Retail warehouses work as a one-stop station that optimizes operations, from stock management to product distribution. Retail warehouses serve as an extension of your service to help you meet customer demands. With their crucial role in supply chain efficiency, businesses have long considered retail warehouses a necessity.

While warehouses aim to scale business processes, there may be predicaments along the way. Shifting to retail warehouses can lead to an increase in order volume, affecting your overall operations, especially if you have inadequate stock and limited staff. Other issues may stem from poor technology or even a lack of expertise on the side of the third-party provider. Before you take on the next step of your business, it’s important that you fully understand the ins and outs of warehousing.

Advantages of Warehousing

From streamlining complex processes to ensuring proper storage, warehouses offer a sweeping list of benefits that help businesses. Here are a few reasons why retailers opt for outsourced warehousing:

• Bigger storage space: Storage is one of the challenges experienced by retail businesses. The limited space on their site restricts business operations and growth. This is where warehouses come into action. Warehouses offer a solution to insufficient storage, providing enough space to keep a bigger inventory and various types of commodities under one roof.
• Better stock management: Besides inventory accuracy, retail businesses need proper stock management for customer satisfaction and increased profit. Big warehouses streamline key processes through automated technologies, managing your inventory smoothly and resulting in seamless and more secure stock tracking. Better inventory tracking also impacts the overall efficiency of operations.
• Efficient distribution and logistics: Apart from storage and stock management, retail warehouses regulate the transportation of raw materials and end products. They are capable of fulfilling and transporting orders to various locations, including the customer’s address. As such, warehouses contribute to the smooth operations of the supply chain.
• Meeting customer demand: The centralization of inventory, seamless fulfillment of orders and efficient shipping of products allow businesses to satisfy customers. When you meet customer expectations, there is a higher chance of achieving business goals and growing your company.

Cost Benefits of Warehousing for Medium-Sized Retail Businesses

Optimizing medium-sized retail businesses is easier with warehousing services. Here’s how warehousing impacts the financial aspect of the business:

• Optimized storage space leads to cost savings. Removing large storage sections from your site creates a more conducive space for other business activities. That is why many companies opt for warehouses to maximize the storage space on their site for more relevant allocations. Storing stock in warehouses also means fewer expenses since you won’t have to build additional storage areas from scratch. You will only be paying storage fees and other costs to the warehouse, which requires less upfront capital.
• Streamlined operations lead to reduced labor costs. Warehouses offer more than just product storage. Third-party logistics (3PL) is a more advanced retail warehousing solution that optimizes retail processes to improve the overall supply chain management. Trusted 3PL providers like Crown LSP Group come with an established network of distribution and fulfillment centers to streamline operations and reduce labor costs.
• Bulk storage leads to reduced cost of goods. Medium-sized businesses with a more extensive influx of orders benefit from warehousing. Retail warehouses allow you to buy and store products in large quantities, which is advantageous for retailers. Bulk storage gives retailers better negotiation opportunities with suppliers. With better deals and reduced costs of goods, customers can enjoy increased product savings.
• Enhanced customer service leads to stronger customer retention. All three benefits above empower you to deliver better customer service. When you fulfill the demands of your customers, it translates to better customer retention and increased profits.

Warehousing Vs. In-house Storage Cost Analysis

Whether you’re running an in-house storage space or hiring warehousing services, you will still incur costs, but to what extent? It’s crucial to compare the costs between the two in detail. Go through the pros and cons of each solution to help you make an informed decision.

In-house storage space

One of the main advantages of in-house storage is self-storage, which allows you to manage your stocks exclusively. It also means no rental costs. However, when your business starts to grow, it will come to a point where the cons will overshadow the pros. You will need more space to cater to your growing inventory to meet the demands of your customers. With no warehousing services to help you with order fulfillment, you take all the responsibility, from sorting orders to shipping packages.

Here are some other pros of in-house storage space:

• Direct management of inventory
• Complete control of storage design
• No rental costs

There are also some cons of in-house storage space, namely:

• Expensive storage expansion
• Possible problem with space utilization

Warehousing services

The retail warehousing benefits are far-reaching, helping you streamline operations and satisfy customers. Most warehouses are situated near transportation hubs, improving the shipment of goods from suppliers to customers. Since you will not be taking care of the inventory, storage or distribution, hiring a warehouse service will enable you to prioritize more substantial operations within your company. All the repetitive tasks go to the third-party provider. More than that, you will save resources on costly storage expansions and additional labor costs.

Consider the pros of third-party warehousing:

• Bigger storage capacity
• Streamlined operations
• Better inventory management
• Efficient product distribution

The only con of partnering with a third-party warehousing company is paying rental expenses. However, these expenses are insignificant compared to the cost of maintaining your own warehouse and expanding your operations.

How to Select a Warehousing Service

When choosing a warehouse service, there are several factors to consider, including:

• Location: The location of the warehouse plays a crucial role in streamlining operations. Pick a warehouse that is strategically located to save on transportation costs. The warehouse should be close to manufacturers and suppliers to reduce costs, time and effort. It’s also pivotal to consider the distance of the warehouse from your customers.
• Technology: Technology matters. More than just picking a strategic location, technology influences the overall success of warehouse services. Consider a trusted retail warehouse equipped with modern technologies, such as barcode scanners, digital labels and WMS solutions. Warehouse automation is another key element that helps in inventory management and warehouse operations.
• Scalability: The ability of the warehouse service to cater to your needs is as important as the location and technology they offer. Warehouses need to understand the unique needs of every business. They should be flexible to accommodate the differences in operational requirements and customers’ demands. When picking a warehouse, make sure you discuss what you want to achieve to avoid issues in the long run.
• Value-added service: While warehouses generally focus on storage and inventory management, some established providers offer value-added services. For example, E-commerce fulfillment is highly beneficial to medium-sized businesses. This service allows you to shift the challenging operations of e-commerce to the experts, from managing inventory to fulfilling orders and handling returns.
• Cost: The cost of warehousing takes on a series of factors, including the location, size, storage facility, labor and security. Technology and the cost of insurance also contribute to the overall pricing. Choose a third-party company that fits your budget.

Set Up Retail Warehouse With Crown LSP Group

For retail businesses, warehousing is truly a strategic business decision that improves operational efficiency and fulfills customer needs. You can count on us if you’re looking for a reliable warehouse partner. Crown LSP Group is your trusted 3PL provider that offers more than just warehousing services and inventory management. We handle logistics, transportation and even order fulfillment to simplify the entire process. Our extensive list of services gives you the opportunity to focus on more relevant business operations. Contact us today for all your warehousing needs and more.

What Is Warehouse Automation?

Warehouse automation is the process of moving products into, out of and within a warehouse with minimal handling by people. Automation takes advantage of technology to complete repetitive tasks, track inventory and increase efficiency.

For example, an automated distribution center may use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to map inventory movements or locate goods. When a worker moves products from storage to shipping — or vice versa — automated trackers detect these changes. Once items pass by sensors, a software program automatically logs their journeys. As a result, stock counts are current and a warehouse operator can pinpoint product locations with a few clicks.

Today’s warehouse automation solutions offer significant benefits and options like robotics, blockchain technology, big data and more. These alternatives enable businesses to lower expenses, improve productivity, advance safety and maintain accurate records.

Benefits of Using Automation in Warehouse Operations

Automating warehouse operations provides businesses with advantages like reduced outlays, efficiency, security and more informative stock logs.

Lower Costs

A primary benefit of automating a distribution center is its direct impact on a business’s bottom line. Investments in automating technology lower a company’s overhead by replacing inefficient human processing with advanced solutions. As a result, labor costs and energy usage decrease. Options like automatic product retrieval enhance revenue by reducing picking errors and the time associated with manual methods.

Higher Workforce Productivity and Safety

Attract and retain the best in industry talent by embracing technology options that increase employee satisfaction and workplace safety. Automation solves heavy lifting and repetitive motion challenges, reducing injury risk and increasing output.

Crown LSP Group provides comprehensive on-site warehouse services in your facility with crews experienced in the latest automation technology.

Inventory Accuracy Increases

Using automation for your warehouse stock optimizes your efforts to support your customers. Robust applications track, pick and ship products with greater accuracy, simplifying inventory management and auditing. Crown LSP Group offers integrated warehouse management systems with our customized storage solutions to help your company capture these benefits.

Types of Warehouse Automation and AI

Warehouse automation examples span the landscape, from robotic options to devices that communicate online to analytical data and blockchain technology.

Robotics

Robotic warehouse automation has grown significantly recently, for good reason. These solutions help improve job satisfaction and productivity while reducing errors. Common types of robotic automation include:

• Automated guided vehicles (AGVs): Many use AGVs for goods transportation, either moving products between storage locations or from one department to another. These robotics require assistance with movement execution, usually via preprogrammed pathways.
• Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS): This complete system processes the entire order from picking to delivery. Since workers remain stationary, AS/RS automation delivers safety and efficiency with little potential for error.
• Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs): These robots are more complex machinery, able to undertake movement on their own using sensors and maps. Their advanced programming makes them ideal for inventory scanning and tracking applications.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology rose to fame with the advent of Bitcoin as a secure method to link blocks of data together and prevent alteration. In warehouse applications, blockchain joins various stakeholders along the supply chain with an accessible, secure platform for management and communication.

The technology pairs well with the Internet of Things (IoT) to check conditions at different points along a product’s journey, creating an immutable ledger. Blockchain can also ease vendor payments via its Smart Contract functionality. For example, once a distribution center receives goods and confirms their condition, the purchasing agent verifies it through the system. The embedded code then self-executes and releases payment directly on the blockchain, completing settlement quickly and with high degrees of transactional security.

IoT

Robotics represents only one component of the IoT. Many other devices — such as sensors, GPS units and temperature-monitoring equipment — fall into this category. Other typical connected device applications include:

• Employee monitoring: Outfitting employees with wearable IoT devices allows center management to gather production data, pinpoint worker locations and provide extra safety measures, such as alerting the employer to a fall.
• Equipment maintenance: Smart equipment uses an internet connection to report its condition. These machines can issue scheduled upkeep reminders and send error codes directly to qualified personnel for faster repair service.
• Transportation: One of the most vital segments of the supply chain gets a big boost from IoT in GPS devices. These units ensure a driver follows the most efficient travel routes and provides real-time arrival estimates for better inventory management. Partner with Crown LSP Group for comprehensive transportation services with the latest in IoT transportation technology.

Big Data

Big data helps more than retail organizations — it supports best inventory management practices in warehousing. Ways analytics benefit the inventory management process include:

• Demand prediction: Rely on customer behavior metrics to more accurately anticipate and adjust to shifts.
• Efficiency boosts: Use your analytics to identify underperforming employees or machinery.
• Replenishment management: Examine overstocked and understocked items to effectively manage product availability and turnover.
• Loss prevention: Investigate and prevent shrinkage by using metrics to pinpoint the locations that need more security measures.
• Recall acceleration: Get proactive with product recalls by using data to track inventory from its production to the end-user, enabling quicker contact and better brand perception.

Conclusion

Available options for automation and AI in warehouse operations today include big data analysis, blockchain programs, robotics, and the IoT. The advantages of an automated warehouse provide significant opportunities for businesses to increase their workers’ production, maintain a safer work environment and improve recordkeeping while lowering costs.

Crown LSP Group welcomes the challenge of devising an ideal solution to your business’s warehousing needs. We’re a family-owned company with over 30 years of experience as a full-service third-party logistics partner. Discover how our expertise benefits your organization’s bottom line while solving supply chain issues. Contact a Crown LSP Group representative today and experience what a can-do attitude can do!

Warehouse safety is an essential cornerstone of warehouse management. With e-commerce rapidly increasing in popularity, warehouse services are in demand more than ever. To ensure your workforce is safe and productive, you must have experienced safety staff and create effective safety procedures.

In this guide, we will look at the main safety challenges in warehousing and provide a comprehensive warehouse safety checklist to ensure that your employees and managers abide by industry standards.

The Importance of Safety in Warehouse Management

Understanding the importance of safety in warehouse operations is the first step towards maintaining your workers’ health and increasing awareness of the potential dangers involved. You can avoid incidents by following warehouse safety guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and integrating checklists for various warehouse safety issues.

With online purchasing seeing a record increase, merchants are turning to third-party logistics companies and their warehouse facilities to store, package and ship their goods.

To accommodate the demand, warehouses are hiring more employees to perform a wide variety of tasks. Providing a safe work environment for a growing staff is vital in retaining workers and creating a culture that looks after everyone. Injuries ranging from personal injury to falls and crushing accidents put a significant strain on both the safety culture and employee-employer relationship.

Top Warehouse Safety Challenges

Warehouse operations can become dangerous quickly if the proper safety actions haven’t been addressed. Inadequate training, failure to heed hazard warnings, and improper manual lifting are among the most common safety issues that lead to warehouse injury and death every year.

Inadequate Employee Training 

When it comes to power equipment operation, warehouse employees must be sufficiently trained and licensed, even if a third party needs to be hired to perform the task. Without proper training in place, warehouse managers run the risk of seeing injuries and even death increase substantially. 

Lack of Awareness About Safety Protocols

Awareness of safety issues and dangers around a warehouse is the best way to proactively tackle workplace accidents. The better safety coordinators can identify dangerous situations, create a plan and communicate the plan to the workers, the safer everyone will be. This means the right people must be selected for the warehouse safety management team, and they must be able to instruct others on the dangers of warehouses and proper safety procedures.

Heavy Equipment 

Forklift and other heavy equipment accidents make up a large portion of warehouse incidents that result in serious injuries. Therefore, training and licensing should be taken very seriously when it comes to operating heavy equipment.

Physical Strain on Employees

Modern warehouses require workers to perform many repetitive movements quickly throughout a shift, including standing, twisting, crouching and reaching for objects. If not performed correctly, these movements can lead to repetitive strain injuries, including muscle, tendon and ligament damage.

Ignoring Hazardous Warning Signs

Hazard warnings indicating danger along with barricades to prevent workers and equipment from entering areas or going over ledges are critical in warehouse environments — ensuring all areas are adequately lit falls under this category.

OSHA Warehouse Safety Standards & Guidelines

To ensure that safety is a priority in warehouses, OSHA provides a detailed list of required guidelines that break down the ten most accident-prone areas most frequently cited for violations. Below is a breakdown of the guidelines outlined in OSHA’s warehouse safety document.

Forklifts

About 100 employees are killed and 95,000 injured every year while operating forklifts. Forklift roll-overs account for the majority of these accidents. OSHA stresses the importance of training forklift drivers adequately and evaluating them regularly. Additionally, drivers should routinely inspect and maintain their forklifts.

Hazard Communication

OSHA states that hazard communication constitutes a large percentage of warehouse safety managers’ responsibility. Covering holes and wall openings to ensure equipment and workers don’t fall through is essential. OSHA also recommends clearly labeling and organizing dangerous goods and chemicals and correctly displaying Material and Safety Data Sheets.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Employees should be supplied and equipped with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) required for their tasks and should be routinely trained in the equipment’s proper operation. The most common PPE required in warehouses include:

• Respiratory masks
• Hard hats
• High visibility safety vests
• Safety gloves
• Steel toe boots

Electrical Wiring Methods

OSHA includes electrical system design and wiring, mechanical power transmission, and portable fire extinguishers as areas for warehouse safety managers to pay particular attention to. It’s critical that licensed professionals, such as electrical and mechanical engineers, perform all electrical wiring and system design. The dangers posed by improper wiring can lead to severe injury or death of warehouse workers.

Fire Safety & Evacuation Plans

Having proper fire extinguisher locations and training employees on how to use them is especially important in warehouses that store flammable materials. Additionally, warehouse managers need to develop evacuation procedures and ensure workers understand the plan in the event of an emergency. To make sure that everyone understands and follows the plan correctly, conducting evacuation drills is a good habit to adopt in all warehouses.

Warehouse Safety Checklist

Checklists are a convenient way to ensure your warehouse facilities are operating efficiently and employees are performing their tasks safely. To uphold safety standards, warehouse operators need to understand the rules and procedures that cover general safety, forklift operation, and manual lifting.

General Warehouse Safety Checklist

Every warehouse has a different layout, stores different materials, and requires different types of employees. To operate efficiently, you must tailor your general warehouse safety policy to your specific needs. This means focusing on safety issues that stand out as the most dangerous or require additional attention to address. Below is a list of items that you can use to develop a general warehouse safety checklist:

• Warehouses should be well ventilated, and the temperature kept comfortable for all occupants.
• Hazards should be clearly marked, and leading edges blocked off to prevent falls or roll-overs.
• All equipment should be equipped with emergency stops or power-downs.
• Employees should receive ergonomic training and coaching to maintain realistic work expectations and take sufficient breaks to prevent overwork.
• Employees should be trained to operate fire extinguishers and be thoroughly familiar with emergency safety procedures and evacuation drills.

Forklift Operation Checklist

Forklift operation and storage, including loading, unloading and stacking checklists, can include the following items:

• Forklift operators must be appropriately trained and licensed.
• Forklift operators must always wear seatbelts, operate the forklift in approved, well-lit areas and not let anyone else ride on or in the forklift.
• Forklifts should not be operated in any way other than their intended use. This includes ensuring the lift is not overloaded and not lifting loads too high.
• Forklift operators must ensure other workers in the area are aware of their presence by using lights, horns and backup alarms as necessary.
• Place heavier items on lower shelves and ensure they are straight and evenly stacked.
• Store dangerous goods in designated areas.
• Clearly indicate maximum stacking distance on shelving and adhere to height limitations.
• Distribute loads on shelving to balance their load across the shelving unit.

Manual Lifting Checklist

Manual lifting causes a significant number of worker injuries every year. Workers should learn proper lifting techniques to complete these tasks safely and effectively. Some points on an ergonomics lifting checklist can include:

• Use power equipment to lift materials whenever possible.
• Teach workers proper lifting techniques and remain diligent in coaching them.
• Use your legs to lift and keep your back in a neutral position.
• Ask for assistance if a load is too heavy.
• Ensure all areas of the warehouse are appropriately marked and well lit.
• Enforce the wearing of proper personal protective equipment at all times.
• Allow injured workers to take sufficient time to recover and return only when fully ready.

Warehouse safety management is an essential part of a site safety program and can help supervisors and managers quickly make sure their workers perform their tasks safely with all appropriate measures in place. Simply having a brief list of safety tips for your warehouse can aid supervisors in maintaining safety as they perform their daily tasks.

Improve Warehouse Operations With Crown LSP Group

Crown LSP Group is a full-service third-party logistic provider that is here to meet the needs of any business. Whether your business needs additional storage space with temperature control and security systems or shipping at a moment’s notice, Crown LSP can provide a tailored solution to meet your needs. In addition, Crown LSP Group can assist you in your efforts to improve your warehouse operations.

Located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Crown LSP is strategically positioned to freight any shipment to three-quarters of the U.S. population within 12 hours. This means you can rely on Crown LSP to store your materials or products while you use your commercial floor space for more productive means. Contact Crown LSP Group today for more information or request a quote.