The warehouse is not customer facing. Technically, it can be as messy as you want it to be, as long as you can still find things you’re looking for. However, any business owner knows that an organised warehouse is key to timely delivery fulfilment, which means leaving things messy is losing you money.
It’s no wonder warehouses are organised in one way or another. Seeing as there is no standardised way of storing your products, you can come up with your own system. Here’s what your chosen system says about you:
Labelled
You like to be thorough and to have a set of rules for everyone to obey. You also want everyone to be ready from day one, which is why labels are prominent around your warehouse, from the pallet storage to the overhead bins.
Though not every item might be labelled individually, the warehouse is divided into sections, each with their labels to guide even those who are visiting for the first time. You believe that there should be no hidden code when it comes to organising and words are perfect for that because it means lesser chances of misunderstandings. If one section says glassware, people can expect to see glassware in it.
Colour-coded
Your way of organising is not complicated, but it does require a level of familiarity. You believe that colours are powerful joggers of memory and through practice, employees can have better recall. This may mean day-one employees need to memorise what each colour represents, but once they get the hang of it, the organisation should be a breeze.
Think of it like segregating the trash in bins of different colours. At first, it takes some practice, but eventually, it becomes second nature. You chose to store items according to colour because they are hard to mix up, unlike labels, which may be switched accidentally and result in problems. Colours also leave room for items that may fall under several categories, making storage not so black-and-white.
A Mix of Both
Some like their labels while others prefer their colours. There is no hard line separating the two, however. You are allowed to use both labels and colours to come up with your own organising system. Coloured labels are one way to do it, but if you need a system that has a little more depth, you may start with colour-coded sections with labelled subsections that narrow down the search for items within the warehouse.
Alternate between these two organisation styles and you may come up with even deeper levels of storage. Ideally, you start with the broadest sections using labels if there is a large number of choices. Colours work best if you have to divide spaces into a handful of categories. This way, you can use colours that do not appear too similar to each other, as this may cause confusion.
Your storing system says a lot about the way you run things in the business. However, this doesn’t mean conforming to a style if you are not comfortable with it. At the end of the day, your filing system is yours to develop and follow.
