A bin location is a designated storage space for an item. Why are bin locations important? Consider this example. Your service tech is on a job and is in need of a particular product.
He goes to his truck and after 30 minutes of searching through the shelves on his truck (“I know I just saw that somewhere in here yesterday”), he finally gives up and calls the shop to ask if someone can deliver the product to the site. Now back at the shop similar searching occurs. The product cannot be located because it’s not in the “3 or 4 places” that it could be. Costs are being incurred due to the tech being idle and the homeowner probably isn’t too happy either. In the meantime the product is usually “hiding” both on the truck and back in the shop. Even if you eventually find the material, you’ve wasted time, and therefore money, by not having a designated place for that item.
Fixed bins are used for products that you always want to store in the same location. Even when you are out of stock the fixed bin for that item remains empty.
Random bins are not reserved for a single item. Random bins are normally located in a bulk storage area and as soon as the item quantity held in the random bin is exhausted the random bin becomes available for another item.
Holding bins are used to store any inventory that is not currently available for sale.
For example, you may have a job and are waiting on other products to complete the job or have items waiting to be returned to a supplier or to be inspected.
Carefully develop a meaningful numbering system for your trucks and shop. Make sure you allow for some unused numbers between current products and between each storage unit to allow for additional stocking product.
Take an objective look at your trucks and shop. Is your shop filled with air? Is there a significant amount of space between the shelves? There are many types of storage bins that will help create an efficient space and you will be truly amazed at the amount of products that can be stored that will both save time in picking the items from the bins and save you from possibly “outgrowing” and having to purchase or rent space. I would guess that 75% of you currently could stock your entire needed inventory in at least half the space you use right now.
Most folks spend a lot more time deciding what to buy than where to put it once it arrives. The result of this lack of planning can result in lost or broken merchandise and a cluttered truck or shop. Most successful people know exactly where a product will go once it arrives at the door. They take great care and planning on ensuring an adequate space for each stock item. As you decide how to allocate your available space, it’s good to keep a few things in mind:
*The bin space should be enough to fit the maximum quantity you have budgeted to stock of that item.
*Does the item need to take up a complete “face” location where it can be seen from the front of the bin or is it slower moving and can be stored in a tray with dividers in back of other products? This concept can help free up more space.
*If an item is large and very popular, does it make sense to keep a couple of days usage in a prime location and the balance of the stock in a bulk storage location? This can also free up valuable space needed for other popular products.
