The global health crisis has radically changed different aspects of our society.
Companies are forced to follow new rules for co–existence and social distancing rules.
Warehouse management is the central point of global logistics and the key point in relation to social distancing rules.
Constant control of logistics efficiency in a company is essential when there is an operational warehouse that plays an important role for the company itself.
Modula Vertical Lift Machines are suitable to meet the new safety rules as they follow the “goods to man” picking principle: the operator does not need to search for goods inside the warehouse, but this is made available on the loading / unloading bay.
The movement of operators is drastically reduced, and this simplifies the overall organization of the warehouse. In addition, the number of errors relating to picking and order fulfillment is reduced: a lower number of returns means an increase in productivity and customer satisfaction.
Strategies to minimise the impact of Covid-19
Logistic procedures and warehouse processes concerning, for example, the methods of goods receipt, storage, order preparation, may undergo variations due to changes outside the company.
External market changes, such as the health crisis in this case, can cause inefficiencies and make warehouse logics ineffective.
Regarding the need to comply with new Social Distancing regulations, the fundamental steps to follow are:
- Track all operations
- Define new spaces for operators within the warehouse
- Create defined workspaces
- Speed up and optimize operations
- Track all operations
To avoid gatherings and respect the distances between individuals required by law, the starting point for the reorganization of the warehouse is to trace all the operations inside it: entry of goods, sorting, storage, picking, and shipping.
- Define new spaces for operators within the warehouse
After mapping the warehouse operations, the space can be organised to allow operators to maintain their distance. This also means reviewing internal warehouse flows to recover necessary space.
- Create defined workspaces
It is essential precisely to define new workstations, using clear and visible signals and it is necessary to provide staff training to communicate changes.
- Speed up and optimize operations
Optimization is necessary to speed up the warehouse operations.
The recent period has given a boost towards the claim of receiving orders in a short time.
When reviewing the organization of warehouse logistics, it is also important to review picking operations, which represent the heart of order preparation.
