5 Proven Tips to Reduce Inventory Loss in Your Warehouse

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Inventory waste in your warehouse is a financial drain that wastes resources. Even if your facility has taken product losses down to a minimal 1% if you’re moving $10MM of product every year, that fully preventable loss takes $100k out of your bottom line. If you’re interested in reducing waste from product loss, these strategies are for you.

Training

Your team is critical, and they ultimately have the power to reduce product loss. Regular, consistent, specific training will improve accuracy and reduce losses. While some processes and machinery may require lengthy, formal training, many issues can be tackled with short, targeted bursts of training and posted visual reminders.

Continuous Improvement

Every process can be improved. Sure, there are complicated CPI models out there, such as Kaizen or Six Sigma, that are geared towards process improvement. Still, it’s possible to improve your processes on a much smaller scale beginning today, especially if you involve your team. Questions such as the following will help you zero in on ways to improve efficiency and reduce waste:

Does more than one person touch the product? Is that necessary?
Is the product sufficiently and clearly labeled?
Can the product be damaged during the process?
Is there a time when the product sits unlabeled or outside the tracking system>

These and other similar questions can point you to weak spots in your system that may result in product loss.

Fewer Manual Touchpoints

The more a product is touched, the greater likelihood of loss. Manual touches can result in breakage, drops, mislabeling, and even misplacing. Plus, manual processes are inefficient. Automate where ever possible.

The Right Equipment

Having the right material handling system for your product can make a huge difference. You want to choose equipment that moves your product safely, smoothly, and efficiently and that carefully balances these improvements with maintenance and other system costs such as future modifications. If weighing these considerations isn’t your strong suit, you’ll want to work with a competent material handling engineer who can help you design and implement a system that will work for you. Anyone can hand you a quote, but you really need a partner who understands your business model and needs today and going forward.