Challenges in Chemical Warehousing

Hazard level of chemicals

it is essential to know about the hazard level of chemicals before storing them in the warehouse, a proper evaluation must be carried out on either side i.e., with the chemicals and the warehouse whether they can be related or not.

Know warehouse conditions

A thorough evaluation of the conditions of the warehouse must be carried out to know whether it is fit to handle any kind of chemicals in its storage, and post the basic evaluation precise analysis will be done based on the exact chemicals to be stored.

Check with the storage capacity

It is highly essential to check the storage capacity of the warehouse, especially in terms of storing chemicals in it. Excessive storage of chemicals might lead to any kind of hazardous problem and causes severe damage to even human resources.

Ensure proper handling

Warehouse workers and other employees must be provided with proper training in terms of handling the chemicals. They must possess a thorough knowledge of the chemicals they handle which gives them the responsibility to store them with care.

Precise emergency plan

The emergency exit plan is highly mandatory for the chemical warehouse to avoid any life loss if there is an occurrence of an accident. This is not just about having an exit way but also framing a strategy to not make it huge if it has happened.

Safety Checklist for Chemical Warehousing

• Can maintain signage boards to avoid the entry of flammable materials.
• Newly recruited staff must have complete knowledge of the warehouse.
• Any kind of visitor must be educated about the Dos and Don’ts.
• Maintain an updated file that holds the complete record of all the chemicals.
• Make sure that containers are properly earthed before the chemicals get transferred.
• Strictly don’t keep any chemicals outside the warehouse.
• Rinsed vessels and left-over barrels must be closed tight.
• The spill control kit must be in proper condition.
• The electrical system must be in good condition in the entire warehouse.
• Fire extinguishers must be placed in accessible areas.
• Maintain the condition of the fire hydrant system at its best 24*7.
• Ensure the hydrant hose is in good condition and at an accessible distance at the time of emergencies.
• Continuously monitor the water level in the hydrant tank for emergencies.
• Check the leakage problem of barrels in the warehouse during holidays and fix them if any.
• Manage to let tank lorries better by advanced planning.
• Keep the open-top carboys filled with water ready during the Diwali season.
• If the warehouse is located close to the residential area, then more preventive measures to avoid accidents must be followed.
• Keep updating the emergency contact numbers both inside and outside the warehouse.
• One can increase the strength of the warehouse if required during high operability time.
• Make sure to connect the earthing with proper earth fits.
• Revise and build better safety strategies more flexibly according to time.

Conclusion

Safety measures are highly important for chemical warehousing and we being the lead player in the logistics industry can deliver a safe and secured solution to store your chemicals.

Key Metrics that Determine the Warehouse Performance

Inventory Turnover

Inventory turnover denotes the inflow and outflow of stocks into a warehouse for a year, and if a warehouse witnesses a high rate of inventory turnover, then it is doing good.

Back Order Rate

The back-Order rate denotes the complexity faced by warehouses in fulfilling the orders they receive, and if a warehouse faces this problem for a long time, then it holds a poor inventory management system.

Accuracy in Inventory

The inventory level in a warehouse needs to be accurately noted whether it is under manual or systemized operation, if there is a mismatch between the records and the existing stock, then it leads to poor stock management again and results in customer dissatisfaction.

Inventory to Sales Ratio

Inventory to Sales ratio denotes the total number of stocks get sold based on the available ones, the higher the sales the higher performance, it is a bit hard to predict manually this ratio, but analytics would do the favor for managers.

Order Picking Accuracy

Order picking accuracy denotes the delivery of the right orders, today with the presence of online shopping the order picking accuracy is at a greater height of 99% and anything below that would lead to customer dissatisfaction.

Truck Time

The lesser a truck spends time at the dock the greater the operability efficiency of a warehouse, if suppose a truck spends more time at the warehouse dock then there is some efficiency issue with the manpower in handling the stocks.

Staying days

Staying days denote the number of days a specific set of inventories present in the warehouse, the more the number of days an inventory set is present in the warehouse the higher will be its storage cost.

The shipping cost of the line item

It denotes the cost incurred in shipping a single product from the warehouse to the customer place, and it is highly essential to mark this cost that involves several factors like warehouse operability, transportation, etc.

Time to receive and pick the location

The time that a dock takes to reach the receiving and pick a location for the inventory also matters and it highly affects the warehouse’s operability. The work efficiency of the truck driver and staff who got involved in loading and unloading, packing, and unpacking the goods is determined here.

Proper Order Management

Proper order management is necessary to know the weak link of the entire warehouse process it involves procurement, production, transportation, and labor and helps a warehouse management system to know the problematic area and fix it.

Conclusion

Tracking the performance of a warehouse is vital to know the standard and raise it above if there are no major errors, and if there is any error then it has to be rectified in case. Warehouses must consider all the required metrics time and again to evaluate their performance.