e-Commerce Warehouse Essentials

If you are in the e-commerce space, at some point, you are going to need a warehouse if you want to keep up with orders. However, a warehouse isn’t simply a space where you store stock; when done properly, it can take your business to the next level and beyond.

Essential Equipment

The first thing you will need to do is create a list of and acquire essential equipment. The size of your warehouse, as well as what and how much you sell, will also determine what equipment is and isn’t needed.

Necessary equipment will be things like sorting and packing tables, a forklift or trolleys for moving stock, storage, strapping, and packing equipment, etc.

Space & Path Optimization

Next, you will need to plan out your space, especially your pathing. Both of these aspects are important, as using your space correctly and having efficient paths is the key to having an efficient system.

What you need to do is to split your space into sectors (storage, picking, packing, returns, etc.) and arrange them “in order”; for example, you would have your picking and packing sectors next to each other.

Pick path management is also a vital part of any warehouse. Your pick paths should be linear, and employees should finish picking their orders as close to the packaging sector as possible. Using a real-world example, when you are grocery shopping, it is far more efficient to start on one side and end at the checkout instead of going back and forth between aisles.

Automation

Once again, another aspect that will be determined by the size of your operation is automation. In this day and age, almost every repetitive task in almost every sector can be automated to cut down on wasted employee time.

Something as simple as a conveyor belt can help you save a ton of time and prevent employees from wasting their time carrying stock when you can simply stick it on a belt at one end and have it arrive on the other in a couple of minutes.

Cluster-Picking Strategy

e-Commerce has changed how warehouses operate, as more and more customers tend to make small purchases, usually with only one item. The Cluster-Picking Method is a cost and time-effective way to process orders, which doesn’t focus on orders at all.

Instead, an employee will go pick 40 of the same items at once, for example. They will then put each of those items into a separate bag or box. You can think about this like shopping for a party; if you need ten bottles of wine and ten steaks, you won’t get one bottle, then one steak, then back for one bottle, etc.

Slot Optimization

Slotting is a method of warehouse optimization that sees stock being placed in the most efficient spot on the floor. If you sell a wide range of goods, let’s say bedding to gardening tools, placing them in alphabetical order or by size can cause a lot of wasted time and effort when picking.

You will need to accumulate data to find the best solution, but an example would be if you see 6/10 people buying pillowcases when they also purchase a pillow; clearly, placing them next to each other is the best option.

Reverse Logistics Process Optimization

Getting your product from your warehouse to the customer is only part of what you need to do; getting the product from the customer back to you in the case of a return or a problem is an incredibly important factor that needs to be optimized from the beginning.

Depending on what you sell, you will also need to include aspects such as refurbishing and repairing, which can impact your supply chain when done incorrectly or ineffectively.

Have the Right Tech On Hand

In this day and age, much like automation, there is usually a piece of tech available that can make almost every process in your warehouse quicker and more efficient. Mobile printers, barcode scanners, and communication equipment; all of these things make life easier for your employees, and therefore they can be more efficient.

Upgrade to a WMS

A WMS, or warehouse management system, is arguably one of the most important things you need when operating your business. It is the “brain” that oversees everything from inbound receiving and inventory to alerts and user-defined reports.

However, not all WMS systems are built the same, and if you are to have a tech-driven warehouse, you will need one that can integrate said tech as well as be able to manage e-commerce-specific tasks and problems.

Warehouse Guidelines

Finally, warehouse guidelines are another absolute essential. Warehouse guidelines can and should be extensive, as they need to cover everything from safety to quality control, how items are packaged, and how returns are handled.

These guidelines should be a blueprint that defines how each process is managed and handled, as well as what employees should and shouldn’t do in the warehouse.

Warehouse optimization can be a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating process, but once you have it finished, you will instantly notice how the drastic improvement in productivity and efficiency.