The automotive industry is growing fast. Studies show the automotive logistics market was estimated to be $284.1 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $472.9 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.55 percent. That’s a lot of room to grow!
If you’re trying to get ahead in this highly competitive industry, you need to organize your warehouse for success. This means keeping products visible, reducing picking and stocking times and making sure your employees can find what they need on the shelf. Use these tips for organizing warehouse management to whip your facility into shape so you can take a bigger bite out of the automotive industry.
Plan Out the Space
Stackable Wire Baskets Help Keep Your Warehouse Organized
It all starts with the floor plan. You need to map out the space of your facility with the goal of increasing efficiency. Consider how your employees navigate the space to help them find what they need as quickly as possible. Your aisles should be wide enough that your workers don’t have to worry about knocking into one another. Automotive equipment and supplies can be quite large, so make sure you have enough room on the shelf for these larger items. Regularly maintain your stack racks to keep them secure.
It’s best to organize your inventory and supplies based on demand. Keep the most popular items close to the loading dock or production line, including commonly used tools and parts. Your workers shouldn’t have to go too far out of their way to retrieve these items. Keep less popular inventory in the back of your facility or further off the ground to make the most of your warehouse space.
Separate Similar Items on the Shelf
There are so many parts to keep track of when running an automotive warehouse. From gaskets and valves to small nuts and bolts, use plastic totes to keep these items organized on the shelf. Many of these items may look similar, so do your best to differentiate them as much as possible. Use clear signs to direct your workers to the right container. You can even color code your containers and totes to improve the picking process. For example, use blue containers for tools, yellow for parts and red for accessories. This will help your employees navigate the space much faster.
Keep Large Inventory Visible
Plastic Pallets Are Affordable and Can Hold Large Loads
Use stackable wire baskets when storing or sorting large items such as tires and wheels. Your team should be able to access these items in a matter of seconds. They also represent some of the most valuable parts of the supply chain, so make sure they stay safe on the rack or in the bin. Many companies will line their tires up vertically so they can still access them one at a time. Others will stack tires on top of each other, but you will be limited to just one tire at a time.
Plastic pallets can help you access larger items in a pinch. Instead of laying your tires on top of each other, put a pallet in between. Your workers can then pick up the entire stack with a lift truck and you can pull out one at a time. This is often much cheaper than setting up a large system of stack racks. Look for used plastic pallets for sale to save even more.
Use an Automated Warehouse System
Nothing will save you more time and money than an automated warehouse system. The program will automatically direct your employees to the task at hand so you can spend less time delegating. It helps you manage existing supplies and resources in order for you to restock at the right time instead of getting caught off guard by a flood of new orders.
Using an automated warehouse system takes the stress out of warehouse management. You will always have an accurate count of what’s on the shelf so you can get every order out the door without delay.
Use these tips to improve your approach to automotive warehousing. A small change can yield big results down the line. Shop for the right storage equipment today and learn how to increase warehouse fulfillment efficiency the right way.