What Most Blog Posts About Warehouse Efficiency are Missing

Inefficiency in warehouse operations and logistics is simply a fact. A 2002 landmark study out of the Georgia Institute of Technology found that fewer than 30% of U.S. warehouses were operating efficiently, creating huge cost centers with unnecessary waste. Combatting inefficiency, then, can be a major way to combat costs.

Many authors have weighed in on the right way to do just that. Indeed, our own blog here at Infoplus has made this a major theme—a natural one, given that one of the main jobs of our software is to find hidden efficiencies in warehouse operations.

Still, most short pieces on warehouse efficiency don’t give the whole picture. Some focus only on a particular stage of operations, like receiving or storage. While helpful, such pieces fail to explain how such small, actionable steps fit into warehouse efficiency as a whole. Others try to give an overarching picture, but at the risk of advice that is too abstract and difficult to put into action.

For these reasons, we’ve laid out much of our previous advice (and some new material as well) in a single, cohesive white paper outlining the three stages at which warehouse managers can intervene to bring out more efficiency. A key insight is that different stages of warehouse operations require focusing on different values to shape management and operations decisions.

Download this white paper on the topic, “Optimizing Your Warehouse: 3 Stages for Controlling the Flow,”  where you will learn:

• Ways to combat inefficiency in your warehouse by examining 3 unique "stages" of item flow
• The 3 distinct values at play in each stage of your warehouse
• How processes like automation and quality control help ensure accuracy in receiving
• Why prediction and planning are so vital for layout and picking
• How flexibility in shipping can achieve greater efficiency and savings
• First steps in weaving together policies into a coherent optimization plan

Download the free white paper