Plan ahead: It's important

Most people focus on optimizing the processes that get product out the door. But planning plays a crucial role in getting the most from those processes, says industry veteran John Hill.

By John M. Hill, principal, ESYNC -- Modern Materials Handling, 12/5/2007

Plan ahead. As Richard Cardinal Cushing said: "It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark."

Multiple trips to the same pick locations, double handling, incorrect equipment selection for order types and sizes, not to mention last-minute orders and emergency replenishments undermine warehouse efficiency and increase costs. The solution (given a layout that supports your requirements) begins with better planning.

Warehouse management systems include tools for better planning and execution, but those tools must be configured to handle the realities of the environment in which they will be used. Tool configuration begins with characterization of receiving and picking activities including:

• daily inbound and outbound order content,
• volumes,
• physical dimensions, and
• weights.

Assuming a day's worth of activity will be known before work begins (a big assumption), how would you approach it in order to achieve optimal results? That is:

• How do you make the best use of available equipment and warehouse operators?
• How would you slot or store materials?
• What picking method would you employ – batch, single order or a combination of the two?
• Does crossdocking make sense? 
• What about exception handling for out of stocks and damaged materials? 
• What about workflows or the steps to be followed for each warehouse task type? 

With answers to these questions and the necessary workflows, you’ll be able to craft the business rules that your system needs to configure its tools for more effective workload planning and operations management.

Now you say, “That may be well and good for some operations, but in our facility we do not have the forward visibility of transactions that will make this work!” 

My response is simple: “How much visibility do you have – a shift, a few hours, an hour or less – and, why?” In other words, what is preventing you from gaining the time necessary to allocate work in the warehouse in a manner that streamlines task execution and reduces costs? 

• Is it a flawed order entry system that drops orders to the warehouse in random fashion? 
• If you are supporting a manufacturing operation, is the day’s schedule transmitted to your system when released or are replenishment requests triggered by line operators only when materials are needed? 

In either case, you’ll need to collaborate with your counterparts in order entry or manufacturing on improving the situation by showing them the impact on service levels and corporate margins.

In other words, you need to plan. 

“But,” you say, “It’s the nature of our ‘order before noon, ship by 4 p.m.’ business!” 

If this is the mantra that differentiates your company from the competition, it’s unlikely that you are going to change it. On the other hand, by taking a hard look at breaking the workday into manageable time slots and using your workflows, business rules and system tools to optimize performance in those time slots, you still should see improvement. 

Further, if your system measures what it takes on your end to maintain the mantra, you may find the data you need to make a case for those resource additions that will improve the workplace environment for your team.