Perhaps you have started a new business that demands that you have a warehouse. Perhaps your already existing business is growing and flourishing, which brings the need for additional space. Whatever the reasons for your need of buying or renting a warehouse are, you should read this article. Every part of every business has its challenges and possible obstacles that you need to overcome. Managing a warehouse is not an exception. In order to allow your business to run smoothly, you should be well prepared. In addition to having access to the best national shipping company of Saudi Arabia possible, you’ll have to be well-informed. That means that you will have to be aware of those possible issues. You are probably already aware of some common obstacles when dealing with warehouses. However, there are also some warehousing problems nobody warned you about.
In this article, we are going to go through them all. If you want to manage your warehouse in a proper way, you should keep on reading!
Common warehousing problems
There are some pretty common challenges you’ll have to try and handle when you rent or buy a commercial storage unit such as a warehouse. These include:
- Not having enough space for your equipment and your workers
- Not getting enough data when needed
- Misunderstanding the expectations of the customers
- Poor product management
- Handling delays and damages of the products
- Redundancy
- Globalization
- Lack of communication
- Not being well-informed about demands at certain points of time (seasonal fluctuations)
As these issues are pretty common, we are sure you have already thought them through thoroughly and found adequate solutions if needed. However, we wanted to list them among problems that may occur while managing a warehouse, just in case. That way, you can have everything you need in one article. But keep on reading. As you will soon see, there are unfortunately some additional warehousing problems nobody warned you about. You may not come across all of them, but you should be aware of them, nonetheless. They could cause you some additional costs and jeopardize the efficiency of your business.
Poor management
Management is a crucial part of almost any business. Warehousing is not that much different. If you want to excel, you will need to avoid common management mistakes.
Management of inventory isn’t top-notch
One of the warehousing problems nobody warned you about is bad inventory management. What sometimes happens is that you don’t have enough stock or have too much of it, so you deny or accept orders without really knowing whether the whole operation will be successful. Sometimes your inventory isn’t labeled and organized as it should be and you cannot find an important item on time, for example.
Not tracking your inventory at all is a huge mistake. Tracking it manually can often lead to errors and miscalculations. Therefore, the best option is to use up-to-date software made for accurate tracking and management of inventory in order to avoid this mistake, which is, believe it or not, more common than you may think.
Bad organization of space
Sometimes you don’t actually need the additional space. Sometimes your space is just badly organized. Whatever it is you are doing, a messy environment can lead to a messy head. You don’t want that when it comes to your business. Everything should be organized in the best way possible. Warehouses typically allow for high shelves. So use them efficiently, leaving enough room on the floor for the employees. Everything should be labeled and categorized if you want better and faster access to your goods.
Poor financial management is probably one of the warehousing problems no one talks about enough
If you are not an expert in the financial field, it is best to hire a professional at the beginning of your business journey. Messing up your finances can be one of the biggest issues when it comes to managing a warehouse. Among other financial mistakes, you may predict, some of those warehousing problems nobody told you about when it comes to finances involve spending too much. You don’t have to spend excessively in order to build your business. In fact, sometimes it is better to reconsider your finances regarding spending money on expensive equipment and too many laborers.
Other management problems you should avoid:
- Bad management of orders (when purchasing, storing air cargo Bahrain, etc.)
- Poor time management
- Management of staff that isn’t good enough
Damage control is not good enough
When you run a business involving warehousing, you will want to avoid any unnecessary damage. People often think about damage only in terms of transporting and shipping cargo. However, items could be damaged by merely being in a bad environment. If you run a warehouse, make sure you avoid any possible damage done by rats or insects, as well as that caused by external factors, such as weather. Depending on the type of goods you are storing in your warehouse, you should consider the best solutions, such as renting an air conditioned warehouse.
This is particularly important if you are doing your business in areas where weather can be rather extreme, such as Saudi Arabia.
COVID-related warehousing problems nobody warned you about
Unfortunately, over the past year and a half, coronavirus has brought many serious issues upon the whole world. Among other things, the economy and businesses have suffered greatly, too. And these new problems have also affected warehousing. The most common of them are:
- The need for additional social distancing may have affected the number of your workers, their salaries, and the effectiveness of the warehouse management
- Spending more money on warehouse automation
- Disruption of supply chains on both local and global levels
- Increased inventory on-hand
- Shorter contracts with 3PL companies
- Need for more adaptability and flexibility
When you are involved in a business relying on the warehouse, you have to keep everything safe, organized and well-managed. In addition to contacting the right logistics company which can help you with that, you will have to avoid any unnecessary complications. We hope our list of both common warehousing challenges and warehousing problems nobody warned you about was helpful. All in all, you have to be well-informed, prepared, and organized in order for your business to grow and flourish. Good luck!
