Tag: fulfillment

How to Increase Pick & Pack Efficiency

With costs up and profits down, everyone is scrambling to improve efficiency. No matter what business you’re in, you’re trying to do the job faster and better — often with fewer people. Warehouses, fulfillment houses and distribution centers are particularly challenged, says Bill Hubacek of FKI Logistex North America in a recent article in Manufacturing & Technology eJournal. “Customers demand nearly 100% order accuracy; smaller and more frequent orders cover a greater number of SKUs; and senior management calls for lower costs and increased productivity.”

High volumes from more frequent orders and quick order-to-ship turn-arounds can place a significant strain on your system and your workers. As Hubacek points out, “picking and packing functions remain two of the most labor-intensive and costly jobs in the operation. When performed manually, picking and packing can be a major source of errors, expense and decreased efficiency.”

And a reputation for errors is definitely something you want to avoid. Errors erode consumer confidence and create a negative drain on customer loyalty. When the economy is tight, competition becomes even more fierce than usual. A reputation for order accuracy can ensure a high rate of customer satisfaction and garner valued customer loyalty. Anything you do to improve your workers’ ability to perform accurately while picking, packing and shipping orders is essential.  

Hubacek makes a good argument for automating pick and pack operations, but most businesses are putting off that type of major retooling and restructuring effort until the economy improves. However, you don’t have to make a massive investment in automation to significantly improve productivity. Augmenting your workforce with a few ergonomically-designed powered carts or movers can improve the overall efficiency of your pick-pack-ship operation, increasing both speed and accuracy — and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

DJ Products makes a full line of extremely versatile, highly maneuverable electric battery-powered movers designed to perform pushing, pulling and lifting tasks. Ergonomically designed to eliminate musculoskeletal injuries, DJ Products’ carts, tugs and movers take the physical burden of many pick-pack-ship tasks off your workers, allowing them to perform more efficiently. When not physically stressed, workers are able to perform tasks more quickly, concentrating on accuracy rather than the physical discomfort of the task. DJ Products’ powered movers allow you to add “mini-automation zones” to your warehousing, distribution or fulfillment process. And due to their versatility, DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed carts and movers can move with workers from one task to another or can be tasked to different key areas as needed.

Talk to one of our industry specialists to find out how DJ Products’ movers can improve your company’s efficiency — at a price you can afford.

Ergonomic Material Handling Equipment Meets Needs of Multi-Generational Workforce

Finding, training and keeping qualified workers is slated for discussion at the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) annual conference NA 2010 scheduled for April 26-29 (see our January 4 post). The conference will devote two educational sessions to managing the supply chain workforce:

  • How Industry is Changing Material Handling Training and Education will focus on the demanding skill sets now necessary to perform even entry-level jobs in highly sophisticated, automated warehouses, distribution centers and fulfillment houses.
  • Building the Workforce of Tomorrow will focus on the challenge of integrating multi-generational workforces successfully as baby boomers and the knowledge they harbor leave the industry.

The move toward more automated supply chain operations and the increasing sophistication of the technology that drives them presents a considerable workforce challenge for supply chain managers. Technology is necessitating a more highly skilled supply chain worker making it difficult to find suitable workforce candidates among the industry’s traditional unskilled labor pool. Exacerbating the problem is the coming retirement of skilled baby boomers who have been the backbone of the supply chain industry for decades. Supply chain managers worry that there simply won’t be enough new workers coming into the system to replace those who are leaving it. The poor economic climate has actually alleviated that part of the problem somewhat. Lost savings and pinched budgets have forced many baby boomers to return to the workforce or push retirement back a few more years.

While their expertise is welcome, the distinct physical needs of an aging workforce have thrown another wrench into the supply chain machinery. Ergonomic material handling equipment that removes the physical burden from the worker could be the key to accommodating senior workers. Adjustability allows ergonomically designed carts and tugs to accommodate workers of every shape, size, sex and physical ability, providing supply chain managers with maximum use of their workforce.

Automation Is Changing Warehousing

Warehousing and distribution centers are being forced to perform more quickly than ever before and meet a growing list of unique customer requirements. Automation is the key to success.

“To get more throughput while decreasing cycle times, more facilities are turning to the strategic use of automation for picking, conveying, storage and sortation,” wrote Modern Materials Handling editor Bob Trebilcock in a May 2006 Modern Materials Handling article on warehousing systems.

Over the past decade, automated systems have moved from simple stock locator systems to islands of single-task automation to the unified, integrated systems being installed today. Automation is speeding up every aspect of warehousing, including inventory control, receiving, material movement, picking, packing and shipping. Automation allows greater volumes to be handled in shorter timeframes. Today, automation allows customization of an end-user’s needs to be accomplished with amazing speed, accuracy and efficiency.

Engineering a customer’s requirements “into the workflow” and performing them as a matter of course, is the most efficient and cost-effective way to meet specific customer requirements, Trebilcock writes in a July 2008 Modern Materials Handling article. Some examples of using automation to meet unique customer requirements:

  • Pick-to-light solutions ensure order-picking accuracy and maintain throughput.
  • Synchronizing material delivery to the production line in the same sequence as component assembly and packing saves time on the order assembly line.
  • Automatic print and apply processes save labor in applying shipping labels and guarantee accurate shipments.

Anything you can do to automate your warehousing or distribution operation will improve speed and accuracy for your customers and allow you to handle a higher volume while still meeting unique customer requirements.

Using CartCaddy Products to Meet Customer Requirements

In our last post we talked about automation and how it is changing the face of the warehousing and distribution industries (see our Aug. 4 post). Automation allows businesses to handle greater volumes in shorter time periods. However, a major challenge in automating operations is the accommodation of unique customer requirements. Obtaining a customer’s business can depend upon your ability to meet their unique requirements. Doing so while maintaining a cost-effective operation can require both ingenuity and skillful management of material handling resources.

Tom Kozenski, VP of product strategy for optimization firm RedPrairie, suggested in a July 2008 Modern Materials Handling article that there are two ways to handle customer requirements: increase labor or engineer them into the normal workflow. “The first brings your operations to a grinding halt,” Kozenski said, citing the extreme cost. “The second allows you to differentiate your business from the competition.”

One way of engineering customer requirements into the workflow is to coordinate the delivery of components or raw materials to the production or assembly line with their use, Kozenski noted. Delivering materials to the assembly line in the same sequence that they will be used increases efficiency and production and, thereby, cost effectiveness. A combination of powered CartCaddies and pushers allows for maximum customization of this process.

On an assembly or production line, electric CartCaddy power tugs can be used to push or pull carts loaded with customer’s specific components or raw materials. Carts can be preloaded and delivered to the line in sequence. In a vehicle assembly plant, for example, CartCaddy power tugs can be used to deliver windows, doors and other components to the appropriate point on the assembly line for sequenced installation. In a fulfillment operation, batched orders can be carted and delivered for sequenced processing. Highly maneuverable, ergonomically designed CartCaddy products maximize the load a worker can move safely, thereby limiting the number of workers involved in material delivery.

The CartCaddy electric tug or CarCaddy vehicle pusher can then move carts, equipment or vehicles from station to station down the line. CartCaddy products are available to move equipment across the floor on wheeled tugs or on a rail. 

Tips to Improve Warehouse and Distribution Productivity

There are three key areas to consider in improving productivity at your warehouse, distribution facility or fulfillment center:

  1. Information flow must match physical flow. When the flow of information matches the physical flow of goods, inventories can be better managed and storage, pick-and-pack and retrieval operations can be streamlined, increasing productivity. It is important to realize that optimal inventory does not necessarily mean minimal inventory. To efficiently manage inventory and the flow of goods, look beyond weekly order statistics. Today’s global market demands consideration of complex logistics. If goods must be shipped from distant or multiple locations, maintaining a higher inventory of certain products can enable faster and more efficient customer response. Gathering maximum information about each specific facet of your operation allows you to discern customer and supplier patterns and the interrelationship of the many logistical factors that connect them. Developing a thorough understanding of “the big picture,” puts you in position to more effectively and efficiently direct the flow of goods through your facility.
  2. Know and improve your total operation first. Before implementing new technology, particularly before engaging in the requisite evaluation that precedes a major change in your operation, make certain you have a thorough understanding of every aspect of your present operation. Current processes should be honed and improved to maximum efficiency and productivity before embarking on the time, expense and training involved to implement new technology. A thorough understanding of your total operation will enable you to make optimal use of current processes and pinpoint areas that can best profit most from new technology.
  3. Automate where possible. As labor becomes more expensive and laborers become harder to find, automation is the key to increasing productivity. With the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age, the traditional U.S. workforce is beginning to shrink. There are fewer people available to replace the retiring workforce, and fewer young people are seeking jobs in warehousing, distribution and fulfillment. A smaller available workforce will be in a position to demand higher wages. Increased automation and, where automation is not possible, the use of equipment that allows a single worker to accomplish more tasks in less time can decrease necessary workforce and labor costs while increasing efficiency and productivity.

Volunteer to Speak at High School Career Day

High schools are starting to schedule annual Career Days. DJ Products encourages business owners and managers to call your local high school guidance department and volunteer to make a presentation. There’s been a lot of press over the past year about dwindling work forces in the material handling, manufacturing, fulfillment and warehousing industries. The need to educate young people about the career potential in our industries has been repeatedly stressed by industry leaders at national association conferences. We need to work now to encourage America’s youth to pursue careers that will benefit and ensure the future of material handling and the U.S. industries so vital to American commerce. High school Career Days give local business leaders a perfect opportunity to talk to America’s future workforce and encourage teens to seek careers in material handling, manufacturing, fulfillment and warehousing.

Partnering with high schools through Career Day, internships and technical training programs are among the nationwide efforts being made to draw future workers to material handling and other industrial careers. A unique partnership in Rock Hill, South Carolina could serve as a model for similar programs across the country. In sponsorship with the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) and the Material Handling Education Foundation Inc. (MHEFI), Rock Hill Schools are set to open the Don Frazier Supply Chain Training Center at the end of April. A new addition to its Applied Technology Center, Rock Hill’s new entry-level pilot program will allow high school students to learn by doing in a state-of-the-art, fully equipped, 4,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center, according to a MHIA press release.

Named for industry pioneer and program supporter Don Frazier, founder of Frazier Industrial Co. headquartered in New Jersey, the Don Frazier Material Handling Technical Training Program will provide hands-on learning in material handling and supply chain jobs to high school students in grades 9 through 12. Numerous local and national industry leaders and suppliers contributed to the start up of the Rock Hill program. Modeled after the prestigious Lehigh Career and Technical Institute program at Lehigh University near Allentown, Pennsylvania, it is hoped that the pilot program will serve as a model for the development of similar programs at high school technical centers across the country.