As anyone in the frozen foods and frozen products industry knows, peak warehouse season extends from October through January. With consumers ordering larger meals for the holidays or seeking blocks of ice for skating or carving contests, those in the industry who provide those goods and services need extra cold storage in these colder winter months. But that space can come at a premium if providers are not prepared.
Sometimes the solution is in better warehouse management optimization. Other times, it may be prudent to consider expanding warehouse space on a temporary basis by looking outside the confines of the business warehouse’s typical cold storage facility.
Think of obtaining extra storage for the peak season in the same way you might rent a storage unit on either side of a move. You’re not storing items forever, but for a few months, you need items to be stored out of your way so that you can move about your space more freely until you’re settled in.
The Optimization Process
Optimizing warehouse operations is an essential element to any business. Inventory management optimization, streamlined warehouse operations, and improved warehouse processes are essential to guarantee customer satisfaction through efficient warehouse management operations.
Managers may prepare their warehouse operations for the peak holiday season in a few different ways:
Warehouse Efficiency
Warehouse space is always a premium, but even more so during the holidays. Managers of warehouse spaces must focus on inventory, picking, and packing strategies that streamline the process from receiving to shipping to consumers. Efficient processes will keep employees from scrambling around the warehouse, bumping into other each other, making errors, and potentially causing collisions. Inefficient processes heighten the risk of employee injury and damaged products. Effective managers must be able to see where process improvements can be made so that efficiency is at a maximum.
Effective efficiency is vital to businesses who wish to remain competitive and even rise above their competitors. Prior to peak season, attention must be paid to forecasting needs in inventory and staffing so that pricing remains competitive and profits continue to accelerate during the peak season.
Inventory Control
Accurate inventory counts are one measure of a warehouse manager’s successful management of their warehouse. Investing in appropriate technology can improve the efficiency of this process—hand-counting each individual frozen item multiple times is highly inefficient. Technology gives us better tools, such as barcode scanners, mobile carts, forklifts, and more for this kind of work, and these tools must be utilized for effective warehouse management.
Warehouse Design
Warehouse layout is also vital to ensuring that employees and their equipment can move safely and effectively around a space. From receiving to picking to shipping, the process of inventory management is highly controlled by the layout of the warehouse. Managers should be vigilant to find an effective layout for pallets and products, with regard for the most-used items. Effective layouts will maximize efficiency—and profit.
Starting in October, there is a high demand for products for the holiday season, so warehouse managers must be thinking of a plan that can be implemented before the October rush begins. They will need time to educate their employees and practice the process so that it is efficient and effective. This peak warehouse season extends until January—a third of the calendar year. As a result, managers cannot just sit back and think they will only be busier or inconvenienced for a short period of time.
During peak season, inventory is also affected by a growing number of returns — more than usual. Being able to receive returns efficiently is important. Without a plan, receiving a large number of returns diverts extra labor from picking up and shipping outgoing orders, and chaos ensues, putting sales and profits at risk. Your warehouse design should include designated areas for returns based on temperature needs (refrigerated, frozen, room temperature).
There are three specific areas of a warehouse that need attention, but specifically during peak season. Receiving, forward picking, and returns should each be a dedicated space in warehouse layout considerations. Areas that are well-designed enable new shipments to be processed quickly and moved seamlessly.
Forward picking areas should focus on high demand products whose location makes them easily accessible. Fast access to these items shortens the time a picker needs to retrieve them, which reduces costs and maximizes profits. There are a few considerations to this area: seasonal demand, product velocity, and current trends.
Finally, the returns area of the warehouse needs to be equipped with transition and evaluation points. Damaged or defective items should be inventoried and removed quickly so that they are not taking up space needed by saleable products. Returned items that are resaleable should be returned to inventory as quickly as possible so they can be resold. And those decisions need to be made as soon after the items are received as possible.
Dealing With the Limitations of An In-House Warehouse
Sometimes producers simply do not have enough space. At these times, they may look to outsource their warehouse needs to a location that is prepared to handle the overflow of a peak season. Even the simple act of diverting returns to a facility temporarily may reduce the stress on a busy warehouse and warehouse staffing situation. This allows employees to fill orders and move about the main in-house space with greater ease.
Thinking About Peak Season All Year Long
Warehouse business owners should know that peak season occurs every year. Product suppliers might also have to work around supply chain shortages and other availability issues. As a result, pre-planning for these logistical inventory concerns is vital to any successful business. Failure to plan may lead to staffing shortages and inventory overruns or insufficiencies. In turn, these issues could cause unhappy clients and customers demanding better service, refunds, or other compensation for their inconvenience.
Final Thoughts On Preparing for Peak Warehouse Season
Perhaps you run a small business with a single cold room manufacturers newark nj storage warehouse to manage. Or, maybe you’re a manager of multiple warehouses across the nation and even overseas. In either event, executing a strong plan for handling increased inventory needs can help you leverage your assets in the best possible way. Remember that getting your products where they need to be starts with a well-organized, efficient warehouse space and long-term planning.
Refrig-It is a New Jersey-based leader in multi-temperature storage for food and beverage products. They offer full-service, premium logistics services to food manufacturers with all types of storage and shipping needs.
