Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the October 2015 issue of Food Manufacturing Without a doubt, the warehouse is a virtual bazaar of activity, especially when it comes to food processing dock operations. Transport lanes buzz with forklifts speeding with inventory to and from the loading dock. Workers scan barcodes, palletize product and oversee production. Inventory moves in and out of the warehouse all day, every day. And to be frank, this imagery does little justice to the actual scope and breadth of daily warehouse operations. We know that your food processing loading dock and warehouse operations can get out of hand despite your best efforts. But that doesn’t mean the blame lies with your hardworking employees or late shipments. More often than not, the order and efficiency of warehouse operations directly affects how effective warehouse and loading dock operations perform. ALSO SEE: WMS Versus ERP: Who Wins in the Warehouse? Consider for a moment what optimized operations means. “Every element and function within a system integrates and works in harmony at peak performance.” In other words: maximum efficiency . Your loading dock is the gateway to and from your warehouse. This is the last place inefficiency should live; if things are moving slowly here, every other department of your warehouse grinds to a halt in response. Yet, this happens despite management’s best efforts, and upon closer inspection, it’s a rather common issue in many warehouses. Unfortunately, even when you think your warehouse is working at peak performance, it’s more than likely it probably isn’t … and you didn’t even know it. Creating optimal warehouse and loading dock efficiencies is crucial to the success of any logistics operation, no matter what the size. Storage Basically, no warehouse is big enough. Warehouses quickly outgrow their physical boundaries, and then […]