As peak shipping season approaches, shippers look for quick, easy, low cost improvement ideas to boost shipping capacity. Unfortunately, existing operations can be difficult to change. In addition there may be some fear of the “domino effect”. That is to say changes to picking may necessitate unplanned changes to upstream and/or downstream operations setting off a chain reaction, thereby creating additional complications and cost.
Holste Says... |
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| While the (4) improvement ideas may not be appropriate for every shipper, in-depth analysis of a specific operation would reveal ideas unique to that operation. |
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Listed below are (4) stand-alone improvement ideas that can increase productivity and shipping capacity while not impacting on other system operations:
1. Pre-Pick Split Case Items
The timely closeout of orders on the shipping dock often depends on the arrival of the last few items. Because it is very difficult to know how much time will be consumed picking split case items, shipping volume can drop dramatically near the end of each order picking cycle waiting for split case to catch-up. Worse yet, the accumulative effect over the course of several pick cycles can force an overtime situation.
Suggested Improvement:
Depending on the amount of split case versus full case required to complete the orders, consider pre-picking split case items into shipping containers and staging them in flow racks located adjacent the shipping dock. The containers can then be released to the dock to coincide with full case picking. The additional handling of split case shipping containers will be more than offset by eliminating order closeout delays and reducing OT.
2. Segregate Single Line Orders
One of the most common picking metrics is the average lines per order. Using this measure can be misleading, particularly when the number is low - say 4-6 lines. To better manage picking performance, what you really need to know is what percentage of the orders are single-line orders, and what the average number of lines for multi-line orders is.
Suggested Improvement:
Single-line orders generally can be picked in large batches. Because they don’t need to be consolidated with other items, they often can be picked directly into a shipping container or envelope, thereby, eliminating the packing and sorting function altogether. Moreover, in a parcel-shipping environment single-line full case orders could be batched to allow operators to pull a full pallet, and then automatically print & apply customer shipping labels to the individual cases.
3. Slot by Commonality of Items
When it comes to multi-line orders, sometimes pickers are fortunate enough to pick an entire order without travelling far on the pick path. How can you make that the rule rather than just a matter of luck?
Suggested Improvement:
One way is to consider how your customers place their orders when deciding where to slot specific products on the pick face. For example, consider fragrances which are typically slotted by activity level. The zone picking system routs pickers from zone to zone to collect picks for each order. Now suppose that every order originates from an order sheet that includes all of the products that are related to a single fragrance. Instead of slotting fragrances by activity level in multiple zones, if the DC slots products related to each fragrance in a single zone in segregated bays of its carton flow rack, it would result in a very short pick path for every fragrance order.
When slotting by commonality or popularity – items that are usually order together are slotted in close proximity regardless of their activity level.
Often times the pick path for the order, and/or batch, can be greatly reduced if products are slotted at the DC to mimic the way orders are received. This will challenge you to choose pick-face configurations that combine efficiency for the fast movers with close proximity for the slower movers – an exercise worth going through frequently.
4. Lot Sizes Of One For Retail Distribution
In retail distribution, large quantities are not always the best way to go. When you replenish store orders on a one-for-one basis (actual units sold) the downstream savings can be substantial. Most retailers are using POS systems. By incorporating real-time inventory functionality, replenishment items can go directly to their assigned place on the store shelf. Double handling in the store is eliminated. There is no backroom inventory to manage.
Suggested Improvement:
There are several ways this can be accomplished. Start by thinking about the final destination of the product inside the store. For example, replenishment items can be slotted to match fixtures, aisles or backroom layouts. These items can then be picked simultaneously as an efficient batch in a single pick trip at the DC. Loose pieces can be bagged and labeled with the store slot location at the DC. As a result, the store will receive products grouped and identified for expedited putaway.
Note: Before we had sophisticated warehouse management systems to optimize DC operations, warehouses and picking zones were often arranged by product family, by vendor, or in part-number sequence. Using similar methods now will optimize product flow to the store shelf.
Final Thoughts
While the above (4) improvement ideas may not be appropriate for every shipper, in-depth analysis of a specific operation would reveal ideas unique to that operation. However, as a word of caution; to avoid the above mentioned domino effect when making changes – make sure that you are not disrupting interdependent operations such as sequential picking and order assembly for example.
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