Key Metrics to Track for Warehouse Storage and Handling

Your warehouse is more than just a space—it’s a performance engine for your building materials business. And like any engine, it needs the right data to run smoothly.

Whether you’re managing a single yard or a network of distribution centers, understanding how well your storage and handling operations are performing is critical to cutting costs, improving safety, and delivering faster. The secret? Tracking the right warehouse metrics—and building those metrics into your ERP system for real-time decision-making.

Let’s dive into the top KPIs every building materials warehouse should be measuring and how to turn that data into action.

📦 Why Metrics Matter in the Warehouse

Warehouses are dynamic, fast-paced environments where a thousand things can go right—or wrong—every day:

Orders get mispicked

Stock sits too long

Products are damaged or misplaced

Space runs out… or isn’t used efficiently

You can’t rely on gut feeling alone. Metrics help you measure what’s working, identify bottlenecks, and drive continuous improvement. And when those metrics are live in your ERP dashboard, you can fix problems before they become costly.

🔢 1. Inventory Accuracy Rate

This is the cornerstone of warehouse health. If your system says you have 200 2x6x10s in stock, but the yard only has 140, you’re in trouble.

What to Track:

Percentage of SKUs that match physical count vs. ERP count

Frequency and type of errors (receiving, picking, returns)

🎯 Goal: 98% or higher accuracy

📋 Cycle counts should be tracked and scheduled directly in your ERP, with spot checks for high-value or fast-moving items.

📐 2. Space Utilization Rate

Are you making the most of your warehouse or yard footprint?

What to Measure:

% of vertical and horizontal storage capacity in use

% of blocked or inefficiently used zones

Inventory density by product category

📦 Use your ERP to generate warehouse heatmaps and traffic reports. Then reassign SKUs to high-efficiency zones.

✅ 3. Picking Accuracy Rate

Every mispicked order adds labor, kills delivery efficiency, and frustrates customers.

Track:

% of orders picked with no errors

Most common errors (wrong length, wrong SKU, under-picked items)

Operator-level accuracy trends

💡 ERP-integrated barcode scanners, pick lists, and visual SKU labeling can drive this rate above 99%.

⏱️ 4. Order Cycle Time

How long does it take from the time an order hits your system to the time it’s staged and ready to ship?

Break this down into:

Order entry → Pick start

Pick → Stage

Stage → Load complete

🚚 Track averages, but also watch outliers—some SKUs or zones may always slow things down. Your ERP should log timestamps at each step.

💥 5. Product Damage or Loss Rate

A cracked CMU or crushed pipe is more than a write-off—it’s a safety hazard and a service failure.

Track:

% of items written off due to damage or spoilage

Types of products with the highest incident rates

Time and location of most frequent damage (receiving, picking, loading?)

🔄 Log all damage events in your ERP, attach photos, and track trends over time for process improvement.

🚧 6. Receiving to Storage Time

You can’t sell—or pick—what’s sitting in the staging zone. This metric shows how long it takes to move goods from unloading to final storage.

Watch for:

Long wait times between delivery and ERP confirmation

Staging areas that become overflow storage

Receiving bottlenecks caused by poor slotting or label printing

⚡ A good ERP system will flag unassigned SKUs and automate put-away locations based on product type, weight, or frequency.

👷 7. Workforce Productivity Per Shift

Labor is one of your biggest costs. Make sure your team is being used wisely.

Key Metrics:

Lines picked per hour

Pallets moved per operator

Receiving volume per shift

Downtime per team or equipment issue

🧠 Link these metrics to training reports and performance reviews. Use ERP reports to compare shifts and balance workload.

🔁 8. Inventory Turnover by Product Category

This helps you understand how quickly products move through your warehouse—and how much dead stock you’re carrying.

Look at:

Turnover rate per quarter or year

Top-selling SKUs vs. slow movers

Days on hand by category

📈 Use this data to adjust your purchasing patterns and storage locations. Turn slow movers into clearance items before they eat up space.

📊 9. Outbound Order Fill Rate

Are you able to fulfill complete orders on the first shipment?

Track:

% of orders shipped complete vs. partially

Backorders by SKU

Causes of short shipments (stockouts, picking delays, etc.)

🚨 Set ERP alerts when fill rates drop below thresholds so procurement can respond before customers notice.

🏁 Final Thoughts

Your warehouse can be your greatest advantage—or your biggest liability. The difference is in what you track, how you analyze it, and what your team does with that data.

With the right metrics, and the right ERP tools to support them, you’ll run faster, safer, and smarter—every shift, every day.

📞 Want help setting up real-time warehouse dashboards in your ERP? Talk to our warehouse performance team here and we’ll show you how to turn raw data into better decisions.