Put – Away of Goods
- In a warehouse, put-away refers to all the processes that happen between receiving goods from vendors and having them all placed into their assigned places.
- It is the act of placing merchandise in storage. It includes material handling, location verification, and product placement.
- Having a putaway system simplifies the process of storing items, reduces the risk of misplacing or losing items, and keeps the warehouse clean and organized.
- As a process, putaway involves more than just transporting inventory from Point A to Point B, though.
In alignment with lean warehouse management, optimal putaway involves:
- Quick and frictionless transport of inventory
- Optimal usage of storage space
- Optimal placement of inventory for convenient retrieval
- Documentation of storage
- Safety of all inventory, resources, and warehouse team members
Fixed-location Put-Away
- With a fixed-location approach to put-away, you’ll assign specific storage space to be used for specific types of inventory at all times
- The goal is to designate certain storage areas for products of certain characteristics. A few examples:
- Designating one area for lightweight inventory, another for heavier
- Placing specific inventory in climate-controlled storage as needed
- Storing quick- and slow-turnaround inventory in separate locations
- Fixed-location put-away is ideal for companies that sell a wide spectrum of items, as it allows you to tailor different storage spaces as necessary for housing a specific product.
- Fixed-location means your team will always know where a certain product is being stored — allowing for easy retrieval and delivery whenever needed.
Dynamic Put-Away
A dynamic approach to putaway focuses on storing incoming inventory in the most convenient spot possible (for both storage and retrieval).
- In contrast to fixed-location, dynamic putaway is ideal when the majority of your inventory is relatively similar in terms of size, weight, and other physical characteristics.
- Dynamic putaway has the ability to take demand into consideration above all else. With fewer physical restrictions as to where inventory can be stored, you can identify hot-ticket items as they come in and place them as close as needed for fast retrieval.
Direct Put-Away
- Direct put-away is the process of immediately transporting incoming inventory directly to its final location in your warehouse.
- Instead of being placed in storage, you prepare for delivery as fast as products arrive
- This direct approach help minimize touch points and unnecessary movement of inventory, and also ensure that handoff of inventory for delivery occurs without much friction – if any.
- Direct put-away requires real-time use of inventory management software in order to identify (a) which products should be subject to direct put-away, and (b) where that inventory should be moved to.
Types of Put- Away Methods
- Based on purchase order
- Based on SKU
- Based on product type
Steps in Put-Away of Goods
Step1: Generating the Put-Away List
- The responsible personnel in the warehouse should generate a put-away list. The put-away list normally includes the following details;
- The stock Keeping Unit Name
- The product’s Universal product code
- The quantity
- and the location to which the put away needs be done.
Step 2: Physical Put Away
- The physical stock is picked either by humans or with the help of material handling equipment like hand pallet trucks, fork lifts and stacked at the location that was indicated on the put list.
Step 3: Warehouse Stock Update
- The warehouse stock is updated into the system after verifying the physical quantity of the product.
Optimizing the Put-Away Process
- At the heart of the put-away process is assuring that:
- Cargo is stored fast and efficiently
- Warehouse travel distance is reduced to a minimum
- Security of goods and the safety of warehouse employees is ensured
- Warehouse space utilization is maximized
- Cargo is easy to find and track within the warehouse
- Goods are stored in a location that is quick and easy to retrieve during the picking process
- Failing to properly implement an efficient process will have a direct impact on the productivity of warehouse operations.
Best Practices to Optimize the Putaway Process
- Collect data & introduce real-time analytics
- Monitor storage capacity & space availability
- Reduce travelling time
- Use direct put-away when possible
- Use fixed & dynamic locations
- Keep the warehouse clean & organized
Put – Away Documentation
Transfer order
- A transfer order is a document used for executing the movement of goods from one warehouse location to the other or the goods movement between a storage unit to another within the warehouse. The transfer order occurs for the purpose of warehouse management or order processing. The transfer order occurs for the purpose of warehouse management or order processing. These may include, picking of order, putaways, order updates, repacking, or inventory management.
Stack Card
- The stack card documents all quantities of commodity added to (received) or removed from (dispatched) the stack to which it is attached.
Learning Activities
Put away involves the physical movement of goods with the storage area, what can be done to speed up this process while minimising damages to goods. Additionally, identify the common mistakes made by putters in this process and suggest ways of overcoming the mentioned mistakes.
Assignment
- Explain the importance of storage in supply chains.
- Using a warehouse known to you describe the steps in put- away of goods.
- Various equipment is used in the put away process, these can be grouped into manual equipment and automated systems. Using relevant examples, distinguish between manual equipment and automated systems.
- What key documents are required during the put– away process?
- What factors would a warehouse manager put into consideration while attempting to plan and manage labour during a manual put away process.