Warehouse Trends Archives - Page 2 of 2

Warehouse Management Tips: What Type of Leader are You?

Warehouse managers are responsible for a wide range of tasks in order to keep their operation running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. While some leaders don’t mind overseeing employees and finding ways to encourage them, others would rather spend their time handling tasks, such as selecting new equipment for warehouses.

If you’re among those who don’t necessarily enjoy being in charge of others, you can still be an outstanding manager. The following tips can provide you with some insight on how to make the most of your skills.

Focus on Problem Solving

One of the most effective ways to ensure that your warehouse keeps running as efficiently as possible is by putting an emphasis on problem solving. Have workers engage in coming up with ways to handle problems that come up in day-to-day operations. Having challenges to face at work can provide workers with motivation to do their best on the job.

Delegate Leadership Tasks

When possible, find employees that have earned your trust by proving to be dependable and highly competent. Assign certain leadership tasks to these employees rather than having to handle all of them on your own. Giving these tasks to trusted employees helps boost morale in the workplace while also giving them a reason to trust and respect you.

Improve Communication

Having solid communication skills is one area that you can’t compromise on. If you struggle with communication, work on improving those skills in order to encourage your workers to put forth their best efforts on the job.

If you need high-quality equipment for warehouses that helps improve safety and productivity, contact DJ Products. We carry a wide selection of equipment that allows your workers to do their jobs more efficiently.

A Safety Checklist for Warehouse Managers – What to Put Into Action

As a warehouse manager, you can improve productivity and employee morale by being proactive about safety. Upgrade working conditions by using warehouse tugs and implementing this checklist of safety practices.

1. Create a Culture of Safety

Establish a shared concern for safety among employees. Set mandatory standards and communicate expectations through verbal and visual reminders, including safety tips posted in appropriate areas.

2. Review Workplace Conditions

Maintaining a safe workplace is an ongoing job. Conduct regular walk-throughs of the warehouse with an eye out for blocked aisles, exposed electrical cords and other common safety hazards.

3. Hold Training Sessions

Schedule periodic training to reinforce safety behavior and update employees on current regulations. Encourage questions and discussions and give occasional pop quizzes to keep awareness high.

4. Recognize and Reward Safety Practices

Recognition is always an effective way to internalize behavior. Start a program that allows employees to nominate co-workers who have demonstrated excellent safety practices and provide rewards.

5. Establish a Safety Committee

Involve employees directly by creating a safety committee that empowers them to take responsibility. Members can take questions and concerns from other workers, follow through on solving problems, and taking charge of training programs.

6. Have Clear Emergency Procedures

Provide first-aid kits, fire extinguishers and other emergency safety equipment and make sure everyone knows where they’re located. Emergency exits should be clearly marked and all employees should know the protocol for evacuation in case of fire or other dangerous situations.

Warehouse Tugs: An Effective Solution for Workplace Safety

Electric warehouse tugs from DJ Products include a wide range of safety features to reduce the risk of workplace accidents and repetitive-use injuries. Visit our website and learn more about our full line of material handling equipment.

Warehouse Key Performance Indicators (KPI) – What You Need to Know

Key performance indicators, or KPIs, have become standard elements of business plans in nearly every type of industry. In your warehouse, KPIs can be used to monitor and evaluate anything from purchases of material handling equipment to workplace safety.

Warehouse KPI’s – Why Use Them?

Why Use KPIs?

As the saying goes, you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. KPIs provide you with specific criteria to evaluate performance in predefined areas. Armed with solid data, you can then make any necessary adjustments to refine the journey toward your company goals.

KPIs for Warehouse Operations

No two companies will have the same KPIs. While there are a number of measurements that are commonly used, the final mix is based on your business plan and what factors you consider important.

Here are some KPIs that apply to major areas in a warehouse business model:

Business Performance

– Gross and net profits

– Costs (broken down by labor, inventory, equipment, etc.)

Operational Efficiency

– Utilization of resources

– Waste

– Order fulfillment

Safety

– Workplace accidents (number of incidents, time lost, etc.)

– Monthly health and accident prevention costs

– Percentage of products and services assessed for health and safety effects

“Green” Practices

– Emissions (CO_2,greenhouse gases)

– Renewable energy usage

– Percentage of recycled materials used

– Total energy created on-site

Safe, Efficient and Eco-Friendly Material Handling Equipment from DJ Products

Whatever your warehouse goals are, material handling equipment from DJ Products will help you attain them. Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers save on time, manpower and energy while reducing the risk of workplace injuries.

Visit our website and use the convenient online chat feature to learn more. Our experienced sales engineers are ready to help you find the best material handling solutions for your applications.

Mobile Technology is Coming to Warehouses in 2018

Make Sure You Are Using the Mobile Tech That Makes Sense for Your Business

The e-commerce market is rapidly expanding as consumers increasingly shift to online shopping. As warehouses and distribution centers spread and expand to meet the expanding needs of today’s online retailers, warehouses are being challenged to turn orders faster in efforts for retail venues to maintain a relevant online presence. To meet this challenge, they’re turning to real-time mobile technology in their warehouse equipment arsenal.

Different from Other Mobile Tech
In the warehouse environment, mobile technology differs from other applications. Used intensely for the duration of worker shifts, workers interact with devices hundreds-to-thousands of times per shift, making optimal design and operation critical to accomplishing tasks at hand, ensuring maximum productivity and accuracy.

Meeting Supply Chain Needs
Serving a range of industries, mobile warehouse technology featuring the latest capabilities, including UHF RFID for tracking warehouse equipment, assets, inventory, and workers, is becoming increasingly affordable.

Real-Time Location Solutions (RTLS) are growing in use and popping-up in warehouses nationwide, with its precision optimizing operational visibility, efficiency and safety.

Shipping warehouses can now scan, count, manage, and search for inventory in real-time, getting a complete picture of inventory at multiple locations. This not only reduces errors and improves customer service, but eliminates much of the legwork necessary for managing stock, pricing, and other product data that previously required a repetitive labor investment.

Compatible with Existing Automation & Technology
The latest mobile technology for warehouses, which is most effective when deployed collectively, is also capable of collaborating with existing and up-and-coming technology. From quick-picking drones to articulating arms working in tandem with sensor-fusion technology, precision industrial processes are the new standard.

Do you have the warehouse equipment solutions you need to remain relevant in today’s rapidly changing retail environment? Improve your operation with DJ Products today.

What Supply Chain Trends are Predicted for 2018 and the Years Beyond Part Two

This post is a continuation of Part One found on our blog.

What Supply Chain Trends Will You Expect to See in 2018?

We brought in the new year with a look at supply chain trends that are expected to affect the industry in 2018 and beyond. While tugger carts and other electric material handling equipment are established parts of today’s warehouses, we continue to examine developing factors that can change your approach to workplace operations.

Emphasis on Supply Chain Externals

As environmental awareness has continued to grow, the public has become more concerned about how companies affect society in terms of carbon footprint and sustainable practices. Companies will need to increase transparency with disclosure of the end-to-end impacts of supply chains.

Serving the “Base of the Pyramid”

More than five billion people around the world make less than $2,000 per year. An influential book entitled The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid explored the market potential of this segment. As a result, current cost-plus supply chain models will transition to not-to-exceed cost models.

Global Demand for Knowledge Work and Workers

The shift to a global market has increased the need for supply chain workers who understand the local complexities of foreign communities and have an ability to communicate in multiple languages. Approximately 40 percent of this work involves analytics, planning and processing.

Identifying Micro Segments

Supply chain usually paints the model of customer service with a broad brush that addresses the basic category. Companies are now finding more success with a supply chain that effectively serves specific micro segments of customers based on what triggers their buying decisions.

Increase Safety and Productivity with Tugger Carts from DJ Products

Our electric tugger carts provide a consistent level of safety and efficiency that maximizes productivity in your workplace. Visit our website to learn more about our full line of material handling solutions.

Direct-to-Consumer Sales Turn Stores Into Local Warehouses

Facing pressure to match the e-commerce giants, more retailers have begun using brick-and-mortar locations as fulfillment warehouses. With the right adjustments, stores can deliver faster, cheaper shipping than using a remote distribution center.

For warehousers, this ups the ante for efficient and affordable third-party fulfillment services. For retailers, it creates a new need to alter retail space and train employees differently.

Pymnts.com recently examined the direct-to-consumer warehouse trend by looking at how Kohl’s has invested billions of dollars to turn its big box stores into warehouses. It may be just what traditional retail needs to keep up.

Businesses need to invest wisely with a warehouse equipment supplier for the right tools to make brick-and-mortar locations as effective as fulfillment centers. A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed questioned whether retailers are prepared for the challenge.

Challenges for turning a store into a warehouse include:

• Customer shopping replaced by the new labor of employees picking

• Retail employees need different skill sets for warehouse work

• Small storage space can be difficult to maneuver boxes, carts, forklifts

As a warehouse equipment supplier, DJ Products understands the challenges of workers picking items and moving cart loads of boxes and inventory items around tight spaces. Employees face high injury risk when maneuvering loads around corners and carrying heavy packages in and out of the warehouse.

An industrial cart mover can transform your storage room into a high-functioning distribution center. The CartCaddyShorty motorized cart puller, for example, pulls up to 3,000 pounds and can be operated safely by virtually any employee.

Contact DJ Products to speak with our helpful warehouse equipment supplier team today.

Increase in E-Commerce Creates a Booming Demand for Warehouse Space

As foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores continues to decline, commercial real estate is being hit hard by mall closings. But that’s good news for warehouse landlords, who are seeing an increase in demand driven by the rise in online shopping.

Warehouses: The Hot New Real Estate Properties

Most retail properties are controlled by real estate investment trusts, also known as REITs. Retail store closings and bankruptcies have caused retail REITs to drop nearly 20 percent in early 2017.

On the other hand, industrial REITs that control warehouses are benefitting from a demand that outstrips current supply. Jonathan Petersen, analyst for global investment banking firm Jeffries, says the shift to e-commerce has caused price targets for industrial REITs to be raised across the board.

According to industry estimates, online retailers require three times as much warehouse space as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. Peterson explains that e-commerce makes up 10 percent of retail sales, and simply doubling their share would create a need for 600 million square feet of new warehouses.

What Does the Future Hold?

The increase in e-commerce and warehouse demand is more than just a cyclical event. Peterson goes on to say that he and Jeffries see it as the beginning of a “secular growth trend” that’s expected to continue for several years.

Electric Industrial Tugs from DJ Products

As warehouse use increases, efficient operations will be more vital than ever. Industrial tugs such as our CartCaddyShorty let a single employee move loads of up to 3,000 pounds quickly and safely.

Visit our website and let our cheerful sales engineers help you find the right industrial tugs for your applications.

Warehouse News: What’s In Store for 2017?

One of the keys to successful supply chain management is matching inventory levels to consumer demand. How is retail activity for 2017 shaping up compared to recent years?

Predicting Sales Based on Port Activity

The Global Port Tracker is a monthly report generated by the National Retail Federation (NRF) in conjunction with consulting firm Hackett Associates. Based on activity at major retail container ports, the NRF predicts that sales will grow between 3.7 percent and 4.2 percent over 2016’s numbers.

Port activity is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, which equate to a 20-foot-long cargo container. According to Global Port Tracker, the ports it covers handled 1.58 million TEUs in December 2016, which was a 10.2 percent increase from the previous December.

Total cargo volume in 2016 equaled 18.8 million TEUs. That number was up 3.2 percent from 2015, which in turn showed a 5.4 percent increase over 2014.

What’s in Store for 2017?

Jonathan Gold, vice president of Supply Chain And Customs Policy for NRF, explains that greater quantities of imports flowing through ports usually indicates a corresponding growth in sales. This trend led NRF to forecast 9.4 million TEUs during the first half of 2017, for a healthy 4.6 percent increase over the same period in 2016.

Move Inventory Efficiently with Warehouse Tugs from DJ Products

When inventory is flowing through your warehouse, every minute counts. A single employee can move loads up to 10,000 pounds quickly and safely with our CartCaddy5WP. Visit our website and let our friendly sales engineers help you find the right solution from our full line of electric warehouse tugs.

The Internet of Things Comes to Warehousing and Logistics

The Internet of Things Can Be Very Valuable to Businesses

The Internet of Things(IoT) has quickly proven its value in the world of business. Companies are integrating IoT within the framework of their operations to make the entire production process more efficient and transparent. This integration is also being extended towards the warehousing and logistics framework of companies for finding new material handling trends and their solutions.

At DJ Products, we have made enormous progress in adopting IoT solutions for product warehousing and logistics. Various types of sensors and RFID tags have been incorporated into the material handling equipment. This has resulted in a number of advantages:

1. Faster Movement

The speed of the entire operation has increased greatly, thanks to instantaneous information being relayed across the various teams involved in the operation. No more lag time between individual steps of the operation that can bottleneck the overall process.

2. Error Free Process

The addition of sensors and alarms means that the chances of an error occurring in the middle of an operation are virtually eliminated.

3. Around the Clock Monitoring

Thanks to sensors being integrated into vehicles, which carry data back to the control center, we are always aware of exactly what speed the vehicle is traveling at, how much load it’s carrying and the directions it needs to take, making the entire process highly transparent and providing constant material handling trends information.

So the next time you need help with material handling solutions that are safe and cost effective, call on the experts at DJ Products, and we’ll bring you the most cutting edge motorized vehicle solutions that are able to handle the most cumbersome equipment with ease!

Is Radio Frequency the Next Big Thing for Warehouses?

Barcode scanning revolutionized distribution center and warehouse operations by automating functions such as receiving that had previously been done manually. As the technology celebrates its 40th birthday, the industry is looking for the systems that will move operations up to the next level.

Radio frequency is a major candidate to replace barcodes in order picking and fulfillment systems. This technology involves establishing a wireless network within a facility. The host server exchanges order information with the Warehouse Management System and this data in turn goes out to terminals worn on the wrists of warehouse employees.

The order picker is directed to each successive pick location and given information regarding quantities for each item. Confirmation of the pick is processed through the terminal, either by scanning the item or manually entering its ID number. Once an order is complete, it’s recorded in the server and the next order is on its way.

The RF system is less cumbersome for order pickers since they don’t have to deal with a paper ticket. It also results in more accurate order processing because the picker is required to confirm each line item. RF accommodates a wide variety of order picking methods, including zone, batch and wave, with all information recorded in real time.

Make sure that products are in the correct location on a timely basis. DJ Products has a full line of battery-operated tows and tugs that allow a single employee to efficiently move loads up to 50,000 pounds. Call 800.686.2651 or use our convenient online chat feature for immediate assistance from our friendly Sales Engineers at Team Cart Caddy.

Tag: Warehouse Trends