Archive for Warehousing
Last year, I interviewed several warehouse managers in the chemical industry to learn more about their operations and how they are using supply chain execution (SCE) technology. Chemical manufacturers, distributors, and logistics service providers (LSPs) all operate chemical warehouses which differ in complexity. At one end of the spectrum are distributors (or LSPs that handle chemicals on behalf of manufacturing clients) who receive containers, usually drums, from suppliers… Continue reading
We all remember the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, where one bed was too soft, one was too hard, and third was just right. When it comes to warehousing technologies for food distribution, I see the same thing.
In grocery, most store shipments are composed of mixed-SKU pallets. The layout of a grocery distribution center (DC) generally mirrors a store’s layout. So, if fruits and vegetables are… Continue reading
Task interleaving is an advanced productivity practice enabled by leading warehouse management systems (WMS) with task management engines. Task interleaving is designed to reduce deadheading—i.e., when a worker, for example, picks products and drops them off at a dock and then returns to the picking area without performing any useful tasks along the way. In most operations, some workers are dedicated to picking, while others are dedicated to put-away. Task… Continue reading
Last month, I wrote a piece on explaining the value of logistics to the CEO. Earlier this week, as I was catching up on my reading, I came across this quote from Jeff Fettig, Chairman and Chief Executive of Whirlpool, in a Wall Street Journal article by Joe Barrett: “[Logistics] and investment in new product innovation are the only areas that we’re spending the same on as we… Continue reading
In the last annual survey done by WERC, the average warehouse’s turnover was between 9.4 and 15 percent. This is too high, and turnover is expensive. How can companies perform better in this area? Could the composition of the workforce make a difference?
In recent research conducted by the Pew Research Center, they comment that “the American work force is graying—and not just because the American population… Continue reading
I received a question a while back from a client, a supply chain director at a process manufacturer. In the process manufacturing industry, storage often does not involve warehouses that store cases and pallets; it involves putting various types of liquids, at various temperatures and pressures, in storage tanks. These tanks might store raw materials at the front end of the manufacturing process, they might store products that are… Continue reading
I was briefed recently by Vocollect, a leading provider of voice recognition for warehouse picking. Vocollect is looking to expand from providing voice solutions for the warehouse to also providing solutions to support retail store operations. One of Vocollet’s clients, Cabela’s, a leading specialty retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise, has logistics personnel working in its stores and they are responsible for managing inventory in… Continue reading
Microsoft Xbox and Other AS/RS Killers
· CommentsI read an article by Bob Trebilcock in Modern Materials Handling titled “Automation: Grocery giant Kroger changes the distribution game,”and I was amazed by what Kroger has accomplished, and the risks the company has taken.
Kroger implemented an automation system “that can receive and put-away full pallets, then break them down and rebuild them into store-ready mixed pallets according to how they will be put away on the… Continue reading
