5 Ways to Save Money On Your Warehouse Equipment Budget

December 05, 2018

The new year is fast approaching, and for warehouse facilities, that means going over budget sheets for the upcoming work year. This is the time to figure out what works, what doesn’t work, and what needs to be updated or changed for effective cost savings.

Luckily, there are a number of ways to manage costs without sacrificing the quality of your warehouse supplies and equipment. Here are five solutions that your warehouse budget can benefit from:

 

1. Having Proper Preventative Maintenance Guidelines

A surprising reason warehouses suffer a loss of revenue is by having unsafe preventative maintenance practices for both their equipment and employees. Worn out equipment, like damaged storage racks, faulty forklifts, and other common safety hazards prevent employees from effectively doing their jobs while increasing the risk of injury. Making small repairs to broken warehouse equipment minimizes the cost of a full replacement and helps stop bigger issues from occurring unexpectedly. Creating a preventative maintenance checklist for your motive power, storage and handling, and dock and door operations ensures that any maintenance checks are conducted as efficiently as possible.

2. Find efficient forklift batteries and chargers

Warehouse forklifts run on motive power batteries and are a key component to daily warehouse operations; so they must be handled with care. Proper forklift battery maintenance improves the battery’s longevity and performance. Unfortunately, severe mistakes with the forklift battery and its charging can rack up repair and replacement costs pretty quickly, which can include:

  • “Topping off” a batteries charge;
  • Forgetting to water the battery; and
  • Mismatching charger and battery voltages.

All of these lead to extreme warehouse costs in terms of time, money, and employee safety. When purchasing batteries, always consider the specs of the motive power battery and warehouse forklift, and how the battery type will impact your regular maintenance routines. In some cases, it may be more beneficial to buy reconditioned forklift batteries. Just make sure to purchase one that comes from a reputable manufacturer with high initial reconditioning standards, like a Hawker battery. Hawker is an industry leader in the motive power field and creates high-quality products used in warehouses and distribution centers.

3. Implement energy cost reduction

An article by Industry Today offered a number of solutions for minimizing warehouse costs, one of them being reducing energy-associated costs. Two ways to do this are by having better building insulation and an automatic lightning system. Installing windows for natural light reduces the electric bill from consistently using industrial light fixtures, and drastically lowers heat costs during winter by harvesting the warmth of the sun. Poor insulation is also a leading factor of poor loading dock door conditions, which we’ll explain later.

4. Optimizing loading dock door conditions

Energy consumption is just one of the things being affected by poor docking conditions. Loading dock doors with improper dock seals can drastically minimize your warehouse production, including by:

  • Raising heat and cooling cost from air leakage by gaps between the truck and warehouse building;
  • Allows elements like water, snow, and other debri to blow into warehouse, causing hazardous conditions for workers;
  • Minimizes employee productivity due to elemental changes; and
  • Increasing the risk of theft.

Optimizing your loading dock and door maintenance saves you both time and money. Proper dock seals can help the floors stay dry from the outside elements and keeps out pests and bugs, and with quality dock doors and seals, you can be sure your warehouse productivity is smooth and efficient.

5. Maximize Warehouse Storage

Improper warehouse storage and design can impede daily operations and make it hard to find certain items. Maximizing your warehouse storage and operations allows for minimal work delays by employees continually searching for a product they can’t find on a racking system. Before the new year begins, a good warehouse cleanse may be in order. Update your warehouse layout to ensure maximum space for your product inventory and equipment. Removing any excess inventory or unused forklifts or forklift batteries can allow for new equipment to be bought and saves you money buy letting go of unnecessary stock.

A sensible warehouse budget is the key to long term success and increased revenue. At Southern States Enterprises, we offer highly quality motive power, storage and handling, and dock door and seal options for any warehouse facility looking to improve their business goals. For more information, contact one of our expertly trained representatives today!

Battery & Charger rental options - Southern States Enterprises

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