Several months ago, I ran across a particularly interesting query in one of the LinkedIn groups I belong to: What are some basic questions warehouse managers ask?
Rather than hit each topic in depth, I have decided to offer the most frequently mentioned areas for further self-study. This article is designed to help focus attention on the most popular concerns so that training and education can be designed.
Warehouse safety and OSHA
This topic was the clear frontrunner in the group of comments. Many warehouse folks see OSHA as an intrusive enemy that comes to levy fines. While the agency does have an enforcement mandate to penalize companies for unsafe working environments, it also has a preventive outreach program. Many of my clients have invited the prevention side in to inspect their fac ility. The inspector will make recommendations and give the company time to comply. Not one of my clients has said they regretted the invitation.
Productivity
How are we utilizing our people? The most important suggestion here is to understand the workflow. How does material flow through the warehouse? Are there certain times of day that
receiving is the heaviest? Scheduling
incoming freight can help you manage the workflow more effectively. Conversely, creating a day end close to the flow of order picking will allow you to clean up loose ends before the next workday. The goal is to do more with the same number of team members without generating errors.
Slotting and organization
Decisions around where we place inventory will allow us to pick orders more efficiently and help keep our team members safe. From a productivity standpoint, I am a huge proponent of moving your most popular items closest to the shipping doors. From a safety standpoint, we should make sure that our most popular items are located in such a way that a picker doesn’t have to reach too high or lift up too many times in a day. Also, our fastest moving items should never be on a mezzanine. If you have bin locations in the facility, and you really should, make sure that you have a bin map near the pick ticket printer.
Preventive maintenance
Nothing kills productivity like a broken piece of material handling equipment. I have had forklifts go down when a pallet laden trailer just kisses the dock bumpers. Imagine my mood when I discover that the pneumatics are shot on the pallet jack. These situations can be avoided if a preventive maintenance program is in place. I have found that checklists, either weekly or daily, help warehouse managers keep on top of all their material handling assets.
Boxes and containers
From a customer service perspective, we need to be very conscious of the way our orders and transfers reach their intended destination. Many of us have been in the habit of using old boxes to fill customer orders. I support the green movement and “reduce, reuse, recycle,” but not at the expense of damaged product. When shipping larger orders or transfers, I like the use of Gaylord boxes. These are pallet sized, reinforced cardboard boxes that provide a very economical way to protect products in transit. Wooden crates or poly bins are also great reusable options.
Staffing and management
Why do we expect the people who manage all our cash (the inventory) to work for minimum wage? I know that many of you pay better than that, particularly in the current labor market, but how many of you have a variable compensation program based on performance? Come up with five criteria to measure with the understanding that these can change over time. Make sure that it is a team incentive paid monthly. If the team hits all five goals, the amount you pay out will be a pittance compared to the money you save in sloppy material handling.
Training and education
I already mentioned the equipment training in regard to safety, but have you ever spent time teaching your material handling team about the big picture? Since a vast majority of companies promote from within, educating the warehouse team on distribution, product and customer service is an investment in your company’s future. I have always maintained that one of the most critical components in the order transaction is the delivery driver. Are we helping them project the right image to our customers? Most of our warehouse training is through osmosis: The new guy shadows the old guy. The old guy learned from the dead guy, and you hope the dead guy did it right. Investing in outside warehouse training, on a regular basis, will prevent generations of bad habits.
Shipping and receiving
For every one mistake made in receiving, 10 additional errors are generated in the warehouse. Cleaning up these errors is where companies balloon their operating expenses. Make sure that your strongest team member is in charge of receiving. Get it right the first time.
Consider separating shipping and receiving and increase the space allocated to both functions. The receiving team must break down pallets, count, cross dock, filter out supplier errors, re-label, etc. Shipping teams often need to double-check and package customer orders. They need to stage orders, load them into carriers, and make sure that branch transfers are handled efficiently.
Both teams need room to get all this right. Making sure they have it will result in fewer mistakes and reduce the amount of money spent on cleaning up after the fact.
Build a plan of action
As I mentioned at the top of this article, this is just an overview of what warehouse managers should be looking at. Each of these areas offers the opportunity for discussion on how to improve efficiency in the warehouse. Since many of your managers are home grown and have little experience around strategic thinking, I encourage you to help them create small battle plans. Check in often and get outside help if needed. Reducing expenses in the warehouse puts cash on the bottom line. Good luck.
Jason Bader is the principal of The Distribution Team. Episodes of his Distribution Talk podcast can be found at distributiontalk.com and most podcast applications. He can be reached at (503) 282-2333 or via email at jason@distributionteam.com. You can find additional resources on his website: thedistributionteam.com
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