- Trends:
As a hedge against the labor crisis, investments in automation are on the rise. According to Gartner, 75% of large companies will have adopted some form of intralogistics automation by 2026. Automation may range from smart conveyance to fully operational AI driven robotics. There is no one-size-fits-all solution in automation, so how should companies proceed?
Warehouse Assessment – Maturity Modeling:
- Review the current state operations across key warehouse functions: Order Management, Inbound, Outbound, Inventory Control, KPIs & Metrics against best practices
- Determine the appropriate target level of maturity for your organization. The goal may not be to achieve best-in-class in every area, but should be developed based on value proposition and meeting customer needs
- Identify areas of growth that match the target level of maturity in People, Processes, Tools & Systems
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People:
- Assess current organizational structure with an eye toward risk management and expected future needs
- Consider technology solutions to ease the training burden and employee burnout
- Plan multi-year investments to address opportunity areas
- Standardize roles with clear definitions of success
- Define career paths and opportunities
- Allow for scheduling flexibility, where possible
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Process Improvement:
- Implement standards across different facilities and ensure repeatability
- Enable flexibility to experiment- measure, analyze, replicate, and coordinate with frequent corporate communication
- Consider physical infrastructure needs to support demand and project ROIC
- Determine automation opportunities to supplement human activity, particularly for difficult-to-staff roles, repetitive activities, or easily digitized tasks like scanning, weighing, and labeling
- Utilize updated slotting techniques to optimize valuable warehouse space
- Identify warehouse flow improvements (e.g., pick frequency, travel paths, process bottlenecks)
- Consider outsourcing non-key operations to flex capacity
- Identify areas to become more sustainable: packaging, suppliers, raw materials for “people, profit and planet”
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System Enhancements:
- Fit for Purpose: define key criteria and formal requirements for software or equipment selection
- Identify current system utilization and optimize configurations based on identified process improvements
- Propose options for automation with defined payback periods
- Revise Key Performance Indicators and Reporting to pursue “the perfect order”
Conclusion
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Conducting a warehouse assessment may seem like a daunting task with all other demands leaders are facing within their business, but they are an important first step to achieving increased throughput and profit for an organization.
Contact us to discuss your specific situation and how we can help identify and implement sustainable results for your organization.
About Adam Minister
Adam is a results-driven leader that successfully develops strong relationships with people at all organizational levels. Adam brings over 18 years of experience from the retail sector with a proven record of continuous sales & margin growth, inventory optimization, and strategy implementation. He has partnered with some of the country’s largest brands and delivered significant growth and market share in a very competitive environment. He is adept in utilizing analytics, market data, and customer KPIs to make informed decisions and advise future strategy. Adam has a keen ability to use these analytics to scale businesses profitably and make the overall vision come to life for an organization. You can reach Adam at adam.minister@fishermp.com.