiently.
Warehouse Management Objectives
What does efficiency mean in this context? It means:
- Streamline the response and improve customer service in the sale.
- Reduce costs and optimize the amount of stock in the warehouse.
- Minimize the time products spend in storage.
- Have maximum inventory control.
- And minimize the handling and transport of materials.
Measure The Needs of The Distribution Company
The first necessary step in warehouse management is to measure the needs of the distribution company.
Why? Because depending on the needs, a scaling of solutions or others must apply. The variables that will determine these needs are:
- The capacity of activity of the company.
- Also, the number of referrals you market.
- The number of delegations that exist.
- And the functionality of each of these delegations.
From here on, the second key will always be to buy efficiently.
Key 1: Buying Efficiently
As you can imagine, buying efficiently will pursue a main objective:
To avoid the feared stock outages in warehouse management. Or what is the same, not being able to serve customer orders because we do not have enough material in the warehouse.
The challenge, however, is finding the right balance. While, we avoid stock breakage, we must also ensure that we do not store more than necessary in the warehouse. In other words, we do not acquire in overstocks either.
Key 2: Ready Stocks
To calculate the appropriate volume of purchases, there are technological solutions that automatically calculate material needs. In our case, this solution is called Ready Stocks. And the calculations are based on a formula that combines these elements:
- Minimum and maximum quantities that we must have for each item.
- Temporality, historical demand, and volume of rotation by months.
- Inventory and reserves of the product.
- The possible existence of articles in the different delegations of the same company.
- And the average delivery period of the different products and suppliers.
Ultimately, the goal in warehouse management is for the system to be able to tell you:
“You need to buy exactly this”. It is about automating purchase decisions to avoid mistakes and ensure the best possible customer service.
Key 3: Control the location of stored products to streamline logistic and customer service.
At this point, we begin to talk about aspects of the logistic area in warehouse management. One of them is knowing the exact location of each material. For this, we recommend to have an ERP for distributors. Where the structure of the warehouse and the locations of each of the articles reported. In short, it is about making a precise mapping that allows us to gain efficiency.
Mapping Is Computerized
When the mapping is computerized. The ERP itself reports the most efficient routes. That is, those that are orderly and minimize the steps of the operators in the preparation of orders. And in this way, we gain efficiency and increase the speed of preparation and delivery. We improve customer service and save time for our operators.
Continuous Inventories
Continuous inventories to have maximum stock control.
The fourth key to good warehouse management is to maximize stock control. For this, we recommend to carry out rotating and continuous inventories. And that allow us to know:
- The available investment in fixed assets at any given time.
- And the exact quantity of products that stored and ready to serve.
Key 4: How to Make Inventories
In this article, you will find a guide that explains how to make inventories. At a summary level, we anticipate that:
The first condition is to have a well-organized warehouse with all product locations well controlled.
It is also necessary to define a single rotation criterion. That is, identify if we will carry out inventories by brands, by aisles, etc. As well as defining when the inventories will carry out.
To Automate the Process Using New Technologies
In addition, it is advisable to automate the process as much as possible.
- And train employees to gain efficiency.
To Modernize the Reception of Goods
And to close the article, let us talk about how to modernize the reception of goods.
Yes, just as we can automate order preparation processes or inventory control. We can also gain efficiency in goods receipt. There are mobile warehouse applications that will allow you to:
Key 5: Receive Multiple Orders Simultaneously
Manage the entry of materials from the manufacturer’s product reference, even if you do not have the barcode.
Easily identify incoming already reserved material. So, it can be set aside and served more quickly.
Ensure Traceability of All Inputs.
In short, in this article, we have seen how to carry out proper warehouse management. And we have covered all the processes associated with this task: receipt of goods, storage, inventory control and order preparation.
Thus, it covers all the processes carried out by a company. From when it receives the product (supply) until it serves to customers (distribution). And its main objective is to guarantee uninterrupted supply to the buyer. It is, therefore, a key function in any organization. And that is especially relevant in distribution companies.
