Small retailers have a lot on their plates. Often, the challenges involved in keeping up with merchandising and marketing may lead them to neglect their warehouse operations. That can cause problems because a distribution system that isn’t running efficiently can be like an Olympic swimmer trying to freestyle upstream. And streamlining operations is always a work in progress.
“We’ve been in retail for 100 years and we’re still learning,” says Stan Strickland, president of candy retailer River Street Sweets in Savannah, Ga. “Every little thing you do in the warehouse affects the product you’re shipping, so it’s critical that [warehouse operations are] as up-to-date and efficient as possible.”
In many ways warehouse optimization starts with the fundamentals of organization: Arranging frequently purchased items so that personnel and/or machinery can pick and pack them efficiently. This requires a thorough knowledge of not just the company’s best-selling items, but which products are popular at particular times of the year, the week, even the hour in some cases.
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