For many warehouses, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year that brings with it a dramatic increase in demand for products, as well as on time delivery. The key to capitalising on the upcoming increase in demand and maximising profits during this period is early planning and preparation.
Don’t wait until the extra trucks start rolling in. Make the most of this holiday season by ensuring that your warehouse layout, workforce, and equipment is optimised for maximum productivity, today.
3 Simple Ways To Prepare For The End Of Year Rush
1) Warehouse Layout
One of the key contributors to the success (or failure) of any warehouse is the warehouse layout. When preparing for the increase in demand that the holiday season brings, you must ensure that the organisation, flow, storage capacity and overall layout of your warehouse is optimised for maximum productivity.
Start by reviewing the layout of each area, from shipping and receiving right to your last row of racking. Ensure that your warehouse layout is equipped to accommodate the increase in traffic and inventory levels. Take the time to consolidate products on your existing racks to free up more space for when the deliveries start rolling in. If you’re running low on space already, consider temporary storage solutions or adding onto your existing racking system.
Look for any unutilised space in your warehouse that could be used as additional storage. Is there space to extend your existing racks or space to add a mezzanine floor above your storage system?
Additionally, ensure that your storage systems are optimised for maximum storage capacity. For example, use pallet locations that vary in size and distance between beams based on the size of the products to be stored to minimise wasted space. Simple changes like these can have a huge impact on order turn around and the overall productivity of your warehouse.
2) Hiring & Training Seasonal Workers
Many warehouses will also need to hire and train seasonal workers to keep up with the increase in demand of the holiday season. Ensuring that there are enough workers each day to handle the load will allow you to capitalise on the increased demand and maximise profits. It’s important that this is done with enough time to ensure that each new worker is adequately trained in the correct warehouse processes before extra staff are needed.
Making sure that each new worker is equipped with the skills and training needed for their job will maximise productivity and help you make the most out of the busy period. Conversely, hiring workers new workers when demand is already up and not taking the time to adequately train them can result in more errors, lower output, and lost revenue.
If you don’t have the resources to vet, hire, and train additional workers before the holiday rush begins, consider contracting a labour hire company to help supplement your workforce. This will allow you to quickly and easily increase your team at short notice without having to go through a lengthy hiring process.
3) Warehouse & Equipment Maintenance
Equipment breakdowns happen in every warehouse and sometimes they cannot be prevented. However, the last thing you need during the busiest season of the year is for essential manual handling equipment to break down, or worse, a racking collapse.
That’s why it’s important to ensure that all of your equipment and storage systems are regularly inspected and serviced by a professional, especially before the holiday season. In fact, warehouse equipment is typically more prone to breakdown during busy periods due to increased use. You can also perform your own checks by inspecting the condition of essential equipment such as conveyors, generators, printers, and pallet racking systems.
It is particularly important to ensure that your pallet racking system is in good condition with no structural damage as a racking collapse can bring your entire warehouse to a halt. Annual racking inspections performed by racking experts, such as Macrack auditors, will allow any issues or damage to be identified and fixed early, before they become a larger problem and potentially lead to a racking collapse.
Quality Racking Installation & Inspections
Whether you’re looking to extend your racking system or add a mezzanine floor to increase the storage capacity of your warehouse in preparation for the holiday rush, Macrack has the solution. Each of our 100% Australian made pallet racking systems comes with a lifetime guarantee so you can rest assured that Macrack racks are built to last.
We also offer professional rack safety audits including a detailed report of the condition of your racks to ensure that your racks are structurally sound and up to standard. Call us today on 1800 048 821 for all of your warehouse storage needs Brisbane & Australia wide.