Efficient and effective warehouse management relies on good quality and accurate data, fit for purpose processes and technology and a competent team. When any of these key success factors are compromised, a business is likely to experience:
- Wasted expenditure
- Time delays
- Production deficits
- Poor productivity
Iain Wood is the Materials Manager at Add Energy and throughout his 30+ year career in the materials sector, he has gained firsthand experience of the headaches and issues that can occur when striving to effectively manage and track down items in a warehouse. In this blog, Iain discusses the main barriers that could be preventing you from achieving efficient and effective warehouse management, and the impact these challenges can have on a business when they are not managed correctly.
1. Poorly managed preservation maintenance
“For some items, preservation maintenance is required to assure they function as they should when they are required.
“The requirements for conducting preservation maintenance can make it difficult to keep track of the locations of critical items due to the maintenance log needing to be manually updated on a regular basis to reflect their condition change, I.e., their location or maintenance being completed. Some businesses may have specialist workshops miles away from the main warehouse, meaning stock that requires specialist preservation maintenance is subject to movement and therefore loss of control.
“If these condition changes are not updated in the digital inventory management system, or CMMS, this may result in items not being able to be located, confusion on whether it is available for use and exposure to risk, because the warehouse team are unsure if the item is safe for use because there is no record of it being maintained whilst in the warehouse, as per its requirements.
“In addition to this, in my experience, poorly managed preservation maintenance can also cause stock to perish quicker over time because there are no triggers or notifications for maintenance requirements, which may result in premature failure of equipment once installed and the need to replace the part at late notice, at a premium price point.”