Dispatch, tidiness and safe basics

Dispatch is the last chance to catch a mistake before it reaches a customer. This lesson covers sending goods out, keeping the warehouse tidy, and the basics of working safely.

Dispatch: check, pack, load, record

• Check. Compare the goods in front of you with the order, line by line. Count again if there is any doubt.
• Pack and label. Pack so the goods arrive in the state they left you, then mark each parcel so it reaches the right customer.
• Load. Heavy goods low and secure. Load in the reverse order of the delivery stops, so the first drop is the easiest to reach.
• Record. Get the paperwork signed when the goods are handed over, and mark the goods as gone on the same day.

A mistake caught at the loading door costs a minute. The same mistake found at the customer costs a trip.

Keeping the warehouse tidy

Tidiness is a habit, not a clean-up day. Finish each job by returning trolleys, tools and goods to where they belong, and take the packaging away with you. Anything left on the floor is a trip hazard and a likely lost item.

Before you go home, look around once. Is anything out of place or in the walkway? Is the hold spot noted for your supervisor? Is everything that should be locked, locked?

Safe basics

An employer has a general duty to provide a safe workplace, and workers have a duty to take reasonable care and follow the safety rules. Ask your employer what the rules are where you work. The basics below apply almost everywhere.

• Lift with care. Bend your knees, keep the load close, and get help for heavy items.
• Stack steadily. Do not build stacks that lean or reach higher than the shelf or pallet is meant to hold. Never climb on shelves. Use a proper step or ladder.
• Keep away from moving vehicles. Use the marked walkway where there is one, and wait for the vehicle to stop before you go near it.
• Use the protective gear you are given, such as boots and gloves.
• Report hazards the same day. A broken shelf, a leak or a loose cable should be reported at once. Keep people away from it if it is dangerous.

What the full course covers

This short course gave you the flow, receiving, storage, picking and dispatch basics. Warehouse & Inventory Accuracy, the full MK Global course, goes much deeper. It covers:

• A full bin location coding system and the working zones of a warehouse.
• Receiving in detail, with goods received notes, quality checks and the common receiving errors.
• Stock counting: full stocktakes and cycle counts, blind counts, ABC classification, the stock accuracy percentage and how to investigate a variance.
• Picking and packing accuracy, stock rotation (FIFO and FEFO), minimum and maximum levels and the causes of shrinkage.
• Warehouse safety in more depth, with practice activities and a final assessment.

See Warehouse & Inventory Accuracy on our products page.