In a manufacturing or distribution warehouse, a bottleneck is a point where the flow of materials or information slows or becomes congested, hindering efficiency and productivity. These constraints are often due to outdated processes, insufficient staffing, or underperforming equipment. Bottlenecks can happen at any stage of production, including receiving, storage, picking, packing or shipping.
How do Bottlenecks Impact Production?
Warehouse bottlenecks hinder production by causing delays, increasing lead times, and reducing output capacity. Higher operational costs and missed delivery deadlines are typical results of these backlogs. Other impacts resulting from bottlenecks include inefficiencies in:
- Receiving processes
- Product organization
- Inventory stocking
- Warehouse layout
- Resource allocation
- Operational scalability
Ways to Overcome Production Bottlenecks
Overcoming operational bottlenecks in your manufacturing or distribution business requires a thorough evaluation of your current workflow to identify chokepoints, eliminate redundant tasks, streamline processes, and reduce employee touchpoints.
Organizations can address bottlenecks by implementing automated warehouse solutions that enhance speed, accuracy, and consistency in key areas such as order picking, packing and shipping, and other general fulfillment operations.
Automated warehouse solutions include:
- Barcode scanning
- Robotic picking systems
- Autonomous mobile robots (AMR)
- Automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS)
- Real-time inventory tracking.
- Voice-directed picking technology
Benefits of Technology Against Bottlenecks
Numina Group leverages advanced warehouse automation technologies to deliver dramatic improvements in throughput, cost efficiency, and order accuracy. Benefits include:
- Improved order-picking accuracy
- Higher pick-and-pack rates
- Labor reduction
- Increased throughput
- Better cost predictability
- Optimized space utilization
- Higher customer satisfaction
Bottleneck Solution in Action
NorthShore Care Supply was experiencing double-digit annual sales growth, pushing fulfillment operations to the limit and requiring a move to a new, larger warehouse. They needed a flexible design that reduced labor needs and touchpoints in the order fulfillment process. We designed a warehouse automation solution that included an optimized pick, pack, and ship solution managed by RDS warehouse software, along with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The combination of the AMRs and pick-by-voice has dramatically increased the operations’ order picking rates to over 200 lines per operator with 99.98% accuracy.
Learn more
Website: Numina Group
Website: RDS Warehouse Software for Real-Time Warehouse Execution & Control
Case Study: Cut Labor & increase Profitability with Proven Warehouse Automation Solutions
Blog: The True Cost of Not Automating Your Warehouse