If there is one thing all warehouses have in common is that they would all like to see a reduction in their daily operational costs. Large warehouses contain many products and material handling equipment that can cost a great deal, so any savings in costs will be very beneficial to the business. Below are some tips that may help you lower your material handling costs.
Maintain Storage Conditions
Ensuring that temperature and humidity levels within your warehouse are optimal will prevent poor conditions that would damage your products. While maintaining temperatures within a warehouse will be costly, damaged products will cost much more if they need to be replaced. Additionally, make sure to cover products properly to avoid environmental damage.
Reduce Touch Labour
Touch labour refers to the amount of times employees handle a specific product or material. Reducing touch labour can help increase both productivity and profit, since each product takes up less time. Evaluate every minute spent sorting, moving, and processing a product and determine whether you can shorten that process.
Save Energy
To save energy, you can install timers and sensors that turn lights off when an area is vacant. This not only benefits the environment by being energy efficient, but it will also help you save money on electricity bills. To go a step forward, replace all old light bulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs to save in the long run.
Optimize Space
For a warehouse, land size can be the biggest contributor to overhead costs, so it is worth optimizing the space you do have within your warehouse. When selecting storage, it is important to analyze your warehouse dimensions to ensure that you select the right storage to maximize space. If possible, always remember to expand up instead of out, since horizontal space in a warehouse is very precious.
Invest in New Technology
Shop around for new products that may consume less energy to help you save costs and remain energy efficient. Replacing old machines and equipment is a great way to increase productivity and cut costs in the long run.
Continuous Improvement Program
A continuous improvement program will serve to benefit any business and should be implemented to ensure constant progression. It is important to take employee suggestions as well as analyze each step in the process to make notes on areas that are not keeping pace with the rest of the warehouse. With this, you can then begin to plan for improvement and implement training where necessary.
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REFERENCES
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8 Ways To Lower Your Materials Handling Costs In Time For EOFY – Logistics & Materials Handling Blog | Adaptalift Hyster.” Aalhysterforklifts.com.au. N. p., 2014. Web. 2 Aug. 2017.
