How to effectively manage a warehouse

Whether you are looking for a warehouse to rent or purchase, finding it it’s just a beginning. To use it successfully you would need to remember about several key aspects:  

Using your space efficiently is the key to making the most of your warehouse and your floorplan  should develop as your business needs do. With some creative thinking it might be possible that you can avoid looking for another warehouse for sale until a later date. Matt Grierson, managing director  from Dexion, a company providing storage solutions across Europe, is convinced that many companies aren’t managing their warehouse storage properly and that they have unused space that can be adapted. Grierson highlights shelving as a quick fix, telling The Guardian that companies can save 50% of floor space by incorporating smart, space-saving storage techniques such as flexible shelving units.    

When deciding to rent or buy a warehouse, it is obvious that  location is essential. Proximity to stores, accessibility for multiple sources of goods, and a design which facilitates efficient movement of products should all be considered when looking to rent or buy a warehouse. Inventory management, as well as delivery times, must be optimised.

It is a benefit for companies and customers to ensure that products can be located at any time, whether during storage, routing to the warehouse or out for delivery. It’s also wise to keep detailed records with an inventory control system. Mobile technology has come a long way in helping track purchases wherever they are, including apps such as Snappi Warehouse Inventory and Shipment or Advance Pro Inventory. 

Companies should continually strive to improve customer satisfaction and should consider developing dashboards to track client satisfaction levels. Understanding how much stock is returned, the timeliness of deliveries and the number of claims for faulty products can help towards improving not only prompt delivery, but also customer communication and increase satisfaction.   

Whilst the industrial sector is avidly adopting new pieces of technology to aid a more efficiently run warehouse , people are still important to the business to process returns, handle machinery and be there to fix anything that goes wrong. Assigning clear roles to each employee in the supply chain and offering training for warehouse organisation, customer services or training for other parts of the warehouse can be good ways to ensure your employees feel valued and fulfilled. 


Ensure you communicate effectively with your teams on the ground. Getting feedback from the “shop floor” can provide valuable insights into what can be done to ensure not only a successful warehouse, but a happy workforce. 
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