Joe Keenan
In an
opening session at the National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment in
Las Vegas on Monday, Susan Rider , president of logistics
consulting agency Rider & Associates, wasted little time in getting to what was on the
minds of nearly all attendees: How can you make your warehouse more efficient
and thereby more profitable? Here are just five of the many tips Rider provided
to help answer the aforementioned question:
1. Realize your employees are your most important asset. To develop
talent within your organization, Rider recommended the following:
2.
Collaborate with other departments in your organization. Do the sales people at your company
only care about their sales goals and nothing else? Does the same apply for
your merchandising team? Sadly, this is the case at many businesses that
operate in silos, Rider lamented. Your warehouse should be in constant
communication with every facet of the organization — e.g., sales,
merchandising, IT. Break down the barriers to create a culture of "one
team, one dream." Overall profitability of the company should be the
overarching goal for all employees.
3. Reduce walk and touch times. Easier said than done for most
warehouses. Here are some ways to help you achieve this goal:
4. Make training a continuous process. With how quickly technology is changing the face of operations and fulfillment today, it's necessary to evaluate the need for training in your warehouse every three months, Rider said. Tenure with the company shouldn't be a factor. In fact, some of your more experienced staff might need a refresher course on how to use the technology available to them to its full capacity, Rider noted. Regular systems training is a must in order to be as efficient and productive as possible.
5. Explore new technology opportunities. From web and
transportation management systems to paperless picking to robotic palletizing,
there's intelligence being developed wherever you turn in the warehouse. And
most of it's quite helpful, Rider noted. But be careful not to be bowled over
by the sexiness of the technology, Rider warned. It has to make business sense
from an return on investment perspective. And don't think that by purchasing an
expensive warehouse management system all your problems are solved. "Don't
pave over cow paths," Rider said, making an analogy to businesses paving
over bad processes with new technologies.
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