We’d like to give a quick crash course on one of our biggest tasks at Monarch, warehouse inventory management. This is essential for any business that’s struggling to get a grip on its inventory. The best-in-class warehouse facilities always know where to find things, and we want to show you how that’s done.
Here are some of the rudimentary elements that you need to be successful in inventory management.
The Basics
Given the complexity of your typical warehouse operation nowadays, it’s mission-critical to have things automated and organized. Warehouse inventory is crucial to ensuring that goals are met in a timely fashion.
This is a rough sketch of how materials tend to flow throughout a warehouse:
- Receiving Dock – products enter the facility.
- Put-Away Process – products are unloaded and brought into temporary locations.
- Assigned Storage Location – then they enter into an appropriate storage space and become inventory.
- Picking Process – retrieve inventory.
- Shipping Process – gather, assemble, and ship appropriate inventory.
Throughout these steps, it’s critical to know the quantity and composition of your inventory, as well as where it’s going throughout the warehouse. If you lose something, it’ll hurt the shipping process by wasting time trying to track down missing components. This problem can wreak havoc on your labor process as your employees will have to stop everything and search for missing items.
Warehouse Management Systems
One of the smartest ways to keep track of inventory is to use a warehouse management system (WMS). In 2022, this likely means utilizing a cloud-based information management system that bridges the gap between physical counts and what you see in a financial report. Today’s software allows you to conveniently interface between hand counts and financial records.
There are lots of WMS programs available, including Red Prairie and SAP. WMS software continues to evolve from humble beginnings where warehouse managers kept track of inventory by hand. The first technological update gave us the chance to cable upload data for tracking purposes. Now, much of it is cloud-based, which makes it easier for anybody in the warehouse to input, view, and adjust information.
Consequences of Poor Warehouse Management
Does your company run a warehouse that operates around the clock trying to process supplies and goods for your customers? Then you’re probably under intense time constraints that force you to quickly process materials.
It’s frighteningly easy to lose money on account of missing inventory. Just imagine what it would be like to have a facility full of perishable goods, for example, only to lose track of your inventory, and lose all of it due to spoilage. Most American businesses can’t afford to hold inventory forever, and time is money.
Losing control of inventory will cause supply chain problems and bottleneck your shipping process. This could result in late deliveries to your customers, who might complain and cancel their contract with you. Even when it comes to small convenience stores, it helps to have some kind of organized inventory system, like a POS, to at least break merchandise down into smaller, manageable segments.
Finally, these systems and software serve you by eliminating inaccuracies. Not only does an inventory system help you keep tabs on where everything is, but it reduces the likelihood of having the wrong quantity or the wrong product. A solid inventory system allows you to minimize and even eliminate most warehouse errors and discrepancies.
Monarch: Leader in Warehouse Inventory Management Services
So, when it pertains to keeping track of everything in a complicated warehouse building, you don’t want to leave things to chance. The organization is fundamental, which is exactly how Monarch assists many small, medium, and large businesses. Whether you need help with supply chain logistics, physical inventory counts, or quality control, we have more than 35 years of experience with these pressing concerns.
Our services get results. We regularly receive glowing testimonials from customers relieved that we were able to troubleshoot their problems and implement better systems. Gone are the days of managing an entire warehouse without reliable support.
We hope you found this information helpful, and if you’d like to learn more about warehouse inventory management, contact us at any time.
