In today’s world of warehouse labor shortages, growing inbound supplier lead-times and ever-growing customer expectations, warehouse operations are under pressure to meet customer demand. Process efficiency and quick turnaround times are turnkeys that differentiates top performing warehouses from its competitors. 

A good way to effectively review warehouse operations, layout, processes, and technology is to conduct a warehouse assessment based on best practices. Avalon CSC’s industry experts can assess your warehouse operations to unlock opportunities that leads to both costs reduction and increase service. 

Over the years Avalon CSC has developed a robust methodology based on 6 focus areas that helped numerous warehouses improve dramatically their operations efficiency.  

Here’s an overview of our warehouse assessment focus areas and a sample of questions that warehouse assessment will evaluate: 

1) Warehouse layout: Analysis of warehouse design and material flow 

• Is current layout maximizing available floor and vertical space?  
• Does the current layout generate congestion? 

2) Storage and handling equipment: Review that storage and handling equipment are in right quantities, adapted to products and processes? 

• Are current storage and handling equipment are maximizing storage density and productivity based on product profile? 

• Which storage and material handling equipment that could be used to reduce motion and material handling? 

3) Processes: Receiving to shipping process review of pain points and opportunities  

• What are the main pain points and points of failure from receiving all the way through shipping? 
• What are current process waste areas and what could be done to remove unnecessary steps out of current processes? 

4) Slotting: Analysis of material positioning strategy against their velocity 

• Are products positioned in a manner that maximized throughput? 
• Are current bin locations are adapted to products dimensions and are maximizing available space? 

5) Automation: What technologies can be used to reduce labor dependency and improve process efficiency   

• Can automation be profitable in the current state and in the future? What is expected ROI and expected impact on labor? 
• Which “Goods-to-person” technologies could be used according to business needs 

6) WMS: Audit of current system in place against operational functional needs 

• Is current WMS features and capabilities are supporting current and future needs? 
• Are WMS capabilities leveraged to its full potential? 

If one of these 6 elements appeals to you and you would like to have a diagnosis of your operations as well as an action plan, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.

Co-written by Han-Li Tremblay and Jean-Philippe Ducasse.