5 Ways To Improve Warehouse Efficiency

23rd July 2026

Improving warehouse efficiency saves time and gets deliveries on their way quicker.

Our team of productivity experts have outlined five ways that help warehousing and logistics companies with every stage of their operations – from goods in, through to loading.

How to improve warehouse efficiency

1. Review your team’s movement

In any operation, there are processes that require movement. All this activity adds up, meaning an increase in time and costs. But not all movement is necessary and it’s often a hidden time waster.

A few ways to improve this include:

• Reduce travel time – Time spent walking in warehouses can account for up to half of the overall picking operation. Simplify things for your team and bring this time down by implementing changes to reduce the distance travelled
• Utilise equipment – Instead of wrapping pallets manually, use tools and machines. This reduces the awkward bends and twists that colleagues use to securely wrap a pallet
• Focus on your team members – Are all team members thoroughly trained? Regular training ensures everyone is aware of the correct, most efficient processes when picking, packing, lifting and handling stock. And do you have the right number of team members to ensure no one is overworked? By carrying out a time and motion study, you can determine how long it takes to pick an item, and accurately plan the required shift hours to match the day’s workload

2. Carry out regular audits

Carrying out routine warehouse audits is crucial for ensuring operational efficiency, organisation and compliance.

Here are a few questions to consider for your next audit:

• Is your current warehouse layout optimised?
• How about your storage space?
• Do you have comprehensive picking procedures?
• Are there any inefficiencies in the steps of your fulfilment supply chain?
• Have you spoken with colleagues about their day-to-day experience, and whether they have any sticking points?
• Have you reviewed colleague health and wellness, such as lighting, ventilation and overall safety?
• Is all your equipment and technology up to scratch?
• Do you have a strong WiFi connection so colleagues don’t need to move around the warehouse just to access the internet?

3. Use Method Studies

Implementing Method Studies ensures your business is operating as efficiently as possible. Not only does this improve how tasks are carried out, it also critically analyses existing processes and rebuilds them for maximum output and better layouts.

One powerful technique is 5S, which aims to reduce disorder and enable teams to work in an efficient environment. Here’s a basic outline of the 5S technique:

1. Sort – Review all the items within a specific workspace and only keep those that are completely necessary
2. Set in order – Arrange the remaining items in order to promote an efficient workspace
3. Shine – Clean the work area so it is neat and tidy
4. Standardise – Set standards for a consistently organised workspace
5. Sustain – Maintain and review these new standards

Warehouses are busy enough as it is. Applying 5S ensures team members only have the things they need, and disposes of unnecessary items.

4. Check all processes

It may sound obvious, but are you certain all your teams are operating the same way?

It may be that your day shift teams are using different methods to those used by the night shift. 

And if that is the case, is one process more efficient than the other? 

Applying critical observations can highlight operational inconsistencies, and once a best practice has been determined, this can be shared across the business to ensure all teams are working in the most efficient manner.

5. Bring in the experts!

Being immersed in day-to-day warehouse operations can make it difficult to identify the inefficiencies and constraints that are limiting your performance.

Bringing in external productivity consultants allows you to gain a valuable outside-in perspective.

That’s where we come in.

At ReThink, our team of productivity specialists have decades of experience, and we have worked with many warehousing and logistics companies. 

Providing support for every stage of their operations – from goods in, through to loading – we have helped improve warehouse efficiency and productivity to save time and get deliveries on their way more quickly.

• We work in distribution centres using a mix of traditional warehousing functions, cross-docking and specialist logistics services
• We quantify efficiency opportunities using detailed work measurement and on-site warehouse analysis to pinpoint productivity bottlenecks. We assess their cost to the operation and prioritise opportunities that increase production. We cover storage solutions, manual handling equipment, travel time, admin and more
• We study tasks and roles so that, in addition to looking at your processes, we can review how your operational leaders can best add value. For example, does each of your leadership levels have unique responsibilities, or does significant role crossover mean you could remove a layer from your organisational hierarchy? And do all your leaders work in a consistent way? For example, are the same standards delivered at night as during a morning shift?
• We identify quick wins via a blend of data-driven analysis and hands-on warehouse experience. This allows for rapid implementation of operational improvements, delivering measurable gains in productivity, throughput and cost efficiency
• We bring additional context from benchmarking, comparing your operation against competitors. This highlights performance gaps, prioritises improvement initiatives, and establishes practical targets for measurable change.

Contact our team

So if you’re looking to streamline your operations, improve your warehouse’s efficiency and distribute goods faster, contact our team today and discover how we can help.