Just like people, every item has a journey. The groceries we buy in the supermarket, the clothes we order from an online marketplace, or the curtains that decorate our living room were likely stored in a warehouse once. They were made available to us due to millions of logistics processes between those four walls. It is a truly magical world! In this blog post, we take a little tour behind the scenes to define warehouse operations, its main functions, and what best practices we can use to optimize processes.
Warehouse operations is a set of warehouse processes and procedures that ensure the goods flow smoothly in and out of the warehouse. Since the advent of e-commerce and the growing role of warehouses in the customer buying journey, well-organized warehouse operations have become an essential source of competitive advantage for supply chain companies. Consequently, inefficiencies can erode customer satisfaction and reduce profitability. Warehouse operations management must therefore focus on optimizing processes.
We can group the tasks into six main categories:
Warehouse processes can be either manual or automated. An example of manual operation is when we use a paper picklist to fulfill orders. The same can be done with automation when a handheld device tells a warehouse worker where to go and which tasks to perform.
Nowadays, most warehouses operate with a mixture of manual and automated processes. However, automating warehouse operations is growing steadily as companies must improve performance speed and efficiency to meet customer demands for larger product variety, smaller package sizes, faster deliveries, and easy returns.
There are two key factors inducing costs in a warehouse: time and space. Therefore, optimizing warehouse operations is about reducing money spent on these factors without compromising quality, work safety, or the delivery experience. In fact, when we do the right things more efficiently, we can free up resources for future improvements.
To do the right things, though, we need the correct information and tools to optimize and prioritize all warehouse processes. A modern warehouse management system (WMS) is designed for precisely this job. Equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI), it gathers, analyzes, and applies information to improve traceability, optimize the use of space and movements, and reduce errors.