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We often hear of customers experiencing costly stock issues caused by disorganisation, overloading, and lack of supplies. This has a huge impact on your profits, with high numbers of customer returns and restocking costs.
In this article, we outline how to reduce the impact damaged inventory has on your business, sharing 7 tips to keep your stock safe. From packaging your items correctly to managing your storage effectively, read our advice below.
How to reduce stock damage
1. Avoid overstocking
While it makes sense to maximise your storage space, overstacking due to being overstocked is a common culprit of inventory damage. By adding too much weight to cartons, shelves, or pallet racks, you risk them collapsing and causing large-scale inventory loss.
To avoid this, it pays to invest in robust shelving systems with clearly labelled weight limits. Additionally, using “no stack” signs will indicate when a shelf, carton, or pallet has reached its weight capacity.
2. Organisation and Operational Management
Inventory management is crucial to ensuring everything is safe, protected from damage, and kept in peak condition. Every organisation needs to appoint a designated person or team that is in charge of stock levels and inventory management. This ensures there is accountability and transparency on the stock levels to ensure potential overstocking can be identified early and mitigated with appropriate warehouse management. Leaving these issues solely to the inwards/warehouse team to sort once the stock has arrived is too late, and what causes overstacking and stock damage. You will also need to reduce clutter and unnecessary mess around the warehouse to ensure your staff can move freely. This will reduce staff frustration, unforeseen obstructions, and forklift accidents.
Another way to enhance your inventory management is with warehouse automation. Using technology and Artificial Intelligence streamlines processes and reduces administrative errors. Examples of warehouse automation include Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), mobile robots, warehouse drones, and warehouse cleaning robots.
3. Signage
Clear signage helps staff to identify hazards, stock, and any relevant storage information. For example, having large, visible signage displayed for forklift operators will reduce the risk of collisions with products, pallets, and staff.
Clear labels on all product packaging and pallets will allow your staff to work more efficiently which also reduces frustration. While you may not notice the direct impact of this, it will result in fewer mistakes and accidents caused by human error.
To improve your warehouse operations, we recommend exploring labels for cargo security, loading instructions, dangerous goods, and quality control.
Find our full range of labels here ››
4. Lighting
While it may not be the first factor to spring to mind, dim lighting is a common cause of warehouse accidents. If your workers cannot see what they are doing, they are likely to make mistakes in packing, storing, and product handling.
To reduce these costly errors, make sure to install adequate lighting in all areas of the warehouse. We also recommend using LED lights, a mixture of ceiling light panels and localised task lights.
5. Environmental protection
While human error may be one of the main causes of inventory damage, environmental factors may also come into play. It is common for stock to be damaged by weather, especially when being moved in and out of a warehouse. If your stock is being stored outside at any point, weathertight pallet wraps are essential.
Another tip is to inspect your building frequently for leaks or structural damage. If the warehouse is compromised, your stock will be exposed to the elements. It is wise to use preventative maintenance, rather than waiting until the damage is done.
Temperature changes can also lead to product damage. For example, humidity can create moisture inside packaging and cause mould or mildew. One way to reduce the impact of moisture is by adding desiccant bags to each carton.
In addition to climatic conditions, remember to consider product tampering. If your warehouse or stockyard is not adequately secure, your products may be prone to theft or vandalism. To reduce this, we recommend using our Tampa Evident packaging tape and a security pallet wrap from Powerwrap or Easywrap.
6. Packaging protectives
One of the easiest ways to ensure the safety of your products is to choose the correct packaging products. Start by choosing the right size of carton, box, bag, or mailer. If there are any gaps between the product and the packaging, use an appropriate void fill or protective wrap. Our recommended protective packaging includes:
- Kraft paper void fill
- Starch loose fill – North Island, South Island
- Bubble wrap
- Custom-fit void fill
If you want to reduce the amount of plastic packaging your warehouse uses, kraft paper is a great solution. To increase efficiency, we also have desk or wall-mounted paper crumplers and freestanding paper crumplers.
Discover our range of protectives here ››
7. Protect your pallets
To reduce stock damage on your pallets, it is vital to conduct regular inspections to note any issues and replace stock that is compromised. Additionally, it’s crucial to train your forklift operators in safe pallet handling techniques.
To protect items from impact damage, use the right pallet supplies, including pallet slip sheets, corner boards, and pallet cushions. This will ensure your stock is insulated from any bumps and scrapes.
To prevent pallet loads from slipping, falling, or collapsing, you also need to wrap each pallet correctly. This involves choosing the right pallet wrap and loading items evenly. We recommend using a stretch wrap for improved puncture resistance and stretch memory during distribution. To ensure consistency across all pallets, use a manual pallet wrap dispenser or wrap machine.
How to wrap a pallet
- Make sure the pallet has no jagged edges.
- Position the items evenly on the pallet.
- Wrap around the pallet base and continue upwards, overlapping by at least 50%.
- At the top, cut the wrap and secure it with tape.
- Label the load clearly.
E-commerce warehouse supplies
While there are many factors at play when it comes to reducing inventory damage, investing in the right packaging and warehouse supplies is the most important step.
We’re always looking for ways to improve warehouse operations and help you reduce stock damage. From stock packaging options to labels to product protectives, our team will work with you to ensure you have a quality, cost-effective solution. Ready to improve your warehouse operations? Discuss your options with our team or view the packaging supplies in our e-commerce catalogue. Perfect for logistics, warehousing, and shipping, we have everything you need to keep your inventory in tip-top condition.
