Pre-Receipt

At first it should be ensured that the supplier presents the products to the warehouse in most appropriate way. Generally the buyer specifies the product and may not have knowledge of the goods-receiving operation. The warehouse manager is also involved in specifying and agreeing the packaging, items per carton, cartons per pallet and any specific labeling required, together with the mode of transport to ensure that the products ordered are compatible with the storage facility as it has been seen too often – items arriving at warehouses in unsuitable packaging that overhang pallets, has incorrect labels and with the goods and are packed in quantities that do not relate to selling-pack quantities.

All these problems take time to resolve and are better handled at the supplier prior to delivery. Areas that need to be discussed both internally and externally prior to the order being placed should include,

• size and type of cartons
• type of transit packaging – cardboard, plastic, totes, metal stillages, roll cages, pallets
• palletized or non-palletized delivery of product
• size (length, width and height) and type of pallets
• specific labeling such as product description, barcode and quantities
• carton quantities (inner and outer carton quantities)
• mode of transport, delivery quantity and frequency of delivery

Delivery in the normal selling quantity is also crucial in assisting the manager to increase the speed of throughput and simplify picking. The method of delivery needs to be compatible with the equipment available at the warehouse. The lack of loading bays, for example, will necessitate the use of tail-lift-equipped or side-(un)loading vehicles. The transfer of much production offshore has resulted in a significant increase in container traffic. The decision here is to lose load or palletize the cargo.

The benefits of palletizing product include protection from loss or damage during handling and transportation and a reduction in the number of people required to load and unload containers. The process of loading and unloading is speeded up whilst space at the loading and dispatch bays is also reduced. The trade-off is the reduction of space utilization in the containers. Depending on the number of pallets used, this can be upto 10 percent of the space for the pallet alone. Couple that with clearance height for the pallet and the possibility that the pallets cannot be stacked, and space utilization is significantly reduced.

One potential method of reducing the trade-off effect is the use of slip sheets in place of pallets. Slip sheets are constructed from fibreboard, thick cardboard or thin plastic in the shape and size of the unit load. The thickness of the sheet is approximately 2 centimeters. The load is placed on the slip sheet within the container and on arrival at the final destination the slip sheet together with its load is improved by means of a specialist forklift attachment and placed on a pallet for storage.

The increasing legislation on the use of wooden pallets makes slip sheets a viable option for the transport of goods in containers. They increase the loading cube within the container, reduce the time taken to offload containers and are easier to clean. They do, however require you to purchase a special attachment for your forklift truck.

Depending on the load configuration, shipping costs can increase between 15 and 33 per cent when using pallets. However, there are notable savings made at the point of delivery plus the reduction in potential damage to products and injury to staff. The introduction of high cube containers has provided additional internal height and therefore the double stacking of pallets becomes more feasible, providing the products are not easily crushed. Finally, containers with large numbers of product lines will still need to be sorted at the receiving bay whether they are palletized or loose loaded. In order to reduce in-handling time the supplier needs to be instructed to keep the same product lines together in the container.

If products arrive loose loaded in a container they will need to be palletized prior to being put away in the racking. Where possible these cartons need to be constructed in such a way that there is no overhang and no potential for crushing when they are arranged on the pallet and that as many cartons as possible can be accommodated within the cubic capacity of the pallet space. For example, for a 1200 mm × 1000 mm (48″ × 40″) pallet with a clearance height within the pallet location of 2000 mm (80″), the cartons might measure 300 mm × 200 mm × 250 mm, for example, giving a total potential pallet capacity of 140 cartons if we allow 15 centimeters for the height of the pallet and 10 centimeters clearance between the top of the pallet and the underside of the beam. Each layer will have 20 cartons and will be stacked seven high. There is no overhang on the pallet on either side and cartons are not turned on their sides. Note if, the size of the outer cartons does not allow the warehouse operation to optimally stack the pallet then it can result in increased damage.

Figure: Example of incorrectly sized cartons

Utilizing off-the-shelf can potentially further improve the load building capability where the carton dimensions are not so straightforward both on a pallet and within a trailer or container. Currently there is no universally accepted standard for pallet dimensions. Different market sectors and organizations utilize many different pallet sizes around the globe. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sanctions six pallet dimensions, detailed in ISO Standard 6780.

Another truism to bear in mind is the 80/20 rule as it applies to suppliers. Not only is it likely that 20 per cent of your suppliers provide 80 per cent of your stock but it is likely that 20 per cent of your suppliers cause 80 per cent of your goods-in problems. You need to put measures in place to identify the suppliers who are not performing to standard and work with them to introduce improvements.