Advantages of Multiple Warehouses
If your company is selling to customers regionally or globally, keeping all the inventory in one warehouse may no longer be viable. It will be more difficult to fill orders promptly and shipping costs may be too expensive for customers to afford comfortably. With multiple warehouses, you can ship from the warehouse closest to the customer’s location. Taking this step also saves on shipping costs.
Challenges Associated with Multiple Warehouses
Operatingmultiple warehouses offers significant benefits. However, it can also present some issues. Having more than one warehouse complicates your operation. You need to ensure each warehouse is stocked appropriately; inventory must be maintained in each location. Some of the challenges associated with managing several warehouses include:
- More Difficulty with Managing Inventory
Keeping all your warehouses stocked all the time is challenging. Management may end up focused on one warehouse more than others before realizing that the stock and sales aren’t in line. Stock-outs can affect your supply chain and your revenue stream.
- Issues Managing Communication Between Warehouses
Even though you have more than one warehouse, your customers see your business as a single entity. When customers in different regions place orders, it is critical that their orders are communicated to the correct warehouse for delivery.
Miscommunications and errors may take place occasionally, leading to losses. It’s challenging to streamline the processes required from ordering to delivery when your business operates multiple warehouses. Employee errors in ensuring the correct warehouse fills orders may lead to delays or even cancelations.
Techniques for Multi-Warehouse Inventory Management
1. Automate Your Warehouse Management Processes
The most important technique for managing your multi-warehouse inventory is to automate your processes. Cloud-based inventory management systems and warehouse management systems (WMS) are critical tools you can use for this purpose.
Multi-warehouse inventory management software gives you the capability to track inventory levels at different locations in real-time. A cloud-based warehouse management system allows your team to:
- Monitor data in your warehouse from any device.
- Transfer products between warehouses to fill customers’ orders. This practice reduces the likelihood of errors in your inventory.
- Send orders to warehouses with stock available to avoid delays or lost revenue.
2. Optimize the Warehouse Layout
Optimizing the warehouse layout for maximum efficiency can go a long way toward boosting inventory management. A well-organized warehouse directly impacts how quickly customers receive their orders.
Place the most popular items closer to the loading dock so pickers can get to them more efficiently.
Labeling bins and shelves clearly also assists with efficient put-always.
For large warehouses that employ temporary workers, posting a layout of the warehouse in multiple locations is helpful. Taking this step helps them find product bins more quickly.
3. Add Suppliers into Your Inventory Management System
Adding your suppliers into the inventory management system is an effective strategy for keeping inventory to the required levels. Your management team can access information about availability, pricing, and lead time. This information makes the ordering process much more efficient.
4. Track Inventory in all Warehouse Locations
Company business managers should be constantly aware of inventory levels in all warehouses. It’s not practical to take a daily physical count of inventory.
An inventory management system integrated into your multi-warehouse management software makes tracking all inventory quicker and easier. Scanning the inventory as it arrives in the warehouse updates the record automatically in real-time. Once the items are scanned into the system, it’s much easier to confirm stock availability.
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