Holste Says: |
 |
If current DC operations are suspected of underperforming, creating an up-to-date flow chart would be a practical and inexpensive first step before commissioning an operational assessment. |
|
What Do You Say?
|
|
|
|
Previous Columns by
Cliff Holste |
|
|
The inbound side of a typical Distribution Center can receive 100s or perhaps 1000s of different products every day. On the outbound side 100s or 1000s of customer orders are filled and shipped daily. The operations that take place between inbound and outbound are multifaceted and unique to the storage and order fulfillment strategy of that DC. Without a diagram, picture, or graphic of some kind it can be difficult to visualize how all of the functional pieces fit together and operate as a single unit.
The old adage ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single still image. It also aptly characterizes one of the main goals of visualization, namely making it possible to absorb large amounts of information quickly.
From an operational perspective, flow charting allows DC managers, system planners and developers to breakdown the overall DC operation into individual processes. By displaying these processes in graphic form, it becomes easier to analyze the relationship between them. In addition, flow charts are useful for many other practical purposes, such as:
|
- a visualization design tool and springboard for further discussion/analysis of product and information flow through the system network,
- to identify points where customer order fulfillment data can be usefully collected and analyzed,
- to identify potential bottlenecks and heavy activity/traffic areas,
- to better understand integrated system operations and flow,
- a prerequisite to constructing a computerized simulation model.
|
Exposing Problem Areas
If current DC operations are suspected of underperforming, creating an up-to-date flow chart would be a practical and inexpensive first step before commissioning an operational assessment. There is no better tool for managers and system planners to drill down into the minutiae of detail to uncover systemic problems. Over time changes are often made as a quick band-aid approach to problem solving. While the impact of any one of these changes may be minuscule, the accumulated effect over time can impact system operations in unexpected ways.
There are many easy to use, out-of-the-box PC programs available for constructing flow charts. Note: go to Google – Flow Chart Maker. The one illustrated below was done in Microsoft Office Visio.
|