One of the most important aspects of having successful warehouse processes within your business is the quality of your warehouse team. At the head of this team will be your warehouse manager- the person in charge of directing your staff and acting as an example of how to succeed. Selecting the right person to fill this role is an essential factor of the success of your commerce operations. It is crucial that you find a person who will help run warehouse processes in a way that will most benefit your company and keep the environment within your warehouse a healthy one. There are many important attributes to look out for when hiring for this role.
Organizational Skills
An essential quality of a potential warehouse manager is their organizational skills. The manager should have a basic organizational quality as well as have a good knowledge of the tools available to them and how they should be utilized. This will make the most of your warehouse resources to ensure that things are done correctly and time efficiently. Tools such as anti-slip tape, guard rails, lockout/tagout systems, signage, labels, and safety equipment/first aid kits should all be kept physically organized and should be made use of when needed. General organization of the warehouse should be checked regularly. As time passes, things will inevitably become messy, therefore, things should often be intentionally checked for organization and put in their correct places.
A warehouse should be organized in a way which makes everyone’s job easier. Things should be placed based on similar attributes. Where you find one of a certain product, you should find others like it. In addition, tips such as placing top selling products closer to the distribution area than things that are not pulled as often can help reduce the amount of time it takes to complete certain processes. Other organizational tips include stacking items horizontally instead of vertically to keep the warehouse looking neater and more spacious. Receiving and shipping areas should also have plenty of space to function. Time is lost and mistakes are made when everything is crammed into a tight space.
Precision
Another quality to look out for in your warehouse manager is the ability to see the importance of precision. A high level of precision is needed when overseeing the tasks being carried out within the warehouse. This includes attention to detail when it comes to all procedures being carried out by employees as well as seeing that technology is being used efficiently and effectively. Major problems can be caused by a lack of guidance and supervision within a warehouse. In addition, a mistake made in the warehouse can easily trickle down to the client something which causes customer dissatisfaction and even bigger issues.
Technologically Savvy
You want your warehouse manager to be tech-savvy as well. To a warehouse manager, as well as most of the staff in a warehouse, technology is their best friend. It should be the core of a managers organization and processes. Technology can include many things from barcode scanners to an inventory management software. These technologies can vary greatly depending on the complexity of a company’s workflow. We will discuss later on how to decide which of these softwares will be right for your business.
Safety-Minded
Another quality of importance is safety-mindedness. Warehouse safety must be a number one priority with the workplace. The kinds of problems that can be a result of improper precautions being taken in the warehouse can be a very big issue for warehouse employees. You want to keep your staff as safe as possible and reduce all avoidable injuries. This will be the responsibility of the warehouse manager as well as the rest of the staff to take proper precautions.
Leadership Abilities
The ability to provide leadership is a large portion of what separates a manager from the rest of the staff. Like the head of any department, the head person in charge of a warehouse needs to have great leadership skills. The ability and authority to lead in the completion of tasks and procedures is what keeps things orderly within the warehouse workflow, and the best kind of leader leads by example. The warehouse manager should remain fair and welcome the ideas of other employees but must also have the ability to delegate responsibilities to others.
The Importance of Integrity
The next quality you want in your warehouse manager is a quality you’d look for in any employee or person you trust- integrity. The person who has so much responsibility over so much inventory must be trustworthy. Sadly, inventory theft is very common within warehouses, and you need someone who is not only trustworthy themselves, but will also keep a lookout for anyone else who may not be. Honesty and integrity are important qualities within any relationship, and appointing someone as warehouse manager for your company is no different.
Keeping Calm When Problems Arise
Lastly, the ability to keep calm when things don’t go the way they are supposed to in the warehouse is a rare and important trait which should be found in a potential manager. No matter how efficient your processes and employees are, problems are bound to arise at some point. You need a leader who will take control of the problem and resolve it in a calm and timely manner.
Bringing Everything Together
The job of warehouse manager is a complicated multifaceted role which requires a person to be proficient in multiple areas in order to be successful. At the end of the day, you want your warehouse to be a place where productivity is high and wasted time is low. Tasks should be followed through efficiently and in an organized fashion. Your warehouse manager is going to lead your team to success, but there are also other factors in play. One more tip in helping your warehouse team lies in the kind of software you have managing and tracking your commerce operations.
What good is a warehouse manager without having management of inventory and processes in a place where you can keep things organized and recorded? Check out SkuNexus, the completely customizable order/inventory/warehouse management system. This software can be built to fit your company’s exact workflow and is easy to navigate by all members of your warehouse staff. It will not only help the warehouse manager do their job efficiently, but will be beneficial to all aspects of your business. Click here to schedule and demo and learn more!