Running out of space on the industrial shelves in your warehouse is more than inconvenient. It could end up costing your business both time and money and if it isn’t addressed quickly, it could even cause accidents and injuries in your facility. Industrial shelves need to house your inventory but do so in a way that makes it easy for your team to find what they need. If your shelves aren’t doing that, they are slowing down the efficiency of your warehouse. Your team will need to look longer and harder for the items that they need, slowing down order fulfillment and assembly, and costing you more in labor when it comes to each product you either send out or create. Cluttered shelves can pose risks to your employees, too, with improperly stacked merchandise that could be prone to falling and injuring someone.
If your shelves are at their limit, you may not necessarily need new shelves; you may just need a better system. Here are some tips that you can use to make more room on your shelves for everything that you need:
- Remove clutter. Sometimes shelves are cluttered with things that don’t need to be there. If it isn’t a part of your inventory, move it off of your industrial shelves and find a better place for it. Leave shelf space for the items that make you money, not your team’s lunches.
- Keep them neat. A neatly organized shelf will have more space than one where everything is just tossed in together. You’ll be able to see your inventory more clearly which will speed up production, as well.
- Do an inventory. Inventory is a great way to determine what products should be there and what shouldn’t be there, as well as force your team to do some cleaning up as they go through your space.
- Put small things in bins. Small objects can take up a lot of space on industrial shelves, not because of their size but because of the fact there are so many. Put small items into bins to keep them labeled, organized, and maximize the use of your space.
- Stick to a process. Write out a process and have your team stick to it. This will eliminate confusion about where things are supposed to go and where they might be found within the warehouse, helping to prevent your industrial shelves from becoming a dumping ground.
Taking a few small steps towards organization can help keep the industrial shelves within your warehouse neat, clean, and ready to hold more inventory. If these steps aren’t cutting it, contact RMH Systems. We’ll help you make more space within your warehouse for all of your needs and can provide the new equipment or a sophisticated warehouse layout design to help you make the most of your existing equipment. We also offer automation services, installation, and removal services to meet all of your warehouse and material handling needs. Get in touch with our team today for more information on what we can do for you.
