Turkish, Russian and Uzbek on the warehouse floor

Management speaks Turkish, 1C was set up in Russian, and the warehouse team moves between Uzbek and Russian. When three languages live side by side in one warehouse, even the smallest term can cause trouble: "packet" means 10 pieces in one department and 25 in another. The aim in a multilingual warehouse is not to turn everyone into speakers of one language but to decide in advance which information is written in which language and in what form. Here are the practical steps.

The common language: code and number

Codes and numbers do not depend on language, which makes them the safest carriers of information. A product code, a zone code (A-03), a roll or pallet number reads the same in every language. On the count sheet and the label, put the code first and the name afterwards if needed. If a name is written, use a single name on the item card; writing the same product in three languages three times is the road to a duplicate record.

Write zone codes with letters and numbers, but keep the letters in the Latin alphabet: the Cyrillic А and the Latin A look identical to the eye and are two different characters in 1C. If someone types a code with a Cyrillic letter, a search will not find it.

A one-page glossary

Give warehouse staff a three-column glossary: Turkish, Russian, Uzbek. Keep it to twenty terms at most, only those really used in counts and documents. Sample lines:

• roll: рулон, rulon;
• carton: коробка, quti;
• pallet: паллета, poddon;
• lot: партия, partiya;
• difference: расхождение, farq;
• shortage: недостача, kamomad;
• surplus: излишек, ortiqcha;
• count: инвентаризация, inventarizatsiya;
• damaged: повреждённый, shikastlangan.

Build the glossary together with the people on the floor; a word they use every day, once written in, keeps the glossary from staying on paper. Review it once a year: when a new product group arrives or a new item name is entered in 1C, its equivalent is added.

Define the unit names

The most dangerous words are unit names. "Packet", "set", "dozen" and "carton" can mean different quantities in different departments. An illustrative case: in the cutting department a "packet" is 25 pieces, in packing 10. When "40 packets" is written on a count sheet, it is unclear whether 40 × 25 = 1,000 pieces or 40 × 10 = 400 pieces is meant; the 600-piece gap comes from a single word. The answer is not to ban the word but to give two units two names: "cutting bundle (25 pieces)" and "product pack (10 pieces)". The meaning of each unit must be written on the item card. The same applies to "set", "team" and "dozen".

Labels and forms

• Keep text on labels to a minimum. A code, a number and a colour-coded status mark (for example red for damaged, yellow for display) can be understood without any language.
• The count tag can be bilingual: headings in the language the team works in, with the Turkish equivalent beneath in small print.
• If the report for head office is to be written in Turkish, let the translation boundary sit in the report, not on the floor.
• Agree one way of writing numbers, thousands separator and decimal mark alike: 1.250 can be read as one thousand two hundred and fifty in one place and as 1.25 in another.
• Use one spelling of each unit in document templates: "m", "metre", "mt" and "метр" should not mix on one page.

The briefing: make sure it was understood

If the morning briefing is given in one language, not everyone understands it. Give it in two languages and then ask one team member to explain the rule in their own words; "did you understand?" always gets the answer "yes", while explaining shows whether it was understood. Post a written summary of the briefing, three or four points, on the wall in both languages.

Appoint a bridge person: someone who knows Turkish and the local languages and is responsible for the glossary. When a question comes up, everyone goes to them, so the same term is not read three different ways. The bridge person is also the one who matches the Russian item names in 1C with the Uzbek names used on the floor.

In short

Order in a multilingual warehouse starts with accepting that the common language is code and number, that terms are written down and that units are defined. StockSystem's counting team is from Uzbekistan: it talks to your warehouse staff in Uzbek and Russian and matches the Russian and Uzbek item names in 1C with what it sees on site.