Inventory and Warehouse Management Best Practices

Inventory and Warehouse Management Best Practices

1. Replenishment

   • Pick Face
     • Receiving pallets in and shipping out cases or cartons
     • Every unique item should have a pick face; otherwise, only fast movers should be available in the pick face
     • The pick face should hold enough stock to minimize trips from reserve stock. Factors affecting the quantity include the container capacity
     • Real time
       • . The goal of this method is to ensure the pick location has enough inventory to be fulfilled by the time the picker reaches that location/item. It uses the warehouse management systems automatic replenishment process when pick tickets are generated.
     • Non-Real Time
       • This method helps you avoid having pickers and replenishment staff running into each other. Schedule picking and replenishment at completely different times
     • Safety Stock
       • Safety stock, or additional inventory units carried as protection against possible stockouts, help you weather the unexpected. You need to be able to replenish even when unexpected sales orders arrive. T
     • Lead Time
       • Lead time is the delay between the reorder point and the time when the item arrives and is received.
     • Stocking Time
       • How long does it take once you receive inventory in your warehouse to move it to the pick face

2. Picking: Selecting the Right Systems

   • Piece Picking
     • It is a basic system that works well in warehouses that fulfill a smaller number of orders per day.
   • Case Picking
     • A warehouse using case picking usually has fewer product SKUs from which it fills its orders as well as higher picks per SKU.
   • Pallet Picking
     • got a lot of choices as far as storage configurations and equipment and the lift trucks/towmotors your pickers will use to retrieve pallet loads.
   • Picking Methods
     • Basic Picking
     • Patch picking
     • Zone Picking
     • Wave Picking
   • Picking Equipment
     • Automatic picking
     • Automated Picking
     • Automated Conveyor
     • Bar code Sanners
     • Carton Flow Rack
     • Carousels
     • Lift Trucks
     • Paper
     • Pick to light
     • Pallet Racking
     • Radio Frecuency
     • Stati Shelving
     • Voice and Speech recognition

3. Kitting and Sub Assembly

   • Definition
     • Light assembly of components or parts into defined units
     • Placing two or more items into a grouped item sold as a single item from the inventory file
     • Assembly of product or parts within the warehouse
   • Benefits
     • Facilities
     • Operations
     • Competitiveness
     • Felxibility
     • Employees
     • Quality
   • How
     • Designing the kits for ease of creation
     • Designing the kits for ease of assembly (how are people going to remove the components from them)
     • Figuring out how to put the correct parts into the correct kit
     • Determining how you are going to deliver the correct kit to the correct workstation
   • What
     • Fasteners such as bolts and washers, etc. are usually not included in kits first assembled and then combined into the finished product.
   • Who
     • . In other situation where components are too large or there is large variation in components lists, for example, machine kitting may just not work.
   • Where
     • The location within your facility depends on your picking process, the availability of physical space in which to assemble kits and store the finished work, and the proximity to the shipping dock.

4. Picking

   • Efficient picking begins with efficient putaway. By doing an efficient job in choosing where and how to position inventory items on shelves racks or in bins, you set yourself up for successful picking.
   • Objectives
     • Productivity
     • Accuracy
     • Cycle time
   • Picking systems
     • Piece picking
     • Case Picking
     • Pallet picking
   • Pícking Methods
     • Tecnologies
       • Automatic Picking Machines
       • Automatic Storage and reveal
       • Automated Conveyor ando sortation systems
       • Carton flow Rack
       • Carousels
       • Pick To light
       • Static Shelving
       • Voice and Speech Recognition

5. Physical Inventory

   • Counting
     • Whether through cycle counting or an annual tally, the accuracy of your inventory data enables your sales, customer service and financial management systems to operate much more efficiently and effectively
     • Percentage of building costs (including rent and utilities) for space used in the areas of your operation where you store inventory
   • Mapower
     • A counting team can handle 50-100 items per hour. Items that need to be weighed or moved to count take longer.
   • Counting Materials
     • Bar Code Readers
     • Counting Cards
     • Count Sheets
   • Inventory Day
     • Make sure that all shipments (both inbound and outbound) have been completed and recorded before your count.
   • What To avoid
     • Counting Damaged Or Obsolete inventory
     • Moving Misplaced Materials
     • Moving Forward