Best bets for productivity

CSCMP conference speakers recommend equipment and technology investments for increasing productivity in the warehouse.

By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/24/2006

Does a warehouse management system (WMS) direct putaway and replenishment in your warehouse or DC? Do your employees wear mobile printers on their belts, printing labels only as they need them? Are you taking advantage of radio frequency (RF) technology?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you should consider the potential productivity gains of these technologies, Mike Honious, vice president of engineering at Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, told conference attendees. Honious, who previously worked as director of engineering at Gap, hosted a session on warehousing trends at the recent Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) conference in San Antonio.

He told conference attendees he considers WMS-directed putaway, mobile printers and RF technology to be “low-hanging fruit”—smart technology investments that pay for themselves in less than a year.

Good technology investments with slightly longer payback periods, he says, include powered conveyor, pop-up wheel sortation and voice-directed picking technology.

Powered conveyor makes the list, he says, because it cuts employee travel time—a big factor when it comes to productivity. Honious says he likes pop-up wheel sortation because few DCs really need the speed of more expensive, more sophisticated sortation systems. And voice-pick technology can immediately generate a 15% return in productivity, he says.

Warehousing veteran Ken Ackerman also touted the benefits of voice-directed picking in his conference session on the fundamentals of warehousing. “In my opinion, the most important technology gain in warehousing is voice recognition technology,” Ackerman told conference attendees.

Neither Ackerman nor Honious showed enthusiasm for radio frequency identification (RFID) as a warehousing tool. “RFID is not cost effective for the warehouse operator,” says Ackerman, “and I don’t think I’ll live long enough to see it be cost effective.”

“Until the cost comes down,” says Honious, “you’re really not going to see RFID. Everybody’s talking about it; I’m not seeing it as a trend in the next year or two.”