Terms and Phrases to Know When Working in a Warehouse

Warehouses are at the heart of much of our industrial economy, nowadays. They are an absolutely necessary tool that help to organize inventory and serve as a base of operations to distribute products across the country (and even the globe). Working in a warehouse takes a great deal of knowledge and training, in order to understand how operations can be conducted, safely and efficiently. Here are some terms and phrases that are good to know, when working in a warehouse…

Cross-docking

When working in a warehouse, you need to know what certain processes are. Cross-docking is simply moving materials, products, or supplies from an inbound transportation vehicles into another vehicle that is immediately outbound. This is notable because the materials do not get sorted in with the rest of the warehouse. Instead, the warehouse operation is used as a transition point to get the products moving to a new location, swiftly.

Dimensional weight

A common way to measure the weight of supplies in a warehouse is to use dimensional weight. Dimensional weight is a good way to get an estimate of how much something weighs, but without having to actually weigh it. Oftentimes, there’s no realistic way to weigh everything that moves through a warehouse (at least not without slowing down an operation). Dimensional weight is determined by measuring the length, width, and height of a package, then calculating it based on material weights.

Honeycombing

When a warehouse is operating at high-capacity, the organizational density that is required of a warehouse staff is going to increase. This means that organizational tips are going to need to be utilized. Honeycombing is a process where unused pallets are stored in unusual places and positions, in order to generate more space. It’s really that simple!