The Hidden Secrets Of True Logistical Efficiency
If you were to suggest three positive contributions to business logistical efficiency, what would you choose? Odds are, you’d think of good tracking and storage, effective fleet management, and optimized route planning. You may have a few more insights that come to mind, based on personal experience.
Yet the truth is that logistics and storage of products or inventory is a much more complex practice than it seems on the surface. Sure, some of the provisions we’ve discussed will have an outsized effect, now and again it’s the little details that provide the glue to keep everything together.
For example - great lighting is essential to appropriate warehouse and inventory management. It not only improves safety, but ensures all stock can be seen, that employees remain alert, and that the space can be kept hygienic, as any disrepair and improper care will be obvious.
In this post, we’ll discuss some of the hidden secrets of true logistical efficiency in line with this, so you can perfect your organized process outside of the major details you’re already paying attention to:
Warehouse Cooling & Air Flow Management
No one talks much about airflow in warehouses until it goes wrong, and that’s because it’s not the most romantic topic. That doesn’t make it any less important. Hot warehouses make everyone sluggish, not to mention products stored in them can deteriorate faster than they should if the environment isn’t controlled. This applies even when the products aren’t necessarily temperature-sensitive.
This requires having proper ventilation installed, as it makes the space more pleasant and cuts down on those musty smells that build up in storage areas. Industrial HVLS fans are an excellent first step because when summer hits and the metal roof turns the place into an oven, good cooling keeps everything running smoothly instead of watching staff wilt by mid-afternoon.
Efficient Staff Rotas, Backed Up By Temp Agencies
There are some service industries in which being understaffed can have a calamitous knock-on effect, and your link in the supply chain is absolutely one of them. Things go wrong when rotas are too rigid, not accounting for the fact people get sick, family emergencies pop up, and sometimes the workload suddenly doubles, especially seasonally. Having a good relationship with temp agencies is wise because you can call on them to help you with temporary staffing if needed.
But of course, the best warehouses keep their regular staff happy with sensible shift patterns but also maintain a pool of trained temporary workers who know the system. If treated well, some temps become like part-time regulars who can jump in when needed. Just try to avoid predatory zero-hour contracts.
Adjusted Stock Cycling Measures
Stock doesn't always move how we expect it to. Right now, the timeless popular stout Guniess is out of stock in many pubs across the UK because of the increasing demand placed on it by young social media users making it something of a winter “trend.”
This means sometimes perfectly good systems need tweaking because reality doesn't match the plan. Organizationally, maybe certain items keep getting buried behind others, or fast-moving products are stored too far from the loading bay. In these cases, watching how stock flows through the warehouse, rather than how it should flow on paper, helps spot easy and frustrating snags you may otherwise be vulnerable to. Simple changes like moving popular items closer to packing stations or adjusting how often certain shelves get checked can smooth that out, as can having a dynamic tracking mechanism based on reliable, or even custom-developed software.
Responsive Procurement & Data Management
Lean planning is often how the supply chain moves, to help cut unnecessary costs more easily. We’d argue it’s better than being overburdened, running out of space, or having to throw out expired goods. But this takes communication because when procurement teams talk to warehouse staff, they learn things their spreadsheets miss.
For example, bulk orders that look good on paper could easily cause storage headaches if you double book along with other incoming loads. Or, perhaps certain suppliers always deliver late but nobody updated the system to account for it, and that leaves you without the staff to handle the load. If you use your data to help spot patterns, it works better when combined with what people on the ground are seeing, possibly running in conjunction with them.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily consider some of the true secrets of logistical efficiency, and perhaps even avoid mistakes that would have been easier to avoid.
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