Warehouse Operations Checklist

The inventory manager pulls today's A-class SKU list from the WMS or OMS (NetSuite, Cin7, SkuVault, Linnworks) and counts each bin location. A-velocity items get weekly counts; B and C rotate monthly and quarterly. Record the variance percentage — anything above 2% triggers reconciliation research.

Trace recent receiving, picking, and adjustment transactions for the variant SKUs. Common culprits: pick errors not caught at QC, unscanned returns put back to stock, kit components decremented incorrectly. Document root cause before posting the adjustment so the same shrink pattern doesn't repeat.

Walk the bin locations for consumables, supplements, cosmetics, and any SKU with an expiration or lot code. Confirm older lots are in the pickface and newer stock is in reserve. Expired or near-dated stock pulled forward gets flagged for markdown or disposal — not silently shipped to a customer.

Pull the prior-week scan-failure log from the WMS. Investigate damaged labels, mis-keyed FNSKUs on FBA prep, and any commingled-inventory misreads. Reprint and reapply labels before items recirculate to the pickface.

The inventory manager reviews days-of-supply against current sales velocity and supplier lead times. Adjust ROP for any SKU whose 30-day velocity has shifted ±20%. Account for upcoming promos, CNY shutdowns, and ocean transit variance — a too-tight ROP is how Q4 stockouts happen.

The fulfillment manager releases pick waves from ShipStation, ShipBob, or the WMS and confirms cart counts match open-order counts. Hold any orders flagged for fraud review, address validation failure, or restricted-product checks (alcohol, supplements, hazmat) before they hit the floor.

FBA inbound orders follow Amazon prep requirements (poly bag with suffocation warning, bubble wrap for fragile, sold-as-set labeling, expiration date for consumables). DTC orders follow brand pack-out specs — tissue, insert card, gift message. Wrong prep is a top-three reason for FC receive disputes.

ShipStation, Shippo, or Easyship rate-shops UPS, FedEx, USPS, and regionals. Confirm dimensional weight is captured accurately — a residential surcharge plus DIM mismatch is the silent margin-killer. International orders need HS code, country of origin, and CN22/CN23 customs data attached.

Scan-pack QC at the line: every unit's barcode against the order line. Catches the wrong-variant ship that becomes an A-to-z claim, an Amazon ODR hit, or a 1-star DTC review. No exceptions for rush orders.

Get the signed pickup manifest from the driver. Confirm tracking numbers flow back to Shopify, Amazon Seller Central, and any marketplace channels — late or missing tracking uploads tank Amazon Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) and Late Shipment Rate metrics.

OSHA 1910.178(q)(7) requires a daily pre-shift inspection of every powered industrial truck. Operator checks forks, mast, tires, horn, brakes, battery state of charge, and load backrest. Tag-out and pull from service on any failure — running a deficient truck is the kind of finding that turns a routine OSHA visit into a citation.

Confirm 36 inches of clearance at every exit, no pallets staged within fire-lane striping, and no extension cords across walkways. Test exit signage and emergency lighting. Block-checking fire lanes with a holiday-season inventory surge is how a small fine becomes a willful citation.

Steel-toed footwear in the receiving and pick areas; high-vis vests near forklift traffic; cut-resistant gloves at the box-cutter station. Note any individuals out of compliance and re-coach — pattern non-compliance escalates to written discipline per the safety policy.

Capture every near-miss reported during the week — a tipped pallet, a hand-truck close call, a racking strike. Near-miss reporting is the leading indicator that prevents the recordable injury. Recordables also flow to the OSHA 300 log for annual posting (Feb 1 – Apr 30).

Lithium batteries, aerosols, fragrance, and any DOT-regulated SKU need correct ORM-D / Section II markings, segregated storage, and current SDS sheets at the line. Carrier hazmat declarations must match the bill of lading — a misdeclared shipment results in carrier refusal and, repeatedly, account suspension.

The returns specialist matches each parcel against the RMA in Loop, AfterShip Returns, or the OMS. Flag any return without an RMA, mismatched SKU, or visible tampering. Photograph damaged returns at receipt — chargeback evidence and FBA reimbursement claims both depend on dated photos.

Three-bucket grading: Sellable (factory-sealed, full presentation), Refurb / open-box (re-pack and route to the secondary channel — eBay, Mercari, your outlet store), Disposal or vendor return (damaged, defective, or hazmat). Wrong grading either ships a used unit to a new customer or destroys good inventory.

Receive sellable returns back into the WMS at the correct bin and FNSKU. Confirm the unit is identical to current production — packaging refresh, formula change, or label variant means the return cannot go back to the live pickface.

Trigger the refund in Shopify, Recharge, or the marketplace within the SLA — 2 business days for DTC, faster for Amazon FBM to avoid A-to-z escalation. Exchanges generate a new pick from current stock; do not ship the returned unit forward.

Categorize each return: sizing, defect, damaged in transit, not as described, customer changed mind. A SKU whose return rate jumps from 3% to 12% means a manufacturing or listing problem the merchandising team needs to know about — not a returns problem to absorb quietly.

The maintenance lead executes the PM tickets in the CMMS — belt tension on conveyors, calibration on Zebra scanners and barcode printers, lens cleaning on scan tunnels. A drifting scan tunnel mis-routes hundreds of parcels before anyone notices the OTP miss.

Lead-acid batteries get watered to fill line; lithium fleets get charge-cycle and cell-balance review. Confirm chargers are in the designated charging room with eyewash station, ventilation, and acid-spill kit per OSHA 1910.178(g).

Critical-spare list: scanner triggers, printer print-heads, conveyor belt sections, forklift forks and tires. A part on 6-week lead time that fails during Q4 is a revenue event — keep two on the shelf, not zero.

Walk every aisle for impacted uprights, bent beams, missing safety pins, and load-capacity placards. Damaged racking does not get the next pallet on it — tag-out the bay and route a repair work order. RMI / ANSI MH16.1 governs inspection cadence.

Reconcile every open ticket in the CMMS (UpKeep, Limble, Fiix). Document parts used, labor hours, and root cause. Open tickets older than 30 days roll up to the operations director for next week's standup.