How to effectively manage a warehouse

Regardless of what is in your warehouse, the warehouse should be treated like a vault in a bank, a space where valuable goods are stored, monitored and monitored.

Every company engaged in production, trade and/or distribution has at least one, if not more, warehouses. And even if your activity is the provision of services (construction, medical, dental, IT services,...) for your work resources, consumables, certain components and/or spare parts, you need a place to keep/store them.

In addition to the warehouse, the concept of article encryption, inventory tracking, the financial aspect of inventory management, ordering, issuing, damage/waste, expiration dates, turnover ratio, and the mention of inventory, many people feel nervous and panic.

Regardless of what is in your warehouse, the warehouse should be treated like a bank vault! There is money stored in it, which should be managed very carefully. Regardless of whether it is a warehouse of raw materials, materials, spare parts, semi-finished products, finished products, merchandise - each of these categories has a certain financial value, and therefore it is very important to have accurate and reliable information at all times about the condition and movement of stocks.

What do you need to know for successful warehouse management?

• Space organization - implies adequate space, work safety, means of work (forklifts, shelves, transport routes)
• Marking/coding system – unambiguous and understandable, controlled
• Movement of inventory - control of inputs and outputs, documentation, connection to the information system is important
• Stock/inventory control - occurrence of surpluses/shortages, regular control, responsibility

And many other, specific elements that we have not mentioned here, which are characteristic of certain industries/activities.

The competence of the employees who work and manage the warehouse should certainly not be neglected. Responsibility, analytical skills, organization - these are just some of the characteristics of a good warehouse manager.

Therefore, if you want to improve the operation of your warehouse, we invite you to the program "Warehouse manager"

Nataša Cikač,
holder of the Callidus education "Warehouse manager"

About the Author: 

MSc. Nataša Cikač is a procurement and supply chain consultant, company owner with more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing companies in the areas of procurement, logistics and sales. As a consultant, he cooperates with companies in order to improve the processes and competencies of employees. It is certified to implement the concept of Continuous Improvement (CCIM). He is a member of the Croatian Association for Procurement, HUP and a regular columnist for business magazines. As a guest lecturer, he holds professional lectures at scientific institutions ZŠEM and at the Faculty of Economics in Osijek.