The real key to being a successful California trucking company is to move goods with speed and efficiency. Warehouses have the potential to be major sources of slowdown and backlog, so it’s important for companies to assess their warehousing practices. The elimination of common issues like wasted time and warehouse space lead to better warehousing and cross docking operations.
The key to a facility achieving effective and efficient warehousing operations is the identification of the right mix of warehouse assets, effective use of those assets and an optimal facility layout. Forklifts are a group of warehouse assets that should be closely scrutinized. These are the primary movers of the warehouse – moving goods from place to place. Ineffective forklift use can lead to wasted travel time and other problems that ultimately slow down warehousing operations. Facilities need to assess whether they are utilizing the right type of forklift for their particular operation and determine whether different or additional forklifts may be beneficial. However, with the current state of the economy, for most facilities it’s not possible to invest in new forklifts.
Facility operators are finding that the key to effective warehousing practices is maintaining a level of flexibility. Some facilities are choosing to rent or lease forklift equipment. Others are choosing to use their current equipment in different and/or innovative ways. Companies are also finding what forklift management strategies and materials handling technologies have worked well for them in the past and are finding ways to leverage those ideas without significant investment.
However, it’s important for facilities to weigh the risks and benefits of potential warehouse changes prior to making any change in asset investments and/or facility layout and operations. A facility should take calculated steps and make sure the potential changes reflect the needs of the facility and its customers. A facility does not want to find itself in a situation where it has invested a lot of time and resources into making significant changes and then find out the changes are ineffective or are making matters worse.
Warehousing operations are a large part of the shipping industry. Ineffective operations have the potential to create slowdowns and backlogs that affect the overall the trucking company. It’s important for facility to assess forklift use and other important aspects of warehousing operations to assure that they are being used efficiently and that goods are passing through the warehousing via cross docking and other activities with ease.
