Meeting warehouse challenges

Today's warehouses face multiple challenges to meet supply chain market trends and continuous technological advancements. The biggest strategic challenge is meeting customer expectations for faster fulfilment and returns, without sacrificing accuracy.

Achieving more with less due to labour shortages, the rising costs of transportation and fulfilment, e-commerce small item picking and increasing demand for sustainable practices is enough to keep any warehouse manager busy….

Our top ten essentials for meeting today’s warehouse challenges are outlined below.

1. Migrate from legacy systems to Android

Many smaller and well-established warehouses will still use redundant non-supported systems that have worked for many years. Whilst the saying “don’t fix what’s not broken” may seem like a sensible reason not to upgrade your equipment, it could leave your network and operations vulnerable and slow down your operational processes and communications.

Upgrading to Android devices improves efficiency, reduces human error and speeds up business operations with industrial mobile computers that seamlessly integrate into the systems used in your warehouse.

2. Maximise wireless with a WLAN site survey

Is your wireless network optimised for efficiency and speed? A professional wireless network site survey offers an in-depth evaluation of your warehouse space to provide the most reliable layout of access points and mitigate any interference in your WLAN network through your facility. This allows you to address any dead zones affecting your equipment’s capabilities. Faster internet connections will help make more efficient operations throughout your processes.

3. Review your WMS

When was the last time you sat and addressed your warehouse management system? Take your warehouse to the next level and replace systems that are no longer fit for purpose. Upgrading older, less reliable equipment will allow your operations to handle greater expectations.

Warehouse management systems (WMS) technology has advanced considerably over the last few years. It offers web-based and cloud technology allowing wireless mobile scanning and picking. Integration tools, such as APIs, enable easier data transfer and integration, facilitating yard and cobot management and easier integration to control systems through the warehouse. If you are still working on older systems, you may be putting your warehouse operations at a disadvantage.

4. Implement mobile device management

Keeping on top of your devices can be a challenging and time-consuming process. Implementing MDM software and management systems will help you to analyse the status of each piece of equipment. This software can help install a seamless integration of upgraded mobile technology and the ability to track the status of each device to minimise losses and maintenance downtime.

Mobile device management software (such as Enterprise Mobility Management) can manage all devices anywhere. They can let you manage the apps being installed or removed on mobile devices, monitor the devices in the mobile device management server, configure basic settings on devices and more. With warehouse mobile devices having access to the internet and sensitive data, all devices must be centrally managed and tracked for security reasons.   

5. Track and monitor your fixed assets

Warehouses are busy environments, and ensuring the optimised usage and security of each onsite asset is essential. Adopting a web-based asset tracking system across all your warehouse devices allows you to use a handheld mobile computer or mobile device for auditing and scanning barcode asset tags into a central asset database. This software reduces manual logging with autonomous processes and creates a more efficient overview of your fixed asset locations, usage and performance.

To read the rest of this article in the June issue of ISMR magazine, see https://joom.ag/yjPd/p40