Retail Warehouses Fear Not. A Little Prep Goes a Long Way.

It’s never too early for retail warehouses to begin preparing for the holiday rush. From ensuring streamlined inventory management practices to developing a reverse logistics plan for managing post-holiday returns, taking strides toward more efficient warehouse management early gives operations an edge during the busiest time of the year.

1. Retail Inventory Management: Get a Complete Count

The variety and amount of inventory, along with its pace of movement, drastically increases during the holiday rush. Before things get too crazy, ensure you have a good handle on your retail inventory management processes, including having clear visibility into what’s in your warehouse right now. Take the time to count everything. If you haven’t already, now might also be the time to invest in an inventory management system to ensure accurate inventory tracking as the pace of business picks up.

Automate Manual Tasks With Barcode Scanners or RFID Solutions

Inventory management systems help warehouses meet customer demand, shorten lead times, and reduce the cost of inventory storage. To streamline the process, warehouses typically implement barcode scanning or RFID technology (and sometimes both). If you are going to do this ahead of the holiday rush, ensure you have ample deployment time to avoid headaches and maintain customer service standards.

2. Order Supplies Now

Ensuring you have the retail inventory required to keep up with the demand of the holiday rush is a top priority. Order popular seasonal items ahead of time to make sure you have the products your customers want, even if sales channels become bottlenecked. In addition to stocking the inventory you need to keep your customers happy, be sure to order shipping and other operational supplies ahead of time. You don’t want to run out of boxes, pallets, receipt paper, ink, or shipping labels while your warehouse is operating full steam ahead.

3. Mobilize Technology, Supplies, and Supervisors

Make this the year you eliminate waste and streamline your retail warehouse operations. Implementing mobile warehouse workstations eliminates wasted movement, saves floor space, and delivers technology and supplies to the point of task for faster, more accurate order fulfillment.Eliminate wasted movement by mobilizing technology to the point of task, including:

• Barcode scanners
• Printers
• Warehouse management systems
• Inventory management systems

By moving these items to the point of task you can save floor space by eliminating fixed workstations,ensure supplies are on hand wherever they are needed, and free up supervisors to manage issues and even perform quality control on the spot.

4. Audit Warehouse Layout and Processes

If you’ve got some time before the holiday rush, give your warehouse processes and layout a thorough examination to ensure you are running as efficiently as possible. Pay close attention to your receiving area layout, as well as your picking strategy for optimal efficiency. Consider adding some breathing room in your warehouse layout for peak seasons with flexible leasing options, temporary warehouse walls, or cross docking strategies.

5. Prepare for Expanded Hours Of Operation

Many retail businesses add temporary labor to their workforce during the holiday rush, but they often don’t think about the electrical power required to support the extra manpower. Make sure your technology is powered up and ready to operate for extended hours during the holiday rush, and for the period of time after when you will be receiving returns. Mobile workstations with hot-swappable batteries eliminate the need to go searching for fresh batteries for small devices like scanners, computers, and printers. Additionally, DTG’s line of advanced battery systems are long-lasting, environmentally sound, and flexible enough to power devices for nearly any application.

6. Properly Train New Labor

Having an excess of new workers in a busy warehouse can create a dangerous work environment. Properly train new employees to ensure safer working conditions. Post processes around the warehouse so that they are easily accessible, clearly mark pathways, and evaluate a new worker’s knowledge before setting them off on their own. Adding a warehouse management system with assisted picking solutions can go a long way toward keeping the warehouse running safely and smoothly.

7. Implement Cross Docking for Items With Quick Turnaround

Warehouses can reduce inventory storage costs by implementing a cross docking strategy for items with quick turnaround. Rather than devoting the space and labor to receiving, unpacking, and storing pallets of products, warehouse operators can load items directly from receiving into the outgoing shipment area or onto the truck headed to the next destination.

8. Prepare to Handle Returns

While the holiday season is a thrilling time for retail stores, the inevitable rush of returns is an equally important time to leave a lasting impression with customers. Prepare to handle the flood of incoming inventory by being ready for a quick shift in focus to reverse logistics for returns management. You may need to change your inventory management strategy, retrain workers in different processes, and possibly keep on temporary holiday workers to manage the influx in returns. By doing this you’ll be able to avoid having post-holiday blues that lag into springtime.

Mobilize Retail Warehouse Operations for a Smoother Holiday Rush

DTG’s Lean Six Sigma experts help retail warehouse operations prepare for success. Contact us today to learn more about our strategies to eliminate waste, reduce costs, and keep your warehouse running smoothly no matter how busy your next peak season gets.