Labels in a working building wear out quietly. Nobody decides to stop maintaining them. A few get damaged, a few get replaced by hand, an aisle gets re-slotted, and over time the labels on the rack drift away from the locations in the WMS.
An audit puts a number on that drift. You walk the building, scan a sample of locations, look at the signs and floor marking, and come away with a clear list of what to fix. This walkthrough is for existing buildings. If you are opening a new one, use our new warehouse labeling checklist instead.
Who should walk
Send two people: someone from operations who knows how the building runs, and someone who knows the WMS. The operations lead spots labels that slow people down. The WMS lead can check codes against the system on the spot. If you plan to bring in a labeling supplier, invite them for part of the walk or share your notes and photos afterward.
Before you walk
- Pull a current location list from your WMS.
- Get the rack drawing or floor plan and mark a route that covers every zone.
- Bring the scanner your pickers actually use, and something to record findings by location.
- Pick a sample: at least one full aisle per zone, plus every level in a few bays.
- Take a photo of every problem you find, with the location code in the shot.
1. Unreadable or missing labels
Look along each beam for labels that are torn, faded, scuffed, curled, or gone. Pay attention to the lowest beams and aisle ends, where forklifts hit most, and to freezers, where adhesive tends to fail. Note any location with no label at all, or a handwritten one.
2. Scan failures
Scan your sample from the places where operators really stand and drive. Record every label that takes more than one try, and where it is. Upper levels that won't read from the floor may need long-range retro-reflective labels, with 10+ feet scan distance (typical for a long-range scanner). Labels that fail at close range are usually damaged, too small, or glaring under the lights.
3. Inconsistent formats
Compare labels from different aisles and zones. Do they all use the same code format, fonts, colors, and arrow style? Mixed formats often mean labels were replaced piecemeal over the years. They slow pickers down and are a sign that the location file may have drifted too.
4. Missing or wrong aisle signs
Check that every aisle has an end sign with the right aisle number and bay range, that hanging signs match the zones below them, and that dock doors are numbered. A sign that still shows an old layout sends people the wrong way before they ever scan anything.
5. Faded floor marking
Look at aisle lines, pedestrian walkways, forklift lanes, staging areas, and floor location labels. Note anything worn, peeling, or no longer matching the layout. Floor marking is part of how people move safely, so worn lines go on the fix list even if picking still works.
6. Labels that don't match the WMS
This is the most important check. For each scanned location, confirm the code on the label matches the WMS record for that spot. Look for duplicates, locations missing from the WMS, and labels for locations that no longer exist. Any mismatch is a mispick or a lost pallet waiting to happen.
Fix, replace, or relabel
When the walk is done, sort what you found into three groups:
- Fix: small, local problems. A few missing labels, one wrong sign, a short stretch of worn floor marking. Order replacements for those locations and move on.
- Replace: labels that keep failing in the same zone. Find the cause first, then replace them with a better material for that zone. Our guide to replacing damaged rack labels in a live warehouse covers materials and how to do it without stopping work.
- Relabel: problems spread across the building, a changed location plan, or a location file you no longer trust. Plan a full relabel from a checked file.
Put each finding on one list with the location, the problem, the photo, and the group it belongs to. Fix anything that causes wrong picks or putaways first, such as duplicate codes and WMS mismatches. Then unreadable labels. Then signs and floor marking. Give each item an owner and a date, and walk the same route again once the work is done to confirm the fixes held.
Whatever you reprint, check the location file first. See how to check warehouse label data before printing.
Related reading
- Replacing damaged rack labels in a live warehouse
- New warehouse labeling checklist
- Warehouse barcode labels from CIS
- Warehouse rack labels in Atlanta and Georgia
Labeling a facility in Atlanta or North Georgia? Same-day quote. Call 770-561-5285 or email keaton@innovationandsupply.com.