The 6 main weaknesses of distribution warehouses

Before getting to the heart of the topic, it is correct to consider some boundary conditions regarding the operational characteristics of the warehouses that are the subject of our reflections, as well as the surface area occupied by them (large plants require very high stocks and flows and are therefore implicitly obliged to be efficient and effective); otherwise there is a risk of excessive generality.
Our reference is, in principle, a distribution warehouse that adopts "man to goods" operational criteria, with a surface area of 5,000 ÷ 15,000 m2.
If the operational criterion were "goods to man" we must hypothesize that the quality of the project and of the system created (automation, WMS, work organization, process control, performance measurement, etc.) are, to a large extent, resolving the weaknesses found in traditional systems. When the warehouse is smaller it is possible that inefficiencies and ineffectiveness are amplified. It can be seen that, regardless of the product sectors and also the reference dimensions indicated previously, in the Distribution Centers the shortcomings given below:

1. The orientation to carry out technological/organizational projects that do not give equivalent weight to the physical components (layout, material handling, vehicles and equipment) and intangible aspects of the interventions. Too often we focus on warehouse software (the importance of which is indisputable) ignoring the impact that good software determines both on the physics of the plant and on the work processes, with significant benefits for costs.
2. One poor orientation towards measurement warehouse performance, compared to previously well-designed processes. It is disconcerting that warehouses are complex and integrated into the processes of the entire company today.
3. Underestimation of goods entry processes and practices. The entry of goods affects the efficiency and service of the entire warehouse and touches a raw nerve in the functioning of each system, which can be summarized in quality of external and internal collaborative processes to the Company. Some examples: the identification of goods (minimum sales units? loading units in our warehouse? primary packaging? secondary packaging? etc.) must be oriented towards the efficiency of our warehouse and not an uncritical result of the way of operating of the supplier!
4. Modest or no attention to logistics records. How many WMS or ERPs can, for example, manage the unit volume of goods in stock but are not used in this sense? All logistics-oriented market software has this potential; the difficulty and poor use of this tool is more dictated by not knowing how to use its potential than by recognizing its importance. In fact, the performance of the volumetric management of the asset opens up many innovative avenues……. if you know how to use them well! Think of techniques such as pick & pack, pick and put to light, batch order fulfillment management, etc. rather than the definition of dimensionally dynamic load units (and therefore more efficient for the volumetric efficiency of the warehouse) obtainable through the volumetric calculation of incoming goods. Aren't these examples sufficient to invite the logistics manager to address this issue?
5. Lack of WMS expertise. This topic is also a frequent weak point of traditional warehouses. In some cases, the preparatory tools for the presence of a WMS are confused with the WMS itself. Have barcodes on the product, a local network and/or the Radio Frequency in the warehouse, does not coincide with having the software for controlling operations! At most, in the case illustrated, it will be possible to inventory everything that enters and everything that leaves the system; but this is not the governance of the work processes and physical and IT flows of the plant!
6. As a last element of weakness, but certainly not least in importance, I would like to highlight a frequent one inability by the companies consider the picking process as the driver of the warehouse. Picking is the driver of the quality of every plant and must be considered the central theme of every warehouse, because it is involved in every result: efficiency, service and cost.