How to store goods in a warehouse? This question is asked by many entrepreneurs. In this article, we will describe in detail what the placement of goods depends on, what are the ways of storing and placing goods in a warehouse, and we will also reveal the topic of address storage.
Ways of placing goods in a warehouse
- By type of goods: varieties, types and are stored separately;
- By consignments of goods: each incoming consignment is stored separately; this batch may consist of different goods;
- By batches and type of goods: incoming batches are placed in different places, within the batch the goods are sorted and stored by type of product, separately type from type;
- By product names: all cargoes are sorted by product names, each item is stored separately.
In order to optimally distribute the goods and fully utilize the entire area of the warehouse, they develop a layout for the placement of goods. To create it, you need to define:
- Permanent and temporary storage locations. Constants are assigned to a specific product;
- Possibility of round-the-clock monitoring of the goods;
- Is it easy to get to the product, is it easy to care for it;
- Frequency of receipt of goods;
- Volumes of receipt and shipment;
- Appropriate packing methods;
- Optimal "neighborhood" of types of goods with each other.
When placing goods, they are guided by the principle “higher demand - closer location to delivery”. The higher the turnover of goods, the closer to the place of loading and unloading it is placed. For this, sections are marked in the diagram long-term storage and short term.
Goods of low demand are placed in long-term storage areas; stocks of high-volume goods are also stored in such areas.
The Business.Ru trade automation program will help determine the level of demand for goods. Always actual information on sales and product balances, quick generation of a report on running positions.
Places for storing goods are equipped depending on the size of the warehouse. On large warehouses the cells in the racks for cargo are made in such a way that the entire batch fits into each, along with the pallet or in the box in which the cargo arrived.
The distance between the racks should be wide enough - at least 3 meters, so that the loader can work comfortably.
In warehouses for small wholesalers and retailers goods are grouped by size. The warehouse is divided into sections for large and small goods. Large goods are often placed closer to the exits, shipping and loading areas.
In order to make optimal use of the premises, “sets” of cells of different sizes and different depths are made up in the places where goods are placed. They also use collapsible racks with the ability to change the height of the cells.
Address storage system. Features and Benefits
In order not to lose the goods, it is necessary to quickly carry out the necessary manipulations with it, the placement and storage of goods must be systematized. This is usually done with addressable storage system.
Each cell, shelf, rack, section is assigned a number or letter, a number of letters and numbers make up the product location code; thus, each storage location has its own address. This address is recorded in all documents accompanying the goods. The number of characters in the address depends on the size of the warehouse and the volume of goods placed.
The product address (cell number with the product) may look like this: B2245.
B - storage area,
the first two digits are the rack number,
the third is the serial number of the vertical section of this rack,
the last digit is the shelf number.
There are two main types of address storage of goods: dynamic and static.
At dynamic storage the goods, regardless of the name, are placed in any unoccupied place; the address of this place is assigned to the received goods. All operations carried out with the goods are reflected in the information system of the warehouse.
Pros:
- the turnover, the demand for goods is clearly visible, and this does not require additional time and effort;
- warehouse space is used as efficiently as possible.
Minuses:
- in the event of a software failure, the product will be very difficult to find;
- a lot depends on the particular storekeeper, a specialist who has studied the warehouse well.
At static storage each product is allocated its own place and assigned to it, i.e. The received goods already have their own address and are unloaded only there.
Pros:
- even an inexperienced employee will not be difficult to figure out where the goods should be placed, because. the entire product group is collected in one place;
- Acceptance and other manipulations with the goods are carried out clearly and promptly.
Minuses:
- if for some reason more goods arrive than planned at the place, difficulties may arise with its placement.
When the type of address storage is selected, it is necessary to draw up a warehouse scheme, mark all the addresses on it (it can be in the form of a table that will be filled in as the goods arrive), enter the addresses into the goods specification, then into the database, etc.
The territory of the warehouse is visually divided into zones (for example, using markings on the floor), the zones are marked with letters; signs are attached to racks, sections, shelves or numbers are drawn with paint.
If done correctly, any warehouse worker will be able to find an item by its name and address, even if they don't know what the item looks like.
The layout of the warehouse division should be posted for public access on a prominent place. If the type of address storage in the warehouse is static, it should reflect the names of goods. Apply marking on goods with large bright paint.
Address storage in a warehouse
Ways to store goods in a warehouse
Depending on the type of product, it is stored in stacks or on racks.
Stacks usually stack goods packaged in bags, boxes, barrels, coolies, etc. The stacks must be stable, be of acceptable height and have free approaches. Their dimensions are determined by the properties of the goods, the capabilities of the loader, the height of the warehouse, the maximum load per square meter. floor meter, etc.
There are straight, cross and reverse stacking.
In the premises where the goods are stacked, there must be good ventilation, all fire and sanitary standards must be observed.
Indents should be:
- from the walls of the room - 70 cm;
- from light sources - half a meter;
- from the floor - 15-30 cm;
- from the walls - 50 cm;
- from heating appliances - one and a half meters.
To make the stack more stable, the rows of goods in it are laid with boards or slats: every two rows of boxes or every 5 rows of bags.
For the convenience of loading and unloading and rational use of the premises, it is better to stack goods in piles on pallets. Do not stack goods with damaged, slippery packaging or in oversized containers.
Cargoes in boxes and bags, not formed into packages, are stacked tied up. The stack can only be unloaded from top to bottom. The distance between the stacks should allow their smooth unloading. If the stack is formed manually, in boxes weighing up to 50 kg or bags up to 70 kg, its height usually does not exceed 2 m.
On racks, on pallets, in boxes, boxes, bags - more often they store piece goods, as well as unpacked goods. Pallets are convenient for mechanized loading process; in this case, on the upper shelves are placed goods on pallets, and on the lower - those that can be selected manually.
The Business.Ru warehouse automation program will make it easy to credit goods, write off defects, and issue a warehouse order. There is support for bulk loading of leftovers from Excel, which will significantly reduce the time for adding goods to the database.
Rules for placing goods on the racks:
- The goods are placed with the marking towards the aisle;
- Goods of the same order are stacked in racks on both sides of one aisle: this way the transportation path will be shorter;
- If one cell is not enough for placement, the remaining goods are placed in the same section, above or below, so that only the shelf number differs in the address;
- On the upper tiers of racks it is more convenient to store long-term storage goods, as well as those that are issued in a whole pallet or place;
Outerwear is stored on hangers, bulk cargo - in bulk, liquids - in tanks, tanks, barrels. Stacks of "lying" barrels are made no higher than 3 rows, each one must lay and wedge the edges.
If the barrels are placed standing up, then no more than 2 rows of dressing are allowed, and the rows are laid with boards of the same thickness. Barrels with combustible and flammable substances are placed only lying down, in one row and with the cork up.
One of the global problems of warehouses, like most enterprises, where the human factor plays an important role is, of course, personnel. Most firms are experiencing an acute shortage of staff, and among storekeepers, operators and loaders there is a large turnover - rarely people, especially young people, stay at such work for more than one or two years. The difficulty of working with the older generation is that it is difficult for them to comprehend the work of computer programs for accounting for inventory and packaging equipment. So how to be?
First of all, you need to be aware that the warehouse is one of the most important parts of the business - The warehouse doesn't spend money, it earns it!
In order to avoid staff turnover, it is necessary not only to pay people decent salaries, but also to use tools to form the morale of an employee in a warehouse. To check the material component, one can compare the costs of shortages and damage to material assets in different periods of the warehouse operation - when the number of experienced workers prevails over newly arrived ones and vice versa. Sometimes the losses from the mistakes of untrained or inexperienced employees amount to more than an increase in the salary of an old-timer. But with moral incentives, the situation is more complicated - they are not always easy to measure.
The reason is that the functionality of the warehouse worker is limited to a certain framework and the initiative is often not required from him. How, then, to make the storekeeper or loader work better?
Undoubtedly, it is necessary not only to introduce a system of fines for lateness, violations of discipline, delays in shipment, etc., but also, accordingly, if an employee does not commit violations, encourage him with a bonus, choose the best employee at the end of the month, announce gratitude, etc. - this is the first thing that comes to mind, here, as they say, even the simplest "Soviet" methods are suitable.
However, if we think progressively, have there been new tools for managing and motivating personnel in the labor market?
Let's look at the experience of colleagues:
Logistics operator TABLOGIX, relying on its 20 summer experience in the field of warehouse management, developed and implemented its own system of individual employee motivation, called 3C - Fair Incentive System.
The system makes it possible to take into account in comparable conventional units all types of warehouse work performed by each employee, determine his total labor contribution to the general piggy bank and redistribute the bonus in proportion to this contribution. Thus, the 3C incentive system rewards those workers who are able to complete more tasks with a high level of quality by taking on an additional load. This system involves the formation of the premium part based on the assessment of 3 parameters: labor productivity, quality of work And employee loyalty.
In order to eliminate the subjective factor, the performance evaluation process is fully automated through the development of a KPI system that allows real-time calculation of an employee's productivity in every minute of his work shift. Often in practice, an increase in productivity entails a decrease in the level of quality. In this regard, another significant parameter for evaluating the work was quality. It is calculated based on the results of the billing period based on the number of errors made by the employee. In addition to productivity and quality, it is necessary to take into account the factor of a conscientious attitude to work, which was conventionally called “loyalty”. Loyalty is considered as the willingness of an employee to carry out the necessary instructions of the head, when tasks in his main specialization in this moment No. When forming the premium specific gravity performance indicator is 50%, quality 40%, loyalty 10%.
The list of assessed works includes all warehouse operations: unloading, loading, sorting, placement, replenishment, movement, selection by pallets, selection by boxes, inventory, etc. It is important that absolutely all types of work performed by each employee are taken into account and received their assessment.
Data on the number of completed tasks and the time spent on them, the system imports from an automated WMS warehouse management system.
The presence of such a system allows you to be sure of the interest of the staff, who understands how the assessment of work takes place. It also allows you to determine the ability of the current state to meet production plans and justify changes in the budget to meet new production challenges. By setting the system settings to monitor labor productivity in real time, the manager receives information about the productivity of employees in every minute of their work shift. Thus, he can immediately respond to possible deviations by taking corrective actions and, if necessary, attract additional resources. At the same time, alarm bells can be seen immediately, and not after the fact, following the results of the past period.
How does it work in practice? Suppose in one hour from 8:00 to 9:00, worker A unloaded 30 pallets, worker B placed 30 pallets, worker C selected 30 lines, and worker D was nowhere and was not noticed by anyone. Each completed task is confirmed by the employee using the data collection terminal. All data is displayed in WMS, and accounting for the work performed is carried out by a special program developed by TABLOGIX. With the introduced standards, for example: unloading 1.5 minutes per pallet, placement of goods for storage in 1.8 minutes and selection of an order line in 2 minutes. we will get the following indicators activity of employees (Performance ratio - KPI):
Employee A: 30*1.5/60 = 0.75
Employee B: 30*1.8/60 = 0.9
Employee C: 30*2/60 = 1.0
Employee D: 0/60 = 0.
From these indicators, we see that employee C is the most productive and fulfills all the necessary standards. From the same indicators, we can find out at what stage of work we have difficulties for most employees - this will allow the most flexible distribution of human resources in the warehouse.
Quality factor takes into account the number of employee errors when selecting lines, identified technological violations, identified cases of damage and marriage, etc. If the quality indicator meets the requirements established at the warehouse, then the employee deserves the second part of the bonus.
Loyalty In other words, diligence and conscientiousness. The loyalty parameter allows you to avoid situations when a worker refuses to perform tasks that are not directly related to his immediate duties.
The introduction of such a system gave an increase in the productivity of warehouse employees by 30%, while significantly reducing the number of defects.
Thus, by introducing an automated system for recording the individual motivation of an employee, management not only received a powerful tool for tracking performance labor resources, but also allowed ordinary workers to predict the size of their rewards through the amount of effort expended per unit of working time.
Our other colleagues from the 20A logistics agency have creatively approached the issue of moral motivation of employees: for almost two years now, “functional music” has been playing in their warehouses.
Functional music (or production music) has been around for over 80 years. Monotonous work on the assembly line industry, which was actively developing at that time, required an increase in work comfort without sacrificing productivity. Music was a good idea. Rhythmic and at the same time unobtrusive music on a subconscious level helps to work clearly and smoothly, reducing emotional stress and consequently fatigue. Music began to be used at the enterprise of Henry Ford, gained great popularity in the USSR (especially at textile industries), was used by NASA in the training of astronauts. In the 80s-90s, its popularity somewhat decreased, but already in the 2000s, this direction of stimulation received a new impetus for development due to modern information technologies.
Despite the possibilities modern automation, the basis of the logistics business is people who perform painstaking and responsible work, which is associated with both physical labor, and with the operation of rather complex equipment. In this regard, the musical background should be moderate, - gently stimulating, not "imposing" the beat and rhythm of the work.
Colleagues achieved in this way a general reduction in stress, conflict, increased job satisfaction, reduced the number of errors and injuries, productivity increased by 10%.
Nowadays, obtaining a modern management education is not a problem. Many managers have an MBA degree in personnel management, the vast majority of managers in large firms got additional education in this area. In addition, there is a mass of literature for self-education. But what is strange is that despite this, many Russian firms, 5-10 years after their appearance, are acquiring painfully familiar “shapes” of our soviet past - bureaucracy, sluggishness, costly business processes, low level corporate culture and inability to change.
What is the reason? We dare say - in ourselves. It is no secret that in each of us there is a rudiment of our historical past - a sort of Stalinist or "Soviet" style of management. Not surprisingly, three generations of Soviet managers grew up on this ideology. Yes, and today's young leaders often exactly copy the skills of their "teachers", considering them effective, because they simply did not see anything else.
How to be? There is only one answer - to change. Squeeze out a “scoop” drop by drop, but every day. Take everything described below as a test for the disease "Stalinism" and suggestions on how to treat it.
1. If your company believes that the investigation of the problem is completed only if someone is punished, you should know that you are ruled by “Sovok”! Eliminate the systemic cause. If this decision found, is it so important to severely punish the "switchman" for a mistake that occurred in the past? It is more important to involve in cooperation the executors who will implement this solution. And it is at the stage of finding a solution. If the consciousness of the employees is "inhibited" by the fear of a future penalty, believe me, the results will be negligible. But anger and resentment in the minds will remain for a long time ... Is this the goal set by the owners of the business?
2. If in your unit the number of fines (demotivation) exceeds the number of bonuses (motivation), then it's time for you to grow a mustache and start smoking a pipe! You can't get people to work effectively with a threat. We've already been through this! You can only move forward with profit. This does not mean that we are against penalties and exactingness. But the number and amount of rewards should be many times greater than the number and amount of penalties. Evaluate your motivation system from this point of view and make changes before it's too late.
3. Formalism in rewards. If in your company awards are made only on “significant dates”, and you cannot afford to promptly “on the same day” reward distinguished employees for a significant achievement, then your personnel has begun to be ruled by accounting or O&ZP ... A sure sign of “developed socialism”! The incentive system is essential part modern technology of personnel management. Formalism can emasculate everything from him managerial functions and turn an effective mechanism into a mere planned cost!
It is necessary not only to listen, but also to hear your colleagues and subordinates, otherwise sooner or later you will encounter a situation where it turns out that an innovation will be proposed to solve the workflow, standing company serious funds, but in the end it turns out that the issue on the ground could be solved by a fan for 1,500 rubles, as in the old bike about empty tubes.
Experiment and develop, support the initiative and be proactive. And remember, any change is good if it ultimately moves your company forward!
WE DEVELOP TOGETHER!
Journal "Director of Information Service", No. 1, 2008
// January, 2008
At a certain point in time, any enterprise operating warehouse space is faced with the need for changes in warehousing and cargo handling technologies. A competent approach to the design and implementation of changes will improve the quality of the warehouse while maintaining an acceptable level of costs for its equipment and maintenance.
An analysis of the activities of a number of distribution companies shows that there is a relationship between the main economic indicators the work of the distribution company and approaches to managing stocks and warehouses. As the distribution company's turnover grows, warehouse process management errors have a negative impact on the level of demand satisfaction and lead to a disproportionate increase in the need for warehouse space.
Timely investment in the implementation of projects aimed at improving the efficiency of operations is much cheaper than “patching holes” and correcting the consequences of serious mistakes. That is why it is important to prevent problems by developing your own staff and using the best practices of other companies.
The symptoms of warehouse process management errors are: lack of space, inefficient use of equipment and technical resources, high costs for storage and handling of goods, low quality client service.
The task of increasing the efficiency of the warehouse, if it has already been built and is in operation, is feasible without significant investments in equipment and restructuring of the warehouse complex.
A competent approach to the description of processes and an understanding of the significance of the problems of managing warehouse complexes largely determine the effect of the subsequent modernization of the warehouse technology.
Obstacles to improving the efficiency of warehouse complexes can be divided into four groups: organizational (functions, powers, areas of responsibility), technological (sequence of operations, methods and algorithms), informational (information systems for accounting and data processing, communication tools) and technical (presence of machinery and equipment, depreciation of resources, compliance with requirements).
Choosing direction warehouse optimization, first of all, it is worth paying attention to improving the organization of processes and the technology of performing work - it is here that a relatively quick result can be obtained using existing equipment.
To solve technical and informational problems that can be implemented in short time with relatively low investment of funds, we can include, for example, the purchase of walkie-talkies in a warehouse to quickly call the necessary employee, the installation of a printer to print out tasks in close proximity to the acceptance or selection area, etc. However, all these innovations must be subject to the general logic of the warehouse and the planned changes. Obviously, if the warehouse plans to switch to paperless technology using data collection terminals, then the purchase of printers and walkie-talkies is inappropriate.
Sequencing
The process of optimizing warehouse technologies consists of several successive stages: the study of technological processes (logistics expertise), the development of space-planning solutions and the design of the warehouse operation technology, the preparation of the warehouse for the implementation of changes and the implementation itself.
Logistics expertise
The purpose of the first stage is to discover the key problems, the solution of which will give the most tangible result with the minimum expenditure of resources and time.
To achieve the goal, it is necessary to determine the list of business processes, examine them, evaluate and rank the identified problems. As a rule, it is possible to single out warehouse business processes (acceptance of goods, placement, picking and shipment of orders, inventory, etc.) and related processes that implement the interaction of the warehouse and related departments (inventory management, purchasing goods, organizing the supply of goods warehouse and delivery of customer orders).
There are many methods for describing processes. One of the simplest and most accessible is the scheme of information flows, during the construction of which communication and management problems, duplicating or unnecessary operations are identified.
Figure 1 shows a simplified diagram of information flows in the process of receiving goods at the warehouse of one of the companies before optimization.
Drawing. 1. Document flow when goods are received at the warehouse (simplified scheme)
Several problem areas were identified during the interviews with key personnel in the process mapping. Let's just give one example. The forwarding driver provided the shipping documentation to the purchasing department manager to verify the suitability of the application, and then handed over the documents with the permission of the purchasing department to the warehouse operator. The information system of the warehouse did not receive information about the expected delivery, so the warehouse operator had to prepare a document for acceptance at a time when the car was already ready for unloading. In order to speed up the unloading and acceptance procedure, the warehouse management was allowed to carry out acceptance according to a copy of the consignment note, and after the vehicle left the warehouse, fill out a form prepared by the operator, entering additional information about the expiration dates and weight and size characteristics of the goods received.
Simultaneously with the acceptance and posting of goods in the warehouse information system, the purchasing manager performed posting of goods in the corporate information system. There was no real-time integration of these two systems. Synchronization occurred once a day and was used only to verify data on balances.
Let’s take a look at common warehouse process problems that prevent effective organization warehousing, cargo handling, fulfillment of customer orders.
In the process of receiving goods at the warehouse, such organizational and technological problems may arise as uneven load on the warehouse, high labor costs for unloading when accepting non-palletized cargo, acceptance based on copies of shipping documents that are not suitable for fixing additional information. The same stage is characterized by information and technical problems, for example, difficulties in identifying incoming goods, lack of handling equipment, lack of a ramp, lack of capacity in the area for receiving and placing incoming goods, double entry of information about the arrival in the CIS and in the warehouse ACS.
When placing goods, the capacity of the warehouse is often used inefficiently, there are no regulated methods for making a decision on the placement of goods; the goods can be randomly stored in the floor storage area, the optimization of the placement of goods in the warehouse (compacting, consolidation) is also not carried out. All of these problems are related to the category of organizational. The main information problems of placement are the lack of accounting in the information system for the movement of goods in the warehouse, fixing expiration dates, batches, series and other characteristics that affect the sequence of selection, and hence the placement of goods in the warehouse.
Picking and shipping are often accompanied by many technological problems, including the joint storage of different goods (or identical goods with different expiration dates), which leads to errors in selection; selection in pieces and boxes from any pallet in the backup storage area (many “opened” pallets); untimely replenishment of goods in the selection zone; emergency work when picking urgent orders or additional customer orders received immediately before shipment; not developed routes for storekeepers and the lack of a part of the range in storage places available for selection in boxes and pieces without using technical means. Significant costs search time necessary goods due to outdated information in the warehouse database and the discrepancy between the cell sizes and the weight and size characteristics of the goods, the stock standard and the turnover indicator, these are the main information and technical problems of the picking and shipment process.
Processes related to the warehouse, which experts include procurement, inventory management, sales, delivery of goods to customers, should also be carefully analyzed.
For example, in the procurement and inventory management process, expert, intuitive definition of the assortment and volume of deliveries often leads to the accumulation of excess or illiquid inventory. And the lack of information about unsatisfied demand leads to a shortage of goods in the warehouse. Another organizational problem in the procurement and inventory management process is the use of an erroneous algorithm for making decisions about the volume of purchases, which leads to the accumulation of excess stocks. The lack of work on the analysis of the quality of work of suppliers (there are no statistics on underdeliveries, returns, underinvestments) can also be attributed to the main information problems.
Organizational problems may arise during the sales and delivery process, which include rush processing of orders for branches and wholesalers (urgent and large orders) and registration of several orders for one client (for one delivery address, for one shipment date) without combining before entering the stock. Finally, we list the main information problems of the sales and delivery process: the information system does not reflect the readiness of the order for shipment, statistics are not kept on underdeliveries and problems encountered during delivery, returns and their reasons are not recorded, data on balances may not correspond to the actual situation in the warehouse , sales managers see the rest of the goods in the information system, and not the quantity available for sale.
The problems identified at the analysis stage are ranked taking into account the degree of their impact on productivity, costs, customer service quality, and the most profitable sequence of their solution is determined. This will ensure that you get the most out of your changes.
Development of space-planning solutions
As a rule, among the frequently encountered problems, the most critical are the inefficient use of the warehouse space or its individual zones, the discrepancy between the parameters of warehouses and the intensity of the flow of goods.
The process of developing a warehouse layout begins with determining the number and design of storage areas, taking into account the weight and size characteristics of the stored goods and the parameters of goods movement. The next stage is the zoning of the warehouse and the development of a model for the flow of goods by warehouse zones. At the final stage, algorithms for the effective placement of goods in storage places, picking routes, and movement are developed.
Determining the number and design of storage locations
To calculate the optimal design and the required number of storage places in the warehouse, the values of stock standards, weight and size characteristics of product packages and the required storage conditions are used.
For all standard sizes of storage places used in a warehouse or planned for use, the coefficient of filling with goods by weight and by volume is calculated. In this case, the analysis is carried out for each product. The storage locations with the highest fill factors are considered optimal.
Based on the inventory ratio information, it is determined how many storage locations will be required for each item in the storage area and in the picking area. Then the storage locations calculated for the goods are grouped by storage conditions to obtain the total values of the parameters of the warehouse zones.
This approach to the design of storage locations allows the most efficient use of warehouse space, strikes a balance between the cost of warehouse equipment and satisfaction of all requirements for processing and storing goods, and standardizes storage locations in a warehouse.
The parameters of other technological zones (loading and unloading operations, acceptance, assembly, shipment) are determined on the basis of data on average daily deliveries and shipments, the volume and standard sizes of incoming and shipped goods.
Development of algorithms for efficient placement of goods
The development of algorithms for the efficient placement of goods in storage places, the movement of goods within the warehouse, picking routes is also carried out at this stage and is aimed at increasing the efficiency of using warehouse space, reducing the time for picking orders, equipment downtime, and queues.
The principles of placing goods in the warehouse depend on the method of picking orders. To reduce the picking time, goods in the storage area can be grouped, for example, by the dimensions of the packaging of the goods or by the speed of sales of goods and turnover. Each zone in the warehouse can have specific placement and picking rules. Their implementation is carried out using the mechanism for assigning a rating to cells in the warehouse automation system, as well as using the numbering system for zones, areas and cells.
Warehouse technology design
The purpose of this stage of optimization of warehouse technologies is the best distribution of functions, powers and areas of responsibility of warehouse personnel based on a process approach, which will ensure transparency of warehouse processes and increase their manageability, ensure the required level of quality in fulfilling customer orders
All planned operations in the warehouse are subject to careful study and description in the form of work instructions, taking into account the fact that all operations with goods in the warehouse must be reflected in the documents and the information system. It is desirable to use standard (for the company) forms of internal documents, duplicating operations should be excluded; it is necessary to appoint an employee responsible for the process/operation. Registration and accumulation of information necessary for the adoption management decisions, warehouse operation monitoring - the functionality of the warehouse automation system should be used to the maximum.
Initially, an enlarged list of all processes in the warehouse is determined, among which regular operations performed daily and periodic operations can be distinguished. Regular operations include shift work planning, unloading and receiving of goods, labeling of goods, its placement and internal movements, order picking and kit assembly, recalculation of selected orders, their packaging and placement in the picking area with consolidation along shipping routes, shipment of goods, regular full inventory, etc. .
Periodic operations performed in the event of non-standard situations are also subject to formalization. Periodic operations are such operations as processing substandard goods, arranging a return to the supplier, identifying and working with defects found during storage, selective inventory by article or storage location, organizing additional selection of goods when possible errors are detected, accepting a return from a client, etc.
For each of the listed operations, work instruction, which includes detailed description the scope of work for each operation, the performers, the necessary information for the operation and outgoing documents, the technical means used.
For example, the process of receiving goods to the warehouse, shown in Figure 2, was transformed as follows (see Figure 2). The exchange of data between the CIS and the automated control system of the warehouse and the provision of information on expected deliveries by the purchasing department made it possible to significantly reduce paperwork, and also reduced the time to prepare the warehouse for the acceptance of goods and to record data in the information system.
Drawing. 2. Document flow when goods are received at the warehouse (simplified scheme)
The formation of the organizational and managerial structure of the warehouse is carried out taking into account the developed technological processes.
The changes carried out contribute to centralization, improved interaction between employees, increased responsibility in the field operational management, uniform distribution of the load on the warehouse staff.
Knowing the list of operations and the amount of work on each of them, using the work performance standards, it is possible to calculate the required number of personnel in each shift, as well as the exact number of loaders, stackers, pallet trucks, elevators, ladders, gates, barcode scanners, operator workplaces, etc. .d.
Implementation of changes
The warehouse technology optimization project can be considered successful only after all the changes have been implemented. Warehouse optimization invariably entails the need for rework information system. Therefore, the first step in implementing new technology there will be a task setting to improve the IT support of the management system. In parallel with its finalization, it is possible to carry out the necessary changes in the topology of the warehouse, as well as staff training.
Control of the implementation of changes, timely adjustment of decisions, testing of the implemented elements of the information system, development functional instructions, training of personnel - specialists, authors of decisions and events must necessarily participate in all of the above tasks. It is also important to note the role of logistics experts both in solving special logistics problems and in developing terms of reference for modernization (or development) of the warehouse information system. Using the efforts of logistics experts at the stage of implementation of changes technological process in the warehouse will significantly reduce the risks of the transitional stage, train personnel and get the maximum effect from changes in warehouse technologies in a relatively short period of time.
Olga Kaverina, AXELOT
A warehouse for many entrepreneurs and accountants is a headache. Constant sorting, shortages, theft, damage to material assets - this is not a complete list of problems that almost every warehouse faces. How to minimize all these problems and make the warehouse work like clockwork?
Staff
So, let's try to deal with the main storage problems. The biggest problem of warehouses is, of course, personnel. Most firms are experiencing an acute shortage of staff, and among storekeepers, operators and loaders there is a large turnover - rarely people, especially young people, stay at such work for more than one or two years. It is difficult to work with the older generation, for example, with pensioners, in the sense that it is difficult for them to comprehend the work of computer programs for accounting for inventory and packaging equipment. How to be? First of all, you need to be aware that the warehouse is one of the most important parts of the business, and educated people should work there. For the position of warehouse manager or deputy, it is best to recruit people with higher education in the specialty "Logistics" and "Accounting" and experience in this field.
In order to avoid staff turnover, it is necessary to pay people worthy money. Compare the costs of shortages and damage to material assets in different periods of the warehouse - when the number of experienced workers prevails over new ones and vice versa. Sometimes the losses from the mistakes of untrained or inexperienced employees amount to more than an increase in the salary of an old-timer.
One of the other difficult moments is the motivation of warehouse workers. The set of functions of a warehouse worker is limited to a certain framework, the initiative is most often not required there. How to make a storekeeper or loader work better? First of all, it is necessary to introduce a system of penalties for being late, violations of discipline, delays in shipment, etc. Accordingly, if an employee does not commit violations, it is advisable to reward him with a bonus, choose the best employee at the end of the month, express gratitude, etc., here even the simplest "Soviet" methods are suitable. In addition, the bonus system should be based on an increase in turnover, say, during periods of intensive trade, when the load on people increases, the premium should also be increased by calculating the necessary coefficients, say, from the number of shipments, receipts of goods and unscheduled inventories.
Warehouse logistics
The inefficiency of the warehouse is due to the poor organization of its work. Oversized and heavy inventory items should be placed on the lower shelves, not obstruct the passage and be easily accessible for transportation. The most "travelling" materials should be placed at eye level, in the most accessible places. The lightest and least liquid ones take place on the upper shelves and in the far corners of the warehouse.
As a rule, the storekeeper spends most of the "empty" time searching for the right product or material. To increase efficiency, you should discuss with people the location of the most optimal location of the goods, weigh all the requirements and arguments, and then draw up a plan for the placement of goods and materials and make sure that people do not violate the established order when replenishing inventories. Racks must be signed, signs hang up - a matter of minutes, and they facilitate the search many times over.
Spaces for passages and passage of machinery should be minimal, but ensure normal, fast and safe work.
Further more. The process of loading and unloading should be considered. Sometimes such trifles as stretch film, labeling of shipped goods, an extra list for the storekeeper can significantly increase work efficiency. A separate topic - where invoices are printed, in a warehouse or in an office, whether they arrive at a warehouse electronically or the client himself carries the papers to the warehouse. In large warehouses, this is relevant, the seconds spent for nothing add up to minutes, and minutes to hours.
A separate word about preparation. The work of the warehouse should be roughly planned, that is, if there are a large number of shipments for tomorrow, it is necessary to prepare goods for this in advance. Before the arrival of the goods - prepare a free place.
If the warehouse is trading and goods reservation is used, for these purposes it is convenient to transfer the goods to special racks for the reserve. Or label boxes.
Dealing with overgrading and shortages
Re-sorting and shortages are perhaps the most painful problems of each warehouse. Re-sorting often occurs both through inattention and from improper organization of warehouse logistics. Firstly, it is necessary to refuse to use the name in the form of a code, many warehouses, especially for technical purposes, use only an encoding, which makes it very difficult to find and select the desired object. The selection should be made according to the following scheme: "Name" - "Model" - "Code" - "Color", then for clarification it is used short description, group, country of origin, etc. When only a code or only a name is used, people start to make mistakes and it is difficult to blame them for this. Secondly, it is necessary to think over the collection and acceptance of goods, appoint responsible and inspectors, not send a large number of people to work who will distract each other, and so on.
A few words about shortcomings. Of course, the most painful problem is theft. To combat theft, video surveillance, frequent inventories and liability will save. By the way, there should be liability in case of damage and regrading, otherwise you won’t teach people to be attentive. To do this, it is best to conclude a separate contract on the liability of the employee. Moreover, all operations in the warehouse - whether it is the receipt of goods, shipment, internal movement must be carried out under the personal signature of the contractor - then it is much easier to find the culprit of a particular error.
The entrance to the warehouse should be accessible only to a narrow circle of people. Penalties should be introduced for finding strangers. Access control management systems (ACS) in the form of turnstiles, iron doors with electronic control, where you simply cannot enter without a special key, justify themselves well.
Warehouse automation
The use of computer programs, barcode scanners and printers, electronic scales, integrated counters solves a huge number of problems, saves time and reduces errors. human factor to a minimum. Which software for a warehouse, it's up to you to choose, but programs for a warehouse should be easy to learn, easy to use and have limitations, both in terms of interface and access rights. Each employee must have his own minimum of functions, the warehouse manager must have access to reports on material balances and statements on movements. Each operation must be printed and signed by the employee - at the end of the day, all papers are placed in storage and, if necessary, removed.
Use a separate program for the warehouse with import-export of files or integrate warehouse software into a common single system depends again on the number of operations per day and the speed of the program. Sometimes, when the program is unified, that is, in addition to inventory control, accounting is also tied to it, even the transfer of the program from the file system to SQL does not save: delays in document processing can be huge. All this should be considered when choosing a program.
Another point - it is worth considering the technical aspects of equipping the warehouse and their connection with the software. Using remote access and terminals, it should be borne in mind that label printers are sometimes difficult to connect over a network, and scanners are completely impossible. For these purposes, it is better to use a local network.
It is also worth paying attention to the acceleration and optimization of the program itself: all actions must be controlled from the keyboard, input based on other documents, etc. search by first characters.
Warehouse revision
Frequent warehouse audit, including inventory and detection of errors in document management, is the key to good warehouse operation. Internal inventories must be done as often as possible - firstly, the staff later remembers better where everything is, and secondly, many errors are identified that can be corrected before the general inventory. The whole problem is that the staff often make mistakes when counting, so it is better to carry out an inventory in two or three stages, sending different people on the same sites and choosing the most controversial points. In addition, with internal inventories, it is often not possible to freeze the work of the warehouse, so it is best to do them in parts and groups of goods and materials, making adjustments for incoming and outgoing items.
During the internal inventory of managers, a list of goods is printed without indicating the amount of the real balance. The quantity is set manually when counting by employees.
Particular attention should be paid to record keeping. Sheets, reports, acts of acceptance and transfer, internal movements should be folded by date and exclude corrections and errors in filling.
How often to audit? The more often, the better. It is only important not to overload employees and not interfere with the work of the warehouse.
Warehouse premises are now in high price, so many owners of trading organizations either rent or acquire warehouses. We will not talk about what is more profitable - to rent or build your own warehouse. Let us dwell on the question concerning the organization of the warehouse. How to make a warehouse that would allow you to efficiently ship goods, as well as replenish warehouse stocks quickly and with minimal human resource costs?
Warehouse organization
A warehouse is a large or medium-sized room that stores the products of a company or enterprise, the inventory of a store or a trading organization, etc. A warehouse can also be organized in small room, if it does not provide for the storage of huge volumes of commodity stocks, for example, a small warehouse of food stocks is available in every private house. Proper organization warehouse begin with right choice where the warehouse will be located. It should be as convenient as possible for the entrance of heavy vehicles. Vehicle, which will take away some goods, and deliver others to the warehouse. It is very important that separate entrances / exits from the warehouse are provided for the shipment and delivery of goods. Naturally, some warehouses are so small that it is impossible to organize such replenishment and shipment of warehouse stocks in them.
Before you organize a warehouse, you need to take care of purchasing special equipment - it is purchased in accordance with the specifics of the warehouse, as well as taking into account the size of the warehouse. If the room is large and high, then it is advisable to purchase racks that can be assembled and disassembled if necessary. Multilevel racks are the best option for storage of products of almost all trade groups. In addition to purchasing equipment, you need to think about buying special equipment - these are loaders, etc.
Inventory control
It is necessary to organize accounting in the warehouse - this is perhaps one of the most important components, since inventory reporting is directly related to the balance sheet of an enterprise or organization. The main documents confirming the receipt and expenditure in the warehouse are waybills of the appropriate sample, according to which warehouse reporting is compiled. All balances in the warehouse must clearly match the balances in accounting. Warehouse accounting is maintained by the warehouse manager, who monthly, in accordance with his job descriptions, approved by the head of the enterprise, hands over the balances of the warehouse to the accounting department of the enterprise.
The warehouse manager is a financially responsible person, therefore, he solves all issues related to how to organize the work of the warehouse, personally monitors the shipment and loading of warehouse valuables. In the warehouse, in addition to the manager, there may be several more storekeepers who report to the manager and strictly follow all his instructions, if, of course, they are aimed at the correct operation of the warehouse. All goods from the warehouse should be issued only if there are invoices that indicate the name of the organization or person receiving the goods, its quantity, and also the cost. Be sure to have signatures on invoices. If a defective product is found in the warehouse, it is subject to write-off, that is, the warehouse manager draws up an act for write-off.
Warehouse inventory
Successful organization and operation of a warehouse is impossible without an annual inventory. In principle, if the warehouse is small, then the inventory will not cause any problems, but in large warehouses, organizing the inventory is a laborious, but extremely important and necessary event. It is necessary to organize an inventory in order to identify surpluses or shortages. commodity values. If the warehouse manager knew how to properly organize the warehouse, then he would have no problems with the shipment of goods, since they would all be separated in the room by name and group. But with the wrong organization of the warehouse, shortages, re-sorting of goods are most often detected, which are associated with the shipment of goods at a price that differs from that which applies to a specific product name. Of course, there are losses that must be compensated by the warehouse manager.
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