Start with the problem

Find the real cause before choosing the fix

Pick the complaint you hear on the floor. Each guide shows what to look for, how to measure it, which causes to compare, and what to try during the next seven days.

12 common warehouse problems · Plain examples · 7-day starting plansNot sure about a term? Open the plain-English glossary
01

Picking is too slow

Find out whether workers are losing time to walking, searching, handling, waiting, or solving problems before choosing a fix.

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02

Picking errors are too high

Sort mistakes by type and find the first point where the order, item, quantity, or location became wrong.

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03

We miss carrier cutoffs

Follow late orders from release through shipping to find the step where work first fell behind.

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04

Workers spend too much time walking

Measure repeated walking, backtracking, crossings, and extra trips before paying for travel automation.

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05

Aisles and work cells are congested

Find out whether blocked aisles come from short demand spikes, crossing routes, refill work, poor equipment fit, or too much unfinished work.

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06

New workers take too long to train

Find the tasks, decisions, and exceptions that keep a new worker from working correctly without help.

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07

Temporary labor performs poorly

Check whether instructions, work difficulty, warm-up time, supervision, or an unrealistic target is holding temporary workers back.

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08

Forward locations keep stocking out

Find out why pick shelves run empty even when reserve stock exists, then set a refill trigger workers can meet.

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09

Packing cannot keep up with picking

Measure what packers actually do and whether uneven work, missing items, rework, or the station layout is creating the queue.

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10

Inventory records do not match reality

Trace a stock difference back to the first wrong move, count, status, unit, location, or computer message.

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11

Peak volume overwhelms the process

Compare demand and realistic capacity hour by hour to find the first step that cannot keep up.

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12

We need capacity without moving buildings

Recover space and output by reducing walking, searching, queues, poor shelf use, and repeated handling before considering another building.

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