The struggle to keep unnecessary costs to a minimum is always important for materials handling professionals. But when economies slow down and business is disrupted, like during the current COVID-19 crisis, using your resources efficiently becomes even more vital.
Out of all the different tasks you complete in your materials handling operation, order picking is by far the most expensive. When you look at the cost involved with handling 1000kg of goods in different stages of the materials handling process, the contrast becomes clear.
Loading and unloading is quite cheap – in this example, we can put the cost of handling 1000kg at around £1- £2, depending on the equipment you use. Putting away and retrieving goods takes slightly longer, and the cost of handling the same quantity of goods is around £10- £20. However, picking 1000kg of items can cost up to £100, simply due to the amount of labour required.
If you’re looking to make your operation more cost-effective and efficient, it makes sense to focus on improving your order picking.
Even the most well-constructed, stable reach truck will experience mast tilt when stacking at high heights. When you're lifting hundreds of kilograms many metres off the ground, it's impossible to avoid the mast tilting and swaying back and forth when it reaches the correct height.
A forklift's sticker price is an important figure, but it's often smaller than the much larger set of costs which arise over the truck's lifetime from things like service, driver costs and financing.
One major cost that every materials handling professional wants to avoid is the cost of downtime. This occurs when the truck is out of operation at a time it would otherwise be in use — typically when it has broken down and needs maintenance.
When purchasing new forklift trucks, it's tempting to get caught up comparing different options on the purchase price alone. The graphic above should hopefully show you why that's not the best option.
When the time to purchase new forklifts comes, the focus is always on costs. This makes sense — no-one in business would want to spend money unneccessarily, and if a machine can do the job, then the lower the cost, the better.
Costs will always be an important factor. But which ones? When thinking about the money you're going to spend on your forklift over its lifetime, you'll only make the best decision if you consider your hard and soft costs.
When procuring new forklift trucks, it may be tempting to go for the machine with the lowest purchase price.
However, trying to get the most for your money based on this single cost is the wrong approach. The truck's sticker price is one thing, but a much bigger share of the costs that will come with your forklift during the time you own it come after the purchase, during its operation.
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