“With thorough maintenance, the investment in a material handling system can perform for decades. The Beiersdorf DC (above video) is 18 years in operation and it runs as well as when they opened. I have been in many other facilities that in 5 years there are areas of the system that need replacing due to ‘fix-it-when-it-breaks’ mentality”.
“So often I visit sites where what appears to be a throughput issue is really a lack of understanding and coordination between areas in the DC. Most operations get a picking requirement and they concentrate on getting it all on the conveyor as quickly as possible. This often results in backups, jams, and other issues. Systems work best at a steady state, balancing the movement through the areas results in the continuous, high throughput the system was designed for. In many systems the personnel assigned to servicing the aftersort lines are too few for the staff assigned to picking. Aesop’s ‘Tortoise and the Hare’ fable applies to DCs”. |