What Are the Best Warehouse Organization Ideas?

According to some G2 data, the average number of warehouse SKUs was 13,985.

That’s a lot of products to keep track of in one warehouse. If you don’t have the right warehouse efficiency plan, then you could lose those items or be losing out on time and money.

Thankfully, we have some warehouse organization ideas that will help you improve your warehouse efficiency. Keep reading to discover some easy steps that you can implement.

In this article

Organize Your Floor Plan

If you are currently in the process of designing your new floor plan, then you should take this time to organize your floor plan and decide where everything will be set up.

However, if you already have an existing warehouse and need to optimize it, you can set this as a long-term goal for your business.

To take the first step, consider your current layout. You want to provide an organized workspace and safe environment for your team while also ensuring that it’s efficient.

Try to set it up in a way that makes sense for your operation. For example, if you’re sending out packages, you may want to have a packaging section and then a place for employees to easily move to the sending area.

Print out the diagrams of your distribution center and draw a bolt for the general progression of activities. You should also ask your staff for their input for efficiency since they are the ones who are going through the process every day.

Take Time to Clean

You want to ensure that you keep your warehouse clean so that your employees can easily move around and complete their tasks. It’ll also ensure that your employees are safe.

Make sure that the aisles of your warehouse aren’t obstructed by any forklifts, containers, or machinery.

All employees should also have to keep their workspaces clean and ensure they always clean up any mess they make.

Organize Vertically and Horizontally

When you’re laying out the rest of your warehouse, consider organizing it vertically and horizontally. For example, you want to ensure that you don’t have any empty slots or dead corners that are making your warehouse less efficient.

You also want to ensure that your shelves take up as much space as possible. If they only run up the wall halfway, you might want to consider extending it to the ceiling.

You also want to consider where you’re storing different merchandise. For heavier items, you may want to keep them closer to the ground.

Create a Hierarchy

Creating a hierarchy is great if you have a lot of frequently used items. You want to make these more accessible, so place them somewhere within reach.

Put lesser-used items up higher where you might need a ladder or to stretch. However, your process will be more efficient when employees can easily reach the most-used items.

Use Labels and Signs

An easy way to organize a warehouse is to use labels and signs for almost anything. This is something you can do quickly, and it’ll help improve efficiency as well.

Once you’ve established your layout, you can use labels and signs to guide employees through the process. It’ll also save time by allowing employees to know where something is rather than waste time searching for it or asking where it is.

Monitor Inventory

You also need to monitor inventory in real-time. Once you see your entire inventory, you’ll be able to make everything more efficient.

There are many software programs that manage your stock level and will automatically reorder something if it’s running low. You can also check it at any point during the day.

You may even want to install some TVs or digital charts somewhere in your warehouse so employees can see the real-time inventory at all times during the day.

Use a Warehouse Management System

Warehouse management software, like cartoncloud.com, could also help support the efficiency of your warehouse. You’ll have data that you can use to track your inventory, determine storage options, and classify your inventory.

The sooner you implement this software, the easier it will be to identify any inefficiencies. Some warehouse management systems even have built-in inventory tracking.

Optimize the Receiving Process

The receiving area of your warehouse needs to be optimized on its own. This is the area where you’ll receive all of the shipments, and this is also where you’ll set the stage for bringing efficiency to the rest of your warehouse.

You should ensure that your loading dock, inspection, and product labeling area are all performing perfectly. If even one of the stations in the receiving area isn’t operating efficiently, this will trickle down and affect every step of your warehouse process.

Do Routine Checks

Once you’ve set up your entire warehouse, you should do routine checks and audits to ensure that it’s still efficient. You may need to revise the process as time goes on and you learn from your initial test.

You may want to observe the process in action. Sometimes taking an objective step back will give you insight into a better process or workflow. Try and schedule these audits monthly.