Four Tips to Help Prepare Your Warehouse for the Holiday Season

November 6, 2018

Halloween is over, which means the winter holiday season is just around the corner. Is your warehouse ready? Most warehouses experience increased activity during the holiday season. In fact, many businesses do 40 percent or more of their business during the last quarter of the year. These big holiday orders require increased product inventory—and better use of space. If you’re not prepared, you could be facing chaos this holiday season. So how do you prepare your warehouse for the holiday rush? Here are a few tips from Industrial Shelving USA, your local source for warehouse shelving.

Assess your warehouse layout

Increased inventory means increased traffic. The layout of your warehouse needs to account for this if you want to ensure efficiency and avoid accidents. Focal points you should consider include:

  • Flow
  • Organization
  • Forklift utilization
  • Storage capacity
  • Space utilization

There are systems you can use, such as flow charts and grid systems, to help you identify areas for improvement and help make sure that your warehouse staff knows the workflow and process.

Increase your warehouse staffing

Bigger orders and increased inventory mean a need for more staff. No matter how well planned out your warehouse is, you will still need the appropriate number of staff to run it. Plan early to meet your holiday staffing needs. Look at numbers from last year to determine where you may need to bulk up your inventory staff, and start interviewing candidates in early fall. Another good idea is to keep record of temporary workers who performed well in previous years and bring them on again when you need extra help. Recycling staff can save on hiring and training costs.

Organization and storage

A lot of companies feel like they quickly run out of space as their inventory rapidly increases. However, not having enough space is rarely the actual problem. Nine times out of 10, you have enough space, but just aren’t utilizing all of it. Investing in shelving solutions and rethinking your warehouse organization can help increase your inventory capacity, without your actually having to invest in more square footage. For storage solutions and high-quality warehouse shelving, be sure to check out our selection at Industrial Shelving USA.

Stay on top of maintenance

The last thing you want to do is lose space or, even worse, lose time during the holiday season due to maintenance. If you know you are going to be busy during the next couple weeks, perform a warehouse inspection and make a list of any upcoming maintenance needs. Address any maintenance needs now, before you get into the thick of the holiday season, to avoid delays and work stoppages resulting from avoidable issues.

Don’t struggle through the holidays this year—plan ahead and you will find that you can increase your warehouse efficiency, your productivity and your profits with just a little planning and pre-holiday prep. For more tips like these and a host of high-quality warehouse storage solutions, be sure to call Industrial Shelving USA, your trusted source for warehouse shelving.

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