With 15% of shoppers planning to spend more this Christmas, Q4 2024 looks set to be a bumper year for eCommerce fulfilment companies, and a busy season for 3PLs. And, while these peak times may seem a long way off, it’s never too early to get your warehouse operations and storage space in order.
In this post we’ll outline some ways to increase capacity and become super-organized, in advance of the holiday season. We’ll see how PALLITE® warehouse storage solutions can help you optimize operations, maximize your use of warehouse space, and boost your sustainability credentials.
Let’s dive into some ways to prepare your warehouse for peak season.
1 Optimize your warehouse workflows
By organizing your SKUs according to throughput you’ll be able to identify where items should be stored most efficiently. Then you can optimize your pick paths by placing faster-selling items closer to pickers, for example at the end of aisles, to reduce walk times.
It’s also important to implement ergonomic warehouse storage systems that reduce strain on employees.
- PALLITE® PIX® modular warehouse solutions are ideal for use with fast-moving SKUs. Their interchangeable dividers allow you to keep items of all sizes safe and organized.
- PIX® warehouse storage units can be easily labelled, meaning staff can find items with ease and pickers have full pick-face access to products, with no lips or built-up edges in the way.
- PALLITE® warehouse storage bins are lightweight and easy to move, reducing the strain on employees and lowering the risk of accidents.
2. Improve your use of warehouse space
If you can see empty shelves or items that aren’t easily accessible in the warehouse, you need to optimize your space. If you’re currently storing SKUs in pallet racking, or on industrial shelves, consider implementing a more dynamic solution, so that you can store more SKUs in the same amount of space.
- With PALLITE® PIX® you can stop storing air, and lose the dead zones that workers struggle to access – or can’t even access at all. PALLITE® PIX® units can be designed around your unique warehouse specifications. They’re freestanding, with a palletized base, so you can move units together with ease.
- PALLITE® PIX warehouse storage systems can be flat-packed in minutes too, making it easy to adapt your warehouse space to varying levels of demand.
3. Increase storage capacity
With so many peak season orders on the horizon you’ll inevitably see an increased number of SKUs to store for the holidays. Review your inventory, and look at ways to beef up your warehouse storage capacity.
If you have any wasted or inaccessible areas, consider re-slotting your SKUs. This can help to free up more space and add more SKUs into your operations to adapt to increased demand.
- PALLITE® PIX® warehouse storage bins have easy-to-fit interchangeable dividers, so you can quickly adapt your warehouse storage around your products. Dividing walls simply slot in and out of the units, and additional multipliers can subdivide compartments into even smaller storage spaces.
- PIX® warehouse storage units are strong and sturdy, so they will keep your items safe from harm for the long term. They are also capable of holding up to 500 kg per unit or 55 kg per pick-face when you add in PIX® Multipliers.
- If space is limited you can create storage bins with pick-faces on two-sides so make a standalone shelving solution.
4. Streamline reverse logistics
When you get a huge influx of orders you get a huge rise in returns. To ensure you’re prepared to accommodate peak season reverse logistics, condense your return areas, keep things organized – and make sure you’re using the right-sized storage containers to store the items being returned.
- PALLITE® PIX® warehouse storage bins can be quickly adapted to deal with a variety of SKU profiles.
- Since PIX® units are so lightweight they can be easily picked up by forklift, even if they’re fully loaded. This means customer returns can be sorted and re-packed in a rework area.
5. Automate your inventory management
More than half of all logistics companies have no technology plan in place to help them manage peak seasons effectively. This can lead to stockouts, and bottlenecks in the run up to peak season.
Investing in automation for inventory management and order fulfilment ensures you have the capacity to manage the right amount of products, at the right time.
With the help of RFID tags and barcodes you can track inventory throughout the warehouse, and make sure it goes where it’s supposed to go, without errors or issues.
- PALLITE® PIX® products work seamlessly with automated warehouse systems, offering you a perfect solution when it comes to keeping stock well organized and trackable.
- Customer labels and barcodes can easily be attached to bins, ensuring increased pick accuracy, and improved pick efficiency.
PALLITE® solutions – helping you prepare for a prosperous peak season
Now’s the perfect time to fire up your warehouse storage strategies and ensure you’re in perfect shape to hit all your peak season goals, in terms of accuracy, speed, and scalability. Unlike companies that are resting on their laurels, you’ll also be in a better position to mitigate any unexpected delays or disruptions.
PALLITE® Group offers a wide range of dynamic warehouse storage solutions that are proven to help you increase space efficiency and storage capacity, whilst optimizing workflows. Units can be used as a standalone solution, or be integrated into your existing racking systems. They can also be deployed on mezzanine floors.
This level of flexibility can help you to dramatically improve your operational efficiency during peak season, as well as future-proof your business for years to come. To find out more about PALLITE® PIX® warehouse systems, and to discuss your options, get in touch with us today.
