Cargo sorting
Sorting is a vital part of warehouse management, one that takes part very early in your supply chain. If it works well, a lot of things are simpler to manage, and if it doesn’t it can cause a whole host of problems.
Sorting of cargo based on your requirements could be performed at our facilities (e.g. sorting of cartons on customer PO level).
What Is Sorting?
Sorting is a system of properly categorizing a warehoused item by its characteristics and assigning an appropriate storage location based on those characteristics, along with methodical recordkeeping.
It is a fairly straightforward concept, but it doesn’t always happen in practice, and when this vital ingredient in warehouse management is left to fall by the wayside, all kinds of problems can ensue.
Why Cargo Sorting?
Where does it go? Where is it now? How do I find it? If you have ever found yourself in this kind of situation and then had to take a tour of the warehouse trying to track down something that needed to go out right away, then you are going to have dreamed of a system that makes the tracking of all your materials as easy as a touch of a button. Sorting is the solution and your best way of optimizes your material flow to maximum efficiency. No more discovering that the item you needed was moved to your sister warehouse two months previously and has now disappeared into a similar hole over there. Sorting prevents these issues before they can happen.
You will be able to see the items coming in at the start of the line, their movement through the warehouse, and their eventual place where they are set down. Sorting saves time and money, and lots of headaches
With sorting in place, as things come in, they are assigned batches and then are filed accordingly, in a specific location. Everyone has probably been in a warehouse where things get stored wherever there is space, and though this may be necessary at times, if it is minimized you can significantly reduce the time it takes to pick the items. Being sorted and filed properly also means, in a digital sense, that something can be correctly identified by its dimensions, the material is made from, or basically whatever criteria you need it to be categorized by. In the event a batch cannot be stored in the assigned spot, it isn’t going to disappear in the system and become dissociated from the main batch. Sorting allows you to track and identify an item’s location under any circumstances.
If your warehouse is well organized, it stands to reason that your whole supply chain is going to run much more smoothly. If you start with a mess, then it is going to pass along the line and has negative effects all the way from the warehouse to the customer at the other end. Not being able to find items easily means not being able to send them on time, and means them not arriving on time. It is the kind of problem that, if not handled, can snowball pretty badly.
You constantly have materials and products coming in, and orders going out. If any part of that bottlenecks, it can’t help but have an effect on the rest of the operation. Getting the ideal flow going right from the start is going to be evident in the end product. Sorting makes a real difference.
When it comes to optimizing your warehouse and making it the most efficient place it can be, sorting is a critical component of your success. Working with a company that can assist you in developing a sorting system that works well for you can make all the difference. In Out Warehousing is a great choice, a company that has a lot of experience and the resources to take the strain off your own infrastructure and allow you to continue expanding the manufacturing aspect of your company. For more information about sorting or other American Manufacturing Solutions services, please contact us today.