Click the image for details Private Enterprise Internal Management Research/Pan Wenfu From a technical complexity standpoint, warehouse management is far more complex than financial management. After all, money is a single item, but goods come in hundreds or thousands of varieties, moving in and out daily, with quantities and values changing every day. Financial staff in companies are becoming increasingly professional, but few warehouse managers keep pace with such professional development. Most warehouse managers do not have a formal background in warehousing, nor have they received systematic training later. They are often appointed based on the owner's trust, and manage the warehouse through accumulated experience rather than professional, systematic management. Warehouse issues, when broken down, are numerous and widespread. Here, I have distilled ten issues for owners to self-assess:

  1. Inventory Counting Issues
  1. How often is inventory counted? Monthly or weekly? Or do you dare to count annually?
  2. Is the counting date fixed, or can it be done at any time (e.g., when the warehouse is not busy)?
  3. Is counting efficiency improving year over year (in terms of accuracy and time)? Or staying the same?
  4. Have you ever conducted unannounced spot checks (for specific categories of goods)?
  5. Do you notify the warehouse in advance before counting?
  6. Have you ever used third-party counting (external personnel entering the warehouse to count)?
  7. What is the accuracy rate of counting? How are counting errors handled?
  8. If there are surpluses or misplaced items during counting, is it okay as long as they are found?
  1. Shipping Accuracy Issues
  1. What is the current shipping accuracy rate?
  2. What supervision measures are in place during the loading and counting process?
  3. If the driver reports discrepancies after leaving the warehouse, does the warehouse accept them?
  1. Loading Efficiency Issues Are there corresponding loading time standards for different vehicle types and load levels?
  2. From Quantity Management to Quality Management The traditional warehouse management focuses on quantity: how much came in, how much went out, and how much remains. However, the value of goods changes daily; the quantity may remain, but the value may have changed, such as due to dates, condition, or sales opportunities. Has value management been incorporated into warehouse management indicators?
  3. Handling Returns For various goods returned to the warehouse daily:
  1. Are there clear return labels indicating the source, reason, specific items returned, and the handlers involved?
  2. Are returned goods counted on the same day or the next day?
  3. After counting, are returns classified? For example, sellable goods, damaged goods, goods to be returned to the factory, and waste?
  4. Is there a standard for classifying returns? Who has the authority to decide?
  5. Is there a standard for how quickly damaged goods must be processed?
  1. Upstream Shipping and Receiving After purchasing sends purchase orders to upstream suppliers:
  1. Is there full follow-up on shipping and logistics information?
  2. Is logistics arrival information communicated to warehouse receiving staff?
  3. Are there standards for warehouse receiving staff's preparation? For example, clearing out older stock of the same category, calculating storage space, and arranging loading/unloading workers.
  4. Are there standards for on-site assessment and evidence collection for arrival discrepancies?
  5. Are upstream arrivals and warehouse outbound shipments scheduled to avoid conflicts?
  1. Picking and Order Fulfillment When warehouse staff pick goods based on shipping orders:
  1. Do drivers and accompanying personnel follow into the warehouse?
  2. Are warehouse aisles designed with routes?
  3. Is the order of items on the shipping order matched with the stacking order in the warehouse?
  4. Do pickers have to backtrack within the warehouse?
  1. New Warehouse Staff How long does it take for new staff to become familiar with the storage and distribution of various goods? Is one week enough?
  2. Storage Location Design
  1. Are goods stored in fixed locations or do they change with sales seasons?
  2. What is the basis for location design? Habit? Frequency of access? Or heavy vs. light goods?
  3. Is there a corresponding warehouse layout diagram? Are there hanging tags above stacks?
  1. How to Implement FIFO (First-In, First-Out)?
  1. What is the awareness level of warehouse supervisors and loaders regarding FIFO?
  2. What measures are in place to indicate new vs. old stock?
  3. Are there designated storage locations for new and old stock?
  4. Besides notification, are there other mandatory control measures for new stock that is not to be shipped immediately? Of course, warehouse management involves more than these issues, but these are the fundamentals. You can use these ten basic questions to preliminarily assess your current warehouse management status. The author, a private business owner, has managed a family-owned distribution company for many years, during which he also served as a business manager and trainer for several manufacturing companies. His research focuses on internal management of small and medium-sized private enterprises, with main topics including personnel management, cost control, management backend setup, and the integration of retired military personnel into private enterprises. He continuously breaks down over 400 topics related to internal management of private enterprises and keeps updating his material collection and solutions. -END-