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For warehouse managers, Bin locating is an essential component of good warehouse management and can help you save time and money.   

Bin locating is a method of tracking the location of inventory in a warehouse. It uses barcode labels, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and readers to locate each item in the warehouse.

Bin locating allows you to track your inventory at all times by using a logical framework to quickly identify the locations in the warehouse. A bin location code acts similarly to a GPS location, quickly identifying which aisle, column, row, bin, or area to go to. An intelligently designed bin location structure allows current and new warehouse members to quickly understand where they need to go to find a product. Bin locations are often barcoded to help with quick identification through warehouse scanning solutions.

Benefits of Bin Locating

Bin locating offers a number of key benefits for organizations of all sizes. 

One of the most obvious benefits is the ability to stay organized.     Bin locating enables all of the members of your team to locate specific items quickly and efficiently, saving you time and money. When products are stored in a logical manner, it’s easier to find what you’re looking for without having to search through every possible spot where it might be located.

It also helps reducing waste and making sure that no items are misplaced or lost in transit between different locations.

In addition to staying organized, bin locations can also be used to determine logical put away strategies as well as picking strategies in the event that certain items need to be picked up in a particular order – avoiding pickers from crossing the same path more than once.  When the bins are in the right place, there is no need to search for them. This means that inventory can be counted faster, putting away and pick counts are accurate, it’s easier to track inventory and find items when they’re needed.

Implementing bin locating

1) Profile your warehouse

• Understand the physical constraints that you have in your warehouse with respect to square footage and ceiling height. 
• Determine where your fastest-moving items are keeping in mind the picking paths that you want your warehouse team to follow. You may want to use the path with the least steps or you may have other constraints like picking shelf stable products before picking frozen products. Decide on the number and size of bins you want to use, this can vary depending on your product range.

2) Select a suitable label printer that supports barcode printing. And offers high-speed direct thermal printing and excellent readability in harsh environments. You’ll also need a high-quality thermal transfer ribbon with a long shelf life to ensure continuous operation. Also to run without interruptions due to supplies running out or wearing out over time.

3) Set up your system so that it’s easy for staff members who are responsible for moving goods around the warehouse to access information about where each item should be placed based on its type or destination location within its relevant bin group; this way they can quickly find what they need without having any trouble locating specific items within their designated areas during busy periods.

4) Ensure that the physical bin locations are represented in your ERP system so that the real world is mimicked so that the front office and the back office have the same view of the inventory at the same time.

If you’re looking to improve your warehouse operations, bin locating is a great place to start. It can help you save time and money while also improving efficiency. If you want more information on how bin locating works, contact us today!

By Irenae Jacobs, Vice President, Aclaros