5 Warehouse Mistakes to Avoid

Warehouses move fast—and even small mistakes can ripple into costly delays, inaccurate inventory, missed shipments, and frustrated customers. As order volumes grow and supply chains become more complex, relying on outdated processes or manual workarounds creates risk that most operations can’t afford.

In this article, we’ll break down five common warehouse mistakes that quietly drain efficiency and profitability—and show how avoiding them can help you improve accuracy, streamline workflows, and keep operations running at peak performance.

Common Warehouse Mistakes

Today, supply chains need to be nimble. Faster turnaround times, higher consumer expectations, and stiff competition requires manufacturers and distributors to deploy highly efficient shipping strategies. Unfortunately, many warehousing teams fail to leverage modern techniques to alleviate common issues such as inventory overstocking or packing errors.

Below is a shortlist of the most common warehouse mistakes we see among clients and partners.

1. Overstocking and Understocking

Overstocking—also known as surplus inventory—is one of the most common and costly warehouse mistakes. RetailWire estimates that excess inventory costs retailers more than 3% in lost revenue. Overstocked items take up valuable space, increase storage and shipping costs, and raise the risk of obsolete or expired stock.

Understocking creates a different problem: missed sales and unhappy customers. Both issues often stem from poor demand planning, inaccurate inventory data, or limited visibility caused by misplaced items, returns, theft, or shipment discrepancies.

The best way to avoid overstocking and understocking is to maintain accurate inventory data and align stock levels with real demand and seasonality. Modern inventory management tools help forecast demand, trigger reorder alerts, and keep inventory at optimal levels—protecting cash flow while supporting consistent fulfillment.

2. Not Following the Health and Safety Procedures

Cutting corners on warehouse safety is one of the most expensive mistakes an operation can make. Strong health and safety procedures protect employees, prevent product damage, and reduce the risk of costly injuries, fines, and legal issues.

Warehouses face higher safety risks than many workplaces, especially from heavy equipment, manual lifting, and hazardous materials. OSHA reports that a significant number of workplace accidents involve equipment like forklifts, making proper training and certification essential.

To reduce risk, warehouses should enforce clear safety protocols, provide regular training, and assign responsibility for monitoring compliance. Simple measures—such as requiring protective gear, posting safety signage, and marking emergency exits—can significantly improve safety while keeping operations running efficiently.

3. Not Creating a Warehousing Calendar

Skipping a warehouse calendar can lead to missed schedules, last-minute changes, and unnecessary delays. A clear operating calendar helps teams align production, receiving, and shipping with warehouse availability—especially when managing multiple facilities.

By planning daily and weekly operations in advance, warehouses can schedule orders more accurately, time inventory replenishment effectively, and avoid short picks or incomplete shipments. A well-maintained warehouse calendar also reduces labor inefficiencies, minimizes receiving congestion, and keeps fulfillment running smoothly.

4. Not Having a Proper Putaway Strategy

Without a clear putaway strategy, warehouses struggle with wasted space, slower workflows, and misplaced inventory. Poor putaway decisions lead to bottlenecks, inaccurate stock levels, and higher operating costs.

An effective putaway strategy relies on accurate data—such as inventory levels, traffic patterns, and receiving schedules—to determine the best storage locations. Using barcode or RFID systems further improves accuracy by reducing manual data entry and preventing inventory errors.

Involving warehouse staff in putaway planning helps identify layout issues and improve efficiency. When teams understand where items belong and why, putaway becomes faster, more consistent, and far less error-prone.

5. Not Utilizing Modern Technology

Relying on outdated tools is one of the fastest ways to slow warehouse operations. Modern technologies automate manual tasks, improve communication, and increase accuracy—but only when chosen and implemented with clear goals in mind.

Warehouse management systems, mobile tools, and collaboration software help teams stay aligned, meet deadlines, and track inventory accurately. Just as important, proper training ensures employees use these tools effectively and understand their value.

One of the most impactful technologies for modern warehouses is RFID. RFID tracking systems improve inventory accuracy, reduce errors, and ensure products, equipment, and assets are exactly where they should be—helping warehouses operate faster, smarter, and with fewer mistakes.

How RFID Can Help Fix Common Warehouse Mistakes

RFID gives warehouses real-time visibility into inventory and product movement. By automating tracking, it reduces inventory inaccuracies, eliminates manual processes, and saves time and labor.

With RFID, teams can instantly locate products, verify correct shipments, and maintain accurate inventory levels without manual scans. Movement data updates automatically as items pass readers, helping warehouses avoid stockouts, fulfillment errors, and excess inventory.

By improving accuracy and visibility, RFID enables smarter replenishment decisions and tighter inventory control—helping warehouses operate more efficiently with fewer mistakes.

Other Technologies to Consider

While RFID delivers broad, automated visibility across warehouse operations, other technologies can support specific tracking needs. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) provide location awareness for high-value assets, though they require battery-powered devices and additional infrastructure. NFC works well for short-range identification and authentication but relies on manual interaction.

Each of these technologies serves a purpose, but for high-volume inventory tracking, hands-free automation, and scalable warehouse visibility, RFID remains the most practical and cost-effective solution.

Conclusion

Warehouse management is a complex process that requires careful planning and execution. Even the most experienced warehouse managers can make mistakes from time to time.

But, by adopting new technologies and strategies, you can help to avoid common warehouse mistakes and improve the efficiency and accuracy of your warehouse operations.