Four steps to shipping accuracy

Learn how one consumer packaged goods company improved its shipping accuracy and eliminated back charges.

By John M. Hill, principal, ESYNC -- Modern Materials Handling, 5/2/2007

Shipping accuracy counts.

Now, everyone says that, of course. But it was driven home to me a few years ago when I was asked to sit in on meetings between one of ESYNC’s clients, a large consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, and a major retailer.

Our client thought they were doing a good job. But this customer was tough. They insisted they were being short-shipped, and for the life of them, our client couldn’t prove to the retailer’s satisfaction that their shipments were accurate. The resulting charge backs were costing our client the profit they made on that customer and then some.

The solution was a best-of-breed warehouse management system (WMS) that kept marvelous records along with checks to ensure the integrity of each step of the fulfillment process right up to when the product was loaded onto a truck. Once they were able to demonstrate that shipping accuracy was embedded in their warehouse processes, the retailer backed off.

Four steps to getting it right
In addition to implementing a WMS, here are four best practices that drive better shipping accuracy.

1) Start out right: The first step is to make sure there is inventory to fill the orders released to the warehouse or a process in place to address the situation if there is not. The minute you start doing back orders, you introduce opportunities for error.

2) Simplify picking: Store inventory to make picking easy for operators. That means putting fast movers close to the shipping door, physically separating like items that can be easily confused and creating routing sequences that don’t require operators to retrace steps.

3) Beware value-added processes: One of the biggest challenges in the DC is the value-added process area, where DCs typically rely on temporary help. More often than not, you don’t have time to train temps on bar code or voice technology systems. For that reason, there have to be physical checks in place to make sure the right material gets sent to the value-added processing area, and a physical check on the outbound side to make sure the right products are going out.

4) Get it right at the dock: The shipping dock is the last opportunity to get the order right. If you’re using a shipping sorter for cartons, I like extendable conveyors that go right into the back of the truck from the shipping lane. That eliminates the need to scan again after the shipping sorter. If the load is palletized, the best solution is to scan the license plate bar code on a pallet and a bar code on the trailer or on the wall by the dock to associate that load with that trailer in the system.

Once you’ve verified the contents of an order from the time it’s released to the floor until it’s loaded onto a truck, you have an audit trail to ensure that integrity. How you use that information is up to you, but in my experience, it can neutralize any questions about shipping accuracy.