Keeping a tight rein on spending is crucial if you want to have a successful and profitable business; therefore, companies need to examine where they could be saving money to make their operations more efficient. If you operate a warehouse facility, here are four cost-cutting measures that you could implement in 2016.
Conduct an audit
To make cost savings, it is important to do so in the right areas; otherwise, you could have a negative effect on the business. Conducting an operations audit, either using an internal or external team, will allow you to analyse and measure the current system. The audit will examine productivity levels and use other data analysis and comparisons to enable you to devise an improvement plan.
Reduce errors
One area that can increase costs in a warehouse is the level of errors that occur. It is important to understand where these take place and set targets to limit them.
Errors can occur during the picking and packing process, meaning customers receive the wrong orders. This slows down the order, costs more and could result in the customer using an alternative supplier. The way in which goods are stored can help with this; for example, it might be beneficial to source a company specialising in pallet racking in Ireland to see whether you can improve your storage facilities.
Better technology can also improve stock flow by ensuring goods are in the right place at the right time. This can reduce the need to conduct inventories by 30%, while maintaining customer satisfaction and limiting how long goods are held.
Optimising warehouse space
The cost of a warehouse is based on the total floor area. The more efficiently you use this space, the more stock you can hold in the same area. You need to assess how much each pallet costs to store and see whether you can improve on this. Speak to a pallet racking supplier, such as https://www.duffydiscount.com/Pallet-Racking, to ensure that the racking is utilising the full height of the building.
Reduce energy costs
All businesses need to use a large amount of energy; however, there are ways in which you can reduce these costs by limiting the amount of unnecessary energy you use. You could fit energy-efficient light bulbs, for example, or use sensors or timers to turn lights off when they are not required.