Courses and stand-alone classes are all of the rage for post-college learning, especially when you hit the professional market. This can be a necessity in a number of cases, especially as technology has evolved so radically over the last few years and changed how we look at some of the processes we deal with in our daily work routines. These courses provide up-to-date ideas and methodologies aimed at making your warehouse a faster, more efficient place to work. So what are some possible pros and cons of attending a warehouse management course?
Pros
- Update your education level: If you have experience but no degree, or you have an older supply chain management certificate or degree, a warehouse management course can provide you with information that you may not otherwise come across that you may be able to use in daily operation.
- Networking: You will meet and interact with others who work in the same industry and who may face the same problems as you. This can create long-term relationships, and can be helpful down the line in getting ideas for new problems that may crop up. Networking is never a bad thing.
- Employee growth: What one person learns in a course can be spread to the whole team, providing the employees with some growth in terms of what they know about processes. Having one person receive education can help increase the level of knowledge for the whole team.
- Increase efficiency and growth potential of your business: At the end of the course, you or your employee should be able to implement ideas into your warehouse that ultimately makes it run more efficiently, and that should save money and increase profit over time.
Cons
- Return on Investment: This is always a major question when it comes to putting out the thousands of dollars it may cost to send yourself or one of your team members to a course or seminar. You want to make sure that you get a return on your investment. If you have a small warehouse, a warehouse that has a narrow scope of products, or a business that does not have a large volume of product, the expense of the course will likely not provide you with a return that will make it worth your while.
- Repetition: If you have a newer supply chain management certificate or degree, it is likely much of the information in a course will simply be repetition of what you already know. You never want to pay for what you already know.
- Employee retention: Helping an employee to increase their knowledge always comes with the worry that this new knowledge can also open up more opportunities for them outside of your company. Don’t let this be the sole deterrent if you otherwise feel that a course would be useful, but do take it into consideration when choosing the employee to send to the course.
If you decide that such a course is worthwhile, and not worthless to your company, the next step is to figure out what type of course is right for you or your employee. SAP, who makes much of the software used in warehouse management, offers courses, but at a premium price. The same goes for colleges – these courses are often part of a larger curriculum, usually under logistics engineering or supply chain management. You don’t have to be pursuing a degree, but you will pay quite a bit – courses such as Georgia Tech’s Engineering the Warehouse can run in the neighborhood of $4,000.
Another path that you can take for further education is through e-learning. As the internet has grown, plenty of learning sites have cropped up. Some of them will charge low fees, some are even free, and they can be worked on during down-time at work, or by the employee from their home computer. For those of you still on the fence about further warehouse management education, this may be your best bet – low risk, decent potential.
In the end, a course or certificate in Warehouse Management will be worthwhile for most businesses. Evaluate your needs and situation, and make the call yourself – it could be the best decision you ever make for your business.