How To Arrange Stock In Warehouse More Efficiently

Warehouse operation is an extremely important stage for businesses. Because this is the place where all raw materials and goods are stored for production, business, and sale. Then how to arrange stock in warehouse more efficiently? If the goods in the warehouse are sorted, the scientific layout will be the foundation for the business to be more productive and the warehouse management becomes simpler. Therefore, apply the following 20 stock arrangement tips right away.

Use of SKU (Stock Storage Unit) codes

A Commodity Code (SKU) is a string of characters (letters and/or books) used to identify the location and other basic information of items stored in the warehouse. This should be the first solution you should think of if you ask yourself: "how to arrange stock in warehouse" With this SKU you can immediately locate the store's storage facility. For example, the shoe SKU code. It is stored in zone A, row 1, floor 05, box 12, blue, size 31 is A10512 EO41 This is a way to store goods that are appreciated and are also used by many warehouse owners in management. There is no standard template defined by its own corporate convention, so you can create your own code list without fear of confusion later.

Arrange the warehouse by type and region

For optimal warehouse management, it is best to divide the warehouse into separate areas to store goods such as cold-temperature goods, fragile goods, warehouse, smelly goods, chemicals, or easy goods on fire. This helps to minimize each other's quality-degrading effects while streamlining the import-export and management process. Be aware that high-value items need separate storage and in certain cases, a safety lock is required to secure them. And products with specific storage requirements should be arranged in the appropriate places depending on the nature of the goods and the manufacturer's storage requirements on the package. 

The principle of FIFO (First-in, first-out) 

This method is a way of arranging goods that are in great demand, selling well in the market, and placing outdated items that few people want to buy deep inside the warehouse. In this arrangement, the use of the cargo space is optimized, and trending and best-selling items are placed in places convenient to pick up and move around, thus making work faster and increasing dynamic productivity. This principle is commonly used in handling food, technology, fashion, and perishable goods. 

LIFO principle (Last-in, First-out) - The following row comes first

With this method, the goods that are imported after will take priority and go out first. This is a reasonable storage structure for items that do not have a certain storage period and will not deteriorate or become obsolete over time, such as construction supplies. LIFO assists companies in balancing production costs and sales. 

FEFO principle (First-Expired, First-Out) - Expired goods first

This strategy is based on the shelf life of the product to match the arrangement. You should prioritize the items that have nearly expired first for early delivery, the items with more expiry dates left behind. This will avoid the risk of damaged goods, affecting sales. This approach is often used when handling timed items such as food.

FEFO principle (First-Ended, First-Out) - The last row comes first

During the inventorying process, if you find that an item has been in stock for a long time, you need to leave that stock first. That ensures that you will not forget it again as well as avoid wasting money and space.

In case the warehouse does not have a shelf system

To solve this problem, the most logical thing is to use plywood to prevent items from being together. Note that large items should be placed below, light goods on top, and limit piling too much because it can cause damage or distortion for the below items when subjected to heavy loads in A period of time. This is just a temporary solution, you should replace them with a sturdy shelf to ensure the quality of goods and the reputation of the company. 

There are two options for arranging the warehouse if goods are routinely shipped for retail

The first method is to set up a raw product warehouse, which holds retail items that are regularly imported and exported. The second option is to keep retail products usually shipped downstream instead of a racked warehouse.

Use pallets

The pallet is definitely a very indispensable item for loading and unloading goods by forklifts. According to a correct warehouse stacking process, the goods need to be placed on a pallet before being placed on the shelf. Especially for goods stored on the ground floor, in areas prone to damage from flooding or heavy rain, high pallets (15-30cm above the ground) need to be placed in order to protect the goods the best.

Create a separate area for problem rows

Problematic items, defective items, and damaged or repaired items should be located in separate areas. Avoid leaving them with any inventory in stock. This will help you not to confuse the items with each other, avoid the wrong delivery of damaged goods, affecting the reputation. At the same time, this also helps to optimize space and time for employees in loading and unloading goods.

There should be a place to compose the goods

In order for the stacking of goods to be most effective, the items before being transported into the warehouse need to go through inspection and sorting. Therefore, you should build a space with a large enough area for employees to perform activities such as picking, packing, trading, etc.

Isolation of Warehouse Areas

Separate these categories if your warehouse is very large and has many diverse areas, areas should be about 3-5 meters apart, wide enough, and also saves warehouse space. This warehouse layout is very important. The main purpose of this is to limit the negative effects on each other as well as the unfortunate consequences of a fire. You can use this area to store your supplies.

Being always neat and clean

 When importing items, you should ask the staff to clean the surface of the goods before placing them in stock. After the goods have been shipped, they must be placed in the correct position and in the correct order. The tidiness from the start makes future warehouse operations easier and keeps the workspace in the best condition.

How to properly arrange and organize the aisle in the warehouse

• To create air circulation and reduce humidity, direct the main aisle towards the main door and the side entrance (if any) toward the windows
• The aisle in the warehouse should be divided into parallel lines to facilitate import and export as well as operations. The road is zigzag, with some unexpected curves that can be a nuisance and sometimes potentially damage cargo
• The main aisle should be wide enough for the forklift truck to walk and turn around. Meanwhile, the side aisle may be narrower. It should be noted that the aisles must be carefully organized to save space (because fewer aisles will make loading and unloading goods difficult, and many passages waste the required warehouse space)

Warehouse door design

To reduce consumer congestion and waiting in line, if the product rotation is large, you need to design one door for loading and one door for shipping. Each door will have its own staff and thereby avoiding congestion and reducing labor productivity.

Arrange warehouse layout

 The repository layout must include the actual storage location of the repository. Through this scheme, the warehouse keeper must be sure of the information and location of the stored items. Any changes (change of location, out of stock, importing more stock ...) must be notified to the warehouse staff as soon as possible.

Instruction table

Signs are always required to assist with the scientific inventory arrangement. A signboard should be placed at the top of each shelf or in another easy-to-see position to aid in the process, which will make it easier and quicker for employees to detect and inventory products. At the same time, you will also get a more comprehensive view of your warehouse.

Solve a problem

• The warehouse layout must always have an escape route in case of unexpected incidents. This aisle should be located in places where warehouse staff often gather the most, and should not be placed in hidden places, difficult to access.
• The location of the fire extinguisher and the nozzle in the warehouse should be evenly distributed.
• If possible, organize training sessions, and teach firefighters how to use a fire extinguisher or how to handle a bad situation properly.

Protective shelf

A barrier should be installed at either end of the shelf to prevent the forklift or other equipment from colliding with it. The warehouse keeper must also check the shelves on a regular basis; If detecting features of warping, warping, loose screws, sniffing, etc, they must take measures to promptly handle and replace them.

Things to avoid when preparing inventory

• Arrange the warehouse so that it does not obstruct the view of the camera.
• It should be noted that cargo cannot be piled too high to interfere with or interfere with ventilation or refrigeration systems. Small things have the potential to have a huge impact on inventory.
• The items are not arranged near the windows close to the wall, as these are two areas that easily cause the goods to rain or the packaging to discolor due to excessive sun exposure.
• Fragile products should be stored in a safe, clear location away from the aisle to avoid a collision.
• Do not climb on or step on the product, no matter how difficult it is. Because you must respect your property. In a warehouse, a chair or ladder must always be provided in the event of an emergency.
• Cooking in stock is absolutely not allowed. Do not leave flammable objects requiring radiators, electrical panels, etc.
• Line up on shelves tidily, not undulating, jagged to avoid confusion, easy to get entangled, broken. The neat product also enhances the aesthetics and ventilation of this area.

👉 Read More: How To Build A Cold Storage Warehouse In 2023 

👉 Read More: How To Create Warehouse Management System Excel

Conclusion

The above article is the most complete answer to the question "how to arrange stock in warehouse efficiently". Catching these things and applying them to your warehouse will be an effective thing because it will help the employee's work process achieve the highest efficiency. Better productivity means significantly increased profits. Wish you success on your journey of business! Hope you happy with this article.