5 Ways How to Boost Your Warehouse Business and Cut Costs

Maximizing profit margins while ensuring any business can still operate as usual is a work of art. The devil hides in the details, where fine-tuning and practical thinking can save thousands of dollars. Whether a business is just starting or is years under its belt cutting costs is always desirable. The main difference between cutting costs and cutting corners is that your business doesn't suffer when you do the first option. With some practical tips&tricks, we can set you on the way to bigger profits and better operating procedures!

1. Go green!

Energy conservation in today's modern world is paramount. Saving on electricity costs by implementing various lighting options pays for itself in no time. Sequential lighting that only lights up the parts of your warehouse that are in use or motion control lights is easy to install and implement. Plan B is to install more windows for natural light. 

Opening up your warehouse to Mother Nature brings down the electricity bill. Another way you can contribute is by recycling everything you can. Warehouses often have lots of wood, cardboard and paper waste that can be recycled for a pretty profit. 

2. Have better visibility

Where is something in your warehouse? If your employees and machine operators have to rummage about and waste time you are losing money. Clear indications, large signs, turning points, and arrows on the floor are all great, but there is a modern way of running a warehouse. GPS tracking and locators can show you your entire inventory and location in a second. 

With a single device in your hand, none of your employees will ever get lost while searching for something, and you will know your exact stock quantity. Without time lost, customers get their goods faster, there is no hold-up in the logistic chain, and everything is running smooth.

3. Reach out to pros

Getting to a point where your warehouse has maximum efficiency with minimal costs takes time, investment and effort. Taking a shortcut requires you to outsource your needs to third-party professionals. With ample experience under their belt and practical know-how readily available, like MLA Holdings has, you can get on the fast lane to success. Being a Jack of all trades and trying to accomplish everything at once is meaningless when you can ask for assistance. 

A single skilled forklift operator can make all the difference in loading time, operating costs and warehouse productivity. Now try to imagine what a whole shift can do, coupled with other trained professionals. By lowering your operating costs in a short time and implementing modern warehouse management techniques, you can get those desired fast results. 

4. Use protection

Workplace accidents and inventory damage rapidly drive up the costs of running a warehouse. The good news is, all of them are entirely preventable. Safety first holds an opportunity to make your employees safer at their jobs. When they can move and work without the risk of injury, they can relax and work stress-free. Workers' productivity and absence of sick leaves contribute to your profit margins. Neon vests, following OSHA job safety regulations, good physical training, proper job inspections and manageable, realistic time frames all contribute to a stress-free working environment. 

Next up is to make sure your equipment is up to the task. Dated or damaged warehouse inventory only leads to more costs. By trying to save pennies by not getting new pallets, stacking towers, hand jacks, forklifts, shipping containers and others needed for a smooth job, you are only causing damage to your inventory. And a faulty product can’t be sold to anyone.

5. Storage optimisation

While warehouses have limited space, the opportunities within are limitless. Taking a step back and a good look at your current warehouse can reveal hidden and unexploited potential. Using the space you have from wall to wall is all great, but what if the space is limited? Then you should consider going upwards with stacking pallets and utilising all that area above. Plan B in such situations is to build an entire floor if necessary. 

You can also put your trust in logistic software for optimizing warehouses. Various logistic simulations can design new and productive layouts based on input data. Smaller and medium-sized companies can struggle to justify such an investment, and you should never shy away from ink and paper. Plan C, as the final option is to change the warehouse entirely. Starting anew, from a new location in a building more suited to your needs may sound like a lot of work, but sometimes a fresh start is all you need!

Making any change to your business is certainly better than watching them sign into debt. Each penny saved can be re-invested into productive and profitable ways. At the end of the day, it's your money, and no one wants to squander and waste their profits. With efficient warehouse management out of the way, you will be able to focus on the more important aspects of your business.