If you have a fast-growing business, you’re most probably looking for a warehouse to store your goods in. On the surface, warehousing sounds pretty simple — just put all your products in there, sort them in categories, and take some of them out when the stocks in your store run out. While that’s fundamentally what a warehouse is for, its functions go beyond storage and accumulation of goods.
When managing a warehouse, you have to handle inventory control, among many other things. Inventory control is particularly crucial because it involves risks that can affect the quality of your products, and impact your profits in turn.
One thing that can reduce the risks is procuring the right equipment. You don’t necessarily have to purchase them, as high-quality warehouse equipment rental is available. You may rent equipment daily, weekly, monthly, or for an entire year, which may save you more money.
That said, let’s discuss about inventory control risks and issues, and how the right equipment can help in mitigating them.
Inventory Control Risks and Issues
Damage
On some occasions, products can be damaged during normal warehouse operations. Boxes containing products may be crushed due to mishandling or improper storage techniques.
Products get more susceptible to damage the more it’s touched or moved. Considering all your products go through multiple stages before being stored or deployed, you face this risk every day.
Lost Inventory
Lost inventory occurs in several forms, including physical loss of a product or an error during receipt of the products. Your inventory is your asset, which means that if you lose one, you technically lose an asset, too, resulting in a reduction in equity.
Theft
Theft remains to be one of the biggest risks in inventory management, especially with high-value products. Strong security systems, both physically and electronically, are the solution to this.
Inaccurate Quantities
There can be inaccuracy in the storage location, prices and identifications, and product counts. Inaccurate quantities often result from one area that reported an inaccuracy; for example, an item that got overlooked in inventory has been most likely stored in the wrong location, which explains an inaccurate count.
Capacity
When a warehouse becomes full of pallets and cases of inventory, the products may be compromised. In such a scenario, damage, loss, and theft may occur, because the basic rules of warehouse management tend to be neglected.
Mitigating Risks and Potential Issues Through the Right Equipment
Your storage system can determine whether you’re managing your inventory efficiently or not. If you use pallets, a pallet rack can help in making your inventory more organized. In some cases, particularly when you store hand-stacked inventory, you may also need industrial shelves.
If your items are long and bulky, a cantilever rack will store them in their correct positions, which a pallet rack doesn’t allow. Specialty racks are also available for items that need to be kept safe and secure until they’re deployed.
For moving hand-stacked inventory, a flow rack will be useful, as they’ll take your products to the pick-up area safely.
Your lifting equipment is also critical. Use the wrong one and boxes on high places may topple over and injure your personnel, not to mention damage the products inside. Forklifts can move items with minimal risk of injury and damage, while hand trucks or pallet jacks are helpful in lifting and moving pallets, either manually or electronically.
By employing the right storage technique, implementing tight security, and using the appropriate equipment, your warehouse operations can always push through efficiently, experiencing minimal issues and facing fewer risks. With your products always safe and secure, your assets will flourish.