About the floor

If you ask a warehouse manager what he considers important for his warehouse, speed, efficiency and error-free work are definitely in the top 5. The well-known credo "ordered today, delivered tomorrow" in effect creates customer expectations that the warehouse must meet every day. However, this 24-hour promise also means that the number of hours warehouse workers can spend on the order is drastically reduced. Mistakes then quickly lurk.

How can labels help prevent errors?

Experience shows that labels are only discussed at the last stage when (re)designing a warehouse or distribution center. And yet well-designed labels are one of the driving forces for a successful workflow in a warehouse. When you provide your bulk locations with clear identification, you create overview for your operators who in turn can work more effectively and faster. In addition, you don't have to explain much to new, temporary or foreign-language employees. The labels do the work for you.

Clear labeling in your warehouse produces a positive knock-on effect. Efficient labels enable your operators to work faster and more accurately. This means they spend less time picking and make fewer mistakes. A low error rate equals fewer recovery orders. In short, a one-time investment in the right labels saves you time and money. 

Why does ONE2ID recommend floor identification for your bulk locations?

What we see a lot of in warehouses are bulk locations with no labels or unusable labels. This can have several causes:

• Labels are not necessary because the operators know the locations by heart.
• The reach trucks break the floor labels.
• The barcodes on homemade and laminated A4s do not work.
• The ceiling is too high for scanning boards.
• The scanners are not suitable for long-distance scanning.

We often recommend floor identification to our customers to bring structure and order to their bulk locations. You can apply floor identification right at the location. This allows your operators to quickly find the right location and reduce the need to search. The label is in their line of sight and they can scan it with ease from the reach truck. When there is no confusion about which label belongs to which location, it also results in fewer errors with order picking, putting away pallets and taking inventory of your stock.

There are several ways to code your bulk locations. Typically, most warehouses use floor labels for this purpose. However, there are more solutions for your warehouse floor that allow you to optimize your work processes.

Which floor identification suits your warehouse?

As mentioned, most warehouse managers choose floor labels in their warehouses. Floor labels are easy to install and remove and, more importantly, they are inexpensive to purchase. ONE2ID's production team finishes all floor labels with a scratch-resistant laminate, making your labels last longer. The prerequisite is that you only use rolling and walking traffic in your warehouse or that the reach trucks do not drive over the floor labels. If they do? Then use sturdy floor frames.

Like floor labels, the information on the labels in the floor frames is easily linked to your WMS. The floor frame that fits best in your warehouse depends on the density and type of traffic in your warehouse. If the reach trucks don't frequently drive over the frames and your operators don't slide across the floor with pallets or the truck's forks, you can choose the floor frame standard. You can attach this frame with polymer sealant and the barcode label inside the frame is protected by a cover plate.

For busy warehouses with a lot of reach truck traffic, we have the floor frame extreme indoor use developed, also with a cover plate for the label. You can easily mount it with polymer sealant or self-tapping screws. Finally, there is the floor frame extreme outdoor use. This frame is suitable not only for long-term use in bulk locations located outdoors, but also for refrigerated warehouses and warehouses where the floor is cleaned with a scrubber or polisher. The label inside the frame is finished with a thick laminate and is recessed into the frame, making it less susceptible to damage.

Why does location coding on the warehouse floor work for you?

Floor identification is an investment that quickly pays for itself. How, you may wonder? We are happy to list the benefits for you:

• You create overview in your warehouse with a unique barcode label for each location.
• Your operators don't have to search for locations as much, making turnaround time faster.
• You will find that there are no more pallets or boxes lying around that can cause confusion or unsafe situations.
• The number of recovery orders decreases and the number of satisfied customers increases because fewer errors are made.
• You can process more orders in the same amount of time because you work more efficiently.

More orders in less time and still work error-free? It's possible with the right floor identification.