Seven hurdles to materials handling success

Any number of things can go wrong when you start a new project in your DC, says Jim Tompkins. Here are the seven hurdles that usually stand between you and the finish line.

By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/30/2007

No one plans for failure. After all, reputations have been made and careers ruined, based on the results of a new materials handling system. Yet, not all projects are successful.

Jim Tompkins, president of Tompkins Associates, has identified the seven most common hurdles to achieving ROI results.

1. Planning. Planning gets off track in three ways:

• A system is designed for the way things used to be and not the way they are today.
• A system is designed to handle average volumes and not peak volumes.
• Too many systems are designed to handle every exception. “The most productive systems handle the majority of operations with work-arounds to cover the rest,” says Tompkins.

2. Accountability. A successful engagement needs a leader with control over the resources to get the job done. The corollary is that the person in charge also has to have the experience to get the job done.

3. Go Live.Rigorous acceptance testing is critical to materials handling success. Yet testing is often the first step jettisoned when a project falls behind schedule.

4. People. Automated technology is more complex than a manual system. Yet, systems are often operated by people whose last job was behind a fast food counter. “Line operators aren’t adequately trained and supervisors are interested in protecting the status quo, which leads to a resistance to change,” Tompkins said.

5. Managing expectations. Management needs a realistic assessment up front of what a new system will do and, more importantly, what it won’t do. And when new systems meet the metrics set out during the planning stage that information needs to be reported back to management. “If DC managers don’t tell management what they’ve accomplished, management will assume they haven’t done anything,” says Tompkins.

6. Budget conformance. A realistic budget, with funding for long-term maintenance, energy, taxes and labor, also includes:

• Money for contingencies
• Funding for IT requirements
• An understanding of the lifecycle cost of a system

7. Schedule conformance.Meeting schedule deadlines is important, but not if it means eliminating crucial steps that can result in down-time later on. “Cutting out things that you know are needed like testing and ramp up just doesn’t work,” Tompkins said.