Client Profile: Warehousing Case Study
Challenge
- The client had multiple warehouse facilities located across North America, supporting their recycling centers
- Inexperienced operators and managers, focused on current shift operations only, with no direction or plan for future needs
- ERP system upgrades caused loss of visibility to inventory receipt dates, making FIFO activities nearly impossible for the warehouses
- Multiple bottlenecks in re-supply activities to processing center resulting in frequent warehouse operator overtime
- Network warehouse cycle count accuracy below 75% and monthly count completions below 50% of plan
- Warehouses were at various space capacity levels, up to nearly 200% of designed capacity and congested with slow moving and obsolete (SLOB) materials
Services Provided
- Network Capacity Planning
- 5S / Layout Optimization
- Production Planning and Scheduling
- Tools to work with ERP system
- Management Operating Systems
- Data Analytics
- Leader Standard Work
Approach
- Created Daily Directional Setting (DDS) meetings for each warehouse and coached managers on Leader Standard Work
- Augmented ERP reports to provide additional data, allowing for simplified FIFO scheduling and material picking at the warehouses
- Performed task analysis on re-supply activities, eliminated NVA tasks and adjusted staffing schedules to improve performance and decrease OT
- Modified cycle counting schedule and trained operators on inventory accuracy levers
- Reviewed warehouse footprints and material flow including network optimization activities to free up space at warehouse and get SLOB materials to correct processing centers
Result
- Routine warehouse overtime eliminated
- Monthly cycle count completion at 100% across network and inventory accuracy above 99%
- Network SLOB inventory reduced by 40 – 50%. Forecasting now highlights future potential SLOB for mitigation activities
- All warehouse pick schedules are FIFO-based and understood by operators
- Warehouse space capacity improved by over 50% at one location, over 10% across network
”The most valuable tool for myself would be the DDS at the visual board. It is a great tool for communicating to my team. Every morning we have our meeting, and the team knows exactly how the day is going to go.”
- Warehouse Manager
