7 Ways to Improve Your Warehouse Efficiency With Technology

All distribution centers have the same goals: minimize picking errors, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction. Companies have different processes to ensure this, and some methods are more efficient and effective than others.

Here are seven ways to improve productivity and accuracy in your warehouse:

1. Pay for Performance
Paying order pickers based on performance can provide incentives for employees to become more efficient, improve speed, and increase accuracy. But how do companies measure picker performance? ProCat’s PickRight solution includes a robust reporting suite enabling management to track picking while immediately increasing productivity by 90%.

2. Simplify Picking Processes
Is your warehouse operation stuck in the past? By stepping back and reviewing warehouse procedures, you may discover a need to improve flow and increase pick rates.

By making a change from paper picking to the PickRight technology, you can pinpoint problem areas and leave less room for error. Consider changing your picking processes and looking into more efficient ones, such as batch and zone picking.

3. Minimize your Operation Costs
Do you know your average pick rate? Do you know how yours compare to your competition? The robust reporting analytics that come with PickRight enable you to see real-time individual pick rates and increased picker accuracy on all orders, which will ultimately help you save money.
ProCat customers have seen between a 20-25% reduction in expenses and an ROI of less than 12 months.

4. Give Operations Managers the Tools They Need
It can be hard for operations managers to balance all of their tasks and keep an eye on employees. With real-time reporting from PickRight, management can locate staff and re-allocate them to pick areas that are in need. They can also access the status of all orders in each pick area by truck to make sure that loading is on schedule.

5. Control Shipping Costs
Misdelivered orders result in high re-shipping costs. Prevent this with technology like ShipRight, which allows drivers to scan packages at the customer’s location and capture electronic signatures.

6. Go Paperless
Keep your warehouse clutter-free. The PickRight software is hands-free, works in real time, communicates with your existing ERP, informs pickers if they have picked the correct item, and eliminates the need for paper pick tickets.

7. Keep Improving
To see success, you should be constantly evaluating your processes and procedures. Make a monthly assessment of your operations, follow up with a plan to improve and review processes, and stay on top of every step.

At ProCat Distribution Technologies, we provide high-tech solutions for warehouse picking management, receiving, loading and shipping. By utilizing our warehouse scanning technology you will see significant decreased costs, increased productivity, and increased accuracy. For more information, call us at 866-776-2285.