Top 5 Warehouse Efficiency Tips to Maximize Productivity

Key Takeaways

• A mobile-first WMS removes the need for tribal knowledge and improves training speed.
• Real-time stock syncing reduces overselling and customer complaints.
• You might not need a bigger space; just better storage logic.
• Smart pick paths and batch picking reduce time on foot.
• Integrated systems eliminate manual tasks and scale with you.
• All of these approaches directly boost warehouse productivity without increasing labor costs.

In today’s economy, improving warehouse efficiency is more than a smart move; it’s a critical strategy for protecting your margins, reducing operational risk, and setting your ecommerce business up for scalable growth.

The following five tips are based on what we’ve seen work across hundreds of ecommerce warehouses, from lean startups to brands fulfilling thousands of orders per day. These strategies will help you improve warehouse productivity without adding headcount.

Manual processes and tribal knowledge slow you down. If your operation relies on one person who “knows where everything is,” you’re one absence away from chaos.

What to do: Instead, invest in systems that guide every user—whether they’re new, temporary, or seasoned staff—to follow the same efficient workflows. A mobile-first warehouse management system (WMS) like Descartes Peoplevox replaces guesswork with barcode scanning and guided pick routes.

It works: Amaroso Boutique reduced staff training time dramatically after switching from a memory-based model to Peoplevox. New hires became effective on day one.

Fulfillment delays may seem unavoidable, but the truth is that inventory control and visibility can prevent many of them. One rule of thumb: don’t sell what you don’t have in stock. Your actual warehouse stock levels must be accurately represented on your website listings.

What to do: Sync your warehouse stock with your ecommerce storefront so inventory only appears online once it’s scanned into available inventory at goods-in. You can achieve this with a WMS connected to an inventory management system (IMS) and your sales channels.

Real-time sync prevents overselling, avoids customer frustration, and protects your brand from over-promising and under-delivering.

It works: Goodfair eliminated an order backlog of 14,000 and increased fulfillment speed 700% by automating stock visibility and fulfillment with Peoplevox. “The item counts flow into Shopify, so what customers see is what we actually have on hand… revolutionary for us.”

Growing ecommerce brands often assume that scaling means moving to a bigger warehouse. Not always. You can likely increase efficiency in your current warehouse by changing your approach to storage.

What to do: Use dynamic storage (also called “slotting” or “chaotic storage”) to store multiple SKUs per location, cutting dead space and enabling smarter putaway. Rather than paying for more warehouse space right now, you can optimize and improve warehouse productivity within your existing footprint.

It works: Lovall tripled stock capacity in the same space using dynamic storage and automated replenishment flags.

The biggest time waste in most warehouses? Walking. Optimizing pick paths and shifting from single-order to batch picking can significantly increase picker productivity right away.

What to do: Use a mobile WMS with barcode scanning technology to optimize pick routes and strategies. The WMS knows every item’s precise location in the warehouse, so it can guide workers on the most efficient paths. Workflows like “pick and sort to trolley” let a worker fulfill dozens of orders in one pick run using a warehouse picking trolley.

It works: DISSH boosted fulfillment productivity by 45% with smart pick routing and process automation through Peoplevox WMS.

Re-keying orders, printing labels manually, or updating stock levels in spreadsheets? These are silent killers of warehouse efficiency, and they leave room for costly mistakes.

What to do: Instead, integrate your ecommerce, WMS, and shipping tools via pre-built integrations or APIs. When data flows automatically from order to shipment, you remove friction, reduce errors, and improve warehouse productivity.

It works: JOELLE Collection tripled daily shipping volume with no extra headcount by integrating Peoplevox with Shopify and Descartes ShipRush.

The right warehouse management system can help your team increase productivity and efficiency. Request a demo and see how to optimize operations with Descartes Peoplevox WMS .