he methods of communication between offices and warehouses have advanced through the years, with new technologies developing and the availability of new portable hardware giving more options than ever before. Combining new software options with the company’s existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems opens up new possibilities for improving communication processes. Old school processes are still in use and can be highly effective, especially when combined with new technologies. Finding the right system or combination of systems for your company might take some time and testing. If you already have a system in place that fits your needs, you may need to develop a more effective implementation or training.

The most crucial aspect of successful office-to-warehouse communication, no matter the software used, is full team buy-in and cooperation.

The required characteristics of a communication source vary from site to site, but the method must always be concise, accurate and traceable.

• Emails: As much as we all dislike an abundance of emails, it is a system that has proven to work, unless you are inundated to the point where every message becomes white noise. Standardizing the format of email subject lines can help those who are buried in emails.
• Smartphones/tablets: This is a portable and handy option for warehouse employees who are on the move. However, the smaller screens might not be ideal when complex orders and communications come through that require larger visuals.
• Walkie Talkies/headsets: Like smartphones and tablets, these are great for people on the move and never at a desk. The downfall here is the lack of traceability for past communications.
• Printing: Printing orders directly to the shipping department printer is convenient, but it does not give the opportunity to state the transaction is confirmed, nor any other additional comments.
• TV Screens: TVs can be very convenient for someone processing orders who does not have to worry about oddities or other communications. A challenge in utilizing TV screens is ensuring their compatibility with your ERP.

Using multiple modes of communication in conjunction with each other is very helpful. For example, printing orders directly to the warehouse printer while utilizing walkie talkies for quick questions can be very successful.

• Unclear prioritization: If you mark 95% of your orders as “HOT,” you can’t expect the same level reaction for each one. Set a clear process and escalation parameters for orders and ensure the whole team uses it accordingly.
• A set schedule: To avoid issues, it is critical that those in the office understand shipping deadlines and warehouse lead times needed to get orders out. Orders placed at 4:55 p.m. may not always make it out the door that same day if there isn’t enough time for all the checks and balances in place. Set cut-off times for less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, local shipments and shipping services, and make sure the full team understands the process.
• Details: Include details in any communication. You want to stress anything that is out of the ordinary; special requirements, unique requests and new types of transactions need to be clearly stated. But again, be concise and wary of white noise.
• Color coding: Color coding orders has been found to be extremely helpful in the manufacturing environment as well as in the warehouse. Different color packets can be used to identify different level priorities or different types of shipping sources. Color coding is a quick visual tool to help organize any area.

There cannot be an “us vs. them” attitude in either the warehouse or office. When there is a barrier like that, no method of communication will work, even at its most effective. To combat an attitude like that, representatives from all departments need to be involved in the development of all communication processes. Everyone should be a part of solving the issues that are taking place, not just those working in the office or those working in the warehouse. Leaders should encourage collaboration between the two divisions. When someone is involved in developing the process, they are far more likely to be committed to following and taking ownership over the process. Everyone has value, insight and viewpoints from different angles that should be considered. When a team works together, they can improve immensely.

When problems do arise, list them out and have the full team review the issues. Don’t think of the list as a list of grievances, but rather an opportunity to define goals for improvement. Discussions like this should be facilitated by a leader who understands the importance of avoiding blame. Solving a problem isn’t about pointing fingers, it is about what actions we can take to help each other.

Many times, the issue can be fixed by cross-team communication. So often we hear “I had no idea when I processed it this way, that it was causing trouble down the line.”

Perhaps your company’s system works well — it gets the job done without major issues to fix. That’s great, but there is always room to improve. Improvement goes beyond problem solving. Have the team do a self-evaluation. Look for areas that can be streamlined and ask, “How can we make it better?” Revisit your technology, is it slow or is it not being utilized to its full extent? Are your employees not trained in every aspect?

Once you’ve made improvements, celebrate the team. Announce success stories. Discuss the improvements made with people outside of the team. It’s another way of showing how positive change was accomplished through a TEAM effort and how the TEAM brought down hurdles. It might be a very small change, but even small actions can have a huge impact. Celebrating and recognizing your teams’ successes improves morale. Who doesn’t want to be a part of a success story?

The beauty is, the people are a resource that you already have. You need only invest in time.