Warehouse and logistics managers know that maintaining a productive loading dock operation is a challenge. Using an electric trailer dolly rather than hiring a 3rd party shunting service or depending on inbound drivers to move trailers can help. The more control you have over your warehouse operations and the closer that you track key metrics, the more efficiently you can run your business.
These five tips can improve your warehouse’s productivity:
Get Organized
Allocate time to cleaning your warehouse and eliminating clutter. It can help find misplaced orders or avoid losing an order altogether. Being organized improves efficiency and safety as well. When aisles are clear and there are no obstructions in the way, employees are less in danger of injuries. Organization also means improving shelf access, container placement, and space utilization, while adopting lean inventory practices enables you to keep what you need without sifting through items you don’t.
Adjust Your Benchmarks
You want to cover as much as possible, but tracking too many metrics can be inefficient. Start small and add metrics as you go along. Include internal and external factors that affect your cash flow, but don’t focus solely on financials. Are customers’ expectations being met and are your vendors performing as expected? Start by looking at internal operations, or one facility, and look at how operations there can be improved. Apply what you learn later to other facilities serving similar customers.
Focus on Your Employees
A trailer mover might make work easier. However, making employees the focus of your facility improvements can go a long way. Provide regular safety and compliance training and let employees in on your production goals for the year. This gives them a target while providing incentives where possible can also help. For example, reward top-performing employees verbally and with rewards such as bonuses and gift cards, which can boost employee satisfaction, retention, and loyalty.
Take Advantage of Automation
Automating the logistics process can help more than the best electric trailer dolly. Track and monitor each delivery so there’s no guesswork. You can then have raw data from throughout the supply chain. Cloud-based inventory management software tracks everything in real time and displays what you have, what you need, and where your fleet assets are. It lets you refine any process quickly based on the most current factors.
Get an Electric Trailer Mover
When it comes to warehouse productivity, equipment matters. A battery-powered trailer mover, for example, is always available, so you don’t have to wait on an outside service provider to show up. The Electric Yard Dog, a terminal tractor from DJ Products, can move empty and loaded semi-trailers and other equipment around the yard and in and out of loading docks. Any employee can operate it with a minimum amount of training. Precise speed control minimizes the chances for dock, equipment, and trailer damage.
The motorized trailer dolly comes in various shapes and sizes. Units built to move boats and small trailers, all the way up to units that can move empty and loaded semi-trailers. For more information, browse our catalog or contact DJ products at 800-686-2651 or info@djproducts.com today.