Looking to improve efficiency in your warehouse? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Applying lean principles to warehouse management can seem like a tall order, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right combination of technology, partnership, and organization, you can lower costs and increase profits — while simplifying your warehouse processes.

Start by taking steps at the big-picture level to implement lean principles into your processes.

1. Find a partner.  Make sure you don’t just work with vendors, but with partners you can trust to truly understand and support your operations. When you choose software, equipment, a warehouse, or a fleet partner, ensure that the company has a stellar reputation and brings specialized expertise in its particular area. By partnering with an expert, you can reduce the time you spend implementing and optimizing solutions — and often reduce costs, too!
2. Organize — and reorganize. Supply chain gurus know that organization is key in efficient warehouse management. You must establish and utilize an appropriate system that organizes your materials in a logical, defined order. The fastest-moving materials should be at the front and center of your warehouse. When your organization’s productivity starts to slip? Reorganize! What works now may not work a year or even three months from now. Consistently reevaluate your organizational needs to maintain efficiency.
3. Ensure your storage or shelving solution is appropriate for your needs. To ensure optimal organization, your storage solution must be as efficient as possible. For this reason, Heubel offers an array of storage solutions you can trust, including racking, shelving, and much more. Even better, as a member of the Raymond Sales and Service center network, Heubel provides direct access to lean warehousing experts whose combined skills and knowledge can satisfy any storage need — anywhere in North America.
4. Reduce handling. Each time an item is handled, the cost associated with that item increases. By utilizing the right software and technology, you can plan processes, systems, and even paths through your warehouse to reduce steps and handling — and dramatically reduce costs down through your bottom line, bringing us to our next point …
5. Use the right technology. Today, you’ll find a plethora of supply chain software and technology options that offer tools to deal with everything from inventory control to equipment maintenance, labor, and more. Ensuring you have the solution that will address all your needs is integral to efficiency. Heubel offers solutions that enable centralized management of all your warehouse systems, from fleet optimization to automated storage and retrieval products, and more.

Here at Heubel, we’re proud of our reputation. As material handling experts for over 50 years, we have built that reputation on industry-leading knowledge. We would be happy to evaluate your unique needs in the design, implementation, and support of your entire material handling system.