Streamlining Operations: How to Make a Warehouse More Efficient Through Outsourcing Labor

When you lack the labor necessary to transport products to and from trucks, shipping containers, and other warehouses, the efficiency of your supply chain will break under pressure. By learning how to make a warehouse more efficient, you can transform your warehouse into a powerhouse of productivity. 

Let's delve into the importance of efficient inventory management and how leveraging an experienced, managed labor force can elevate your warehouse operations to the next level.

The Benefits of Outsourced Labor

While warehouses help businesses in a lot of ways, they can only be as great as the labor that is put into them. Outsourcing labor to a third-party company can offer more advantages than directly hiring additional labor yourself.

Third-party companies with generations of experience can help increase your daily productivity while ensuring minimal stockouts and excess inventory. 

With those additional workers, your business can improve inventory control and make better use of warehouse space without putting in all the training and recruitment yourself. Your workers already have enough on their plate; they do not need anything more added to that list. After all, once your workers start to feel overworked, it’s only a matter of time before they get burnt out, and a cycle of high turnover begins. This is especially true in physically demanding roles. 

By outsourcing labor to sophisticated third parties, like FHI, you gain access to a pool of skilled labor without the extra effort or stress. Give your team the workers they need, as they need them, without making them wait through a lengthy onboarding process. This will give your internal team the extra time they’ve wanted to concentrate on important tasks that will naturally help your company and keep them happy.  

How To Make a Warehouse More Efficient: Strategies To Know

Let’s get to the core reason you’re here: to learn how to make a warehouse more efficient. Even if you don’t have a giant budget for all the fancy machinery or automated systems, there are still lots of things you can do to increase warehouse efficiency. In fact, there's no need to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars on fancy solutions when you can achieve equally impressive results with a more affordable alternative. Therefore, whether you’re setting up a warehouse from the start or fixing up the operations of a long-time operating warehouse, these three strategies can get you to where you want to be.

The Benefits of a Production Pay Model

Hiring a bunch of new warehouse workers doesn't necessarily mean that your warehouse will run much smoother. New hires are slow and untrained, and it can take months to get them up to speed. What can make a warehouse run more efficiently? Having the RIGHT workers. With an outsourced, trained, and managed workforce whose performance is based on production, tasks will get finished quicker, leading to satisfied customers who get their orders on time. Plus, if someone needs a break or gets sick, there are still enough people to keep things running smoothly without any delays. Having workers around who are trained and managed from day one ensures your warehouse operates efficiently, keeping everyone happy and the work flowing smoothly with fewer mistakes. 

This table outlines some of the common challenges in warehouse operations and how utilizing an experienced workforce can effectively address these issues.

Every worker has different experiences and specialties. Therefore, by increasing the number of workers you employ, you are opening up the door to a lot more ideas—which leads us to our next point.

Employing Experienced Professionals

During a labor shortage, it can be tempting to employ anyone willing to take the job. However, it’s important to have experienced professionals. A study published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the warehousing and storage industry has an injury rate of 4.8 per 100 workers, surpassing the U.S. average of 2.7 per 100 in all private sectors. Partnering with seasoned professionals who are managed, highly trained, and extremely safe will help mitigate risks and increase efficiency. You will also have access to their immense amount of knowledge. This includes insight on:

• Various management systems and processes
• Unique building layouts 
• Different inventory practices
• Safe work environments
• Etc

Ultimately, even if you put in all the effort to handle administrative tasks related to hiring, there's no guarantee that you'll find someone who fits the role. By outsourcing warehouse labor, you can guarantee the experience of your workers without having to spend hours putting up job advertisements and conducting interviews. By partnering with FHI, you are guaranteed an experienced and managed labor force right out of the box. Our management and labor teams have years of experience and can be ready to deploy quickly to help with your labor challenges.

Keeping Track of the Data

Keeping track of warehouse operation data is essential for several reasons. It provides valuable insights into inventory levels, order fulfillment metrics, SKU movement, labor productivity, resource allocation, safety incidents, and more. This data will help make sure goods are being stored effectively. Fast-moving items will be stored in easy-to-reach locations, while the slower-moving goods will be organized with increased storage space in mind. Data-driven predictions can help warehouse managers adjust inventory levels, cut storage costs, and have more money for other important operations.

By teaming up with a sophisticated warehouse labor provider, tracking these metrics becomes effortless. With FHI, these workers are expertly managed and have the expertise needed to make the changes necessary for improved success. You can eliminate the hassle of having to ask your workers to make changes more than once.

Key Considerations When Selecting a Partner For Warehouse Optimization

By teaming up with a reputable warehouse labor provider, businesses can efficiently streamline operations. However, thorough research is necessary to find the right partner who can efficiently manage daily warehouse operations. After all, this provider will be responsible for supplying experienced workers to handle your products, which will ultimately play a large part in the success of your daily operations.

Make sure you get the right partner by looking for these key elements: 

• Experience and Expertise: Look for a provider with extensive experience and expertise in warehouse operations, including inventory management, material handling, and logistics.
• Adaptability and Scalability: Choose a partner capable of adapting to your changing business needs and scaling their services accordingly, whether it's seasonal fluctuations or sudden growth.
• Safety Protocols and Compliance: Verify that the outsourcing partner prioritizes safety protocols and maintains compliance with industry regulations to mitigate workplace hazards and ensure employee well-being.

By assessing these aspects during your research, you can select a partner that aligns with your warehouse optimization goals and contributes to the overall success of your supply chain operations. Lucky for you, we’ve made the research and selection process easy for you. FHI has all of these characteristics and more. Your success is our success, and we will work hard together to bring your warehouse efficiency goals to life.