6 hidden ways your warehouse is losing money

So your warehouse is clean and efficient — it could still be losing money if you don't pay attention to your inventory data. Here are four ways how:

1. Time spent fixing human errors

People make mistakes. That's nothing new, but it can translate to significant costs for your warehouse if items are mislabeld or not entered into the database correctly. Frequently, these errors aren't even noticed until it's time to move an item and it's nowhere to be found. All of the time your workers spend sorting out mistakes is wasted money.

2. Labor needed for manual data entry

Entering data is tedious. When you try to be careful to not make mistakes, it takes even more time. If your workers have to enter inventory data by hand at any point, their time could be better spent somewhere else. Automatic data entry is a simple and effective way to boost your warehouse's productivity. Between barcodes and RFID, there are a wide variety of choices that can be tailored to your application.

3. Production delays from inventory counts

In order to understand what is exactly in your warehouse, you stop operations and take inventory. If workers have to use a checklist on a clipboard, though, this processes takes much longer than it has to. Every minute that production has to slow or stop is a serious loss. Automating inventory counts can cut that time drastically, by up to 75%! You may even find that you don't have to stop production at all, spreading smaller counts (cycle counts) out over time. Either way, you save money.

4. Time spent searching for missing items

How many times has this happened to you: it's time to make a shipment and you have everything in stock, but one of the items is nowhere to be found. When your inventory data is inaccurate or incomplete, costs will add up quickly. Not only do you pay for someone to search high and low for an item that should be sitting on a shelf, but shipment delays can harm your business' reputation. Put a system in place to manage your inventory data, and never worry about misplaced items again.

5. Cost of expediting needed items

When you absolutely need a part or ingredient, you'll pay a premium to have it shipped as soon as possible. Because shipping isn't instantaneous, you also have to delay your process until everything arrives. These problems entirely preventable, though, and only arise when inventory data is missing or incorrect. Depending on your situation, a combination of barcoding and RFID solutions can ensure that all of your most important items are ready when you are.

6. Resources spent resolving audits

For security or health sensitive applications, regulatory audits of production and inventory facilities require stringent recordkeeping and operating procedures. Missing or misplaced inventory can result in heavy fines and significant delays spent reconciling any issues. By collecting inventory data automatically, you will increase the quality of your data and streamline your production and distribution processes. Let regulatory fines become a thing of the past.