Benefits of real-time management

-- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2004

When it's done right, managing with real-time information will change your operations. Here are some of the benefits.

Cost reduction. Managing with real-time information allows a manager to better match resources to the work that needs to be done. In the first year of operation, for instance, IMI BEVCORe, a distributor of repair parts to the food and beverage industry, was able to reduce its staffing levels by 50% while increasing the volume of orders flowing through the facility as managers learned to trust the data.

Error reduction. Dynamically redeploying the work force according to the work load allows a facility to operate at a steady pace throughout the day across departments. That reduces errors that result when employees are rushed and take short cuts.

Injury reduction. Just as errors are reduced when employees aren't stressed or systems stretched to the limit, so are injuries.

Morale. Managers in existing facilities with unionized work forces may have labor agreements that limit the ability to manage with real-time data. But for green field facilities or operations with flexible work forces, morale typically goes up because employees are less pushed throughout the day.