While people often distinguish between on and offline sales when appraising the retail industry, it’s when you combine these that you begin to see the true value of the market.

At the end of 2017, global retail sales peaked at a staggering $23.45 trillion, including both traditional and digital channels. By 2020, this figure will have reached $27.73 trillion, as it continues to grow incrementally with every passing year.

With this in mind, warehouse and inventory managers will play an increasingly pivotal role in underpinning the marketplace in the future. Here are some tips to help you effectively store your growing inventory while optimizing productivity.

1. Invest in Ambient and Temperature Controlled Warehouse Storage |Mississauga, Ontario

This tip may not be relevant to everyone, as ambient and temperature warehouse storage may only be required when storing specific goods that are vulnerable to hot or cold conditions.

Food is a relevant case in point, of course, while products manufactured by timber are also likely to expand in the heat (causing considerable wear over time and potentially undermining their functionality).

What this does show, however, is that you should strive to create ambient and suitable storage conditions to suit the type of products that you sell.

This will ultimately protect the integrity of your products, while also maximizing the ROI on your initial investment.

2. Understand Your Best Selling Products

The layout of your warehouse is also important, particularly in relation to the area where you receive goods and the space in which they’re shipped from.

Ultimately, common sense should dictate the layout of your warehouse space, with products labeled, categorized and stored according to demand.

More specifically, high volume items should be stored close to the shipping area, making them easily accessible at all times. This will provide a significant boost to productivity and efficiency, minimizing labor time and empowering your warehouse staff to work at their optimal level.

The key here is the collation and analysis of accurate data, of course, as you strive to identify your top sellers and organize your inventory to ensure that they’re well placed. You should review your sales figures regularly, as you’ll risk using inaccurate information to organize your stock.

3. Minimize Unauthorized Traffic

On a final note, there’s arguably nothing worse than a packed and disorganized warehouse that is best described as chaotic. Surprisingly, this type of warehouse environment is relatively common, particularly in larger firms that have a high staff turnover and handles stock in bulk.

This can cause significant issues, both in terms of safety and the ability of key stakeholders to track inventory and work to the optimal level of efficiency.

With this in mind, why not eliminate these considerable and potentially costly risks by minimizing the unauthorized traffic flow that regularly runs throughout your warehouse? This also protects the integrity of your stock, as it reduces the risk of theft or damage significantly.

It’s also worth identifying your warehouse staff visually, whether this is done using T-shirts or a similar garment. This way, it’s easy to tell who is responsible for handling inventory, while determining which employees are authorized to be there at any given time.

York Trans – A Viable Short and Long Term Warehouse Storage Company

While these may be sensible ideas, they may be beyond the reach of some businesses. If this is the case, you should consider outsourcing your inventory to a short or long-term warehouse storage facility in a convenient location.

At York Trans, we currently provide this to clients in a wealth of separate locations, including Mississauga, Ontario and others in Canada and along the U.S. east coast.

By partnering with us, you can access ambient and temperature controlled warehouse storage, while also ensuring that your inventory is managed efficiently at all times.

  • A temperature controlled warehouse storage facility may be central to your business.
  • Your inventory also needs to be managed efficiently if you’re to optimize productivity.
  • Trans York offers a comprehensive service that can help your business to achieve these aims.