Cash-to-Cash Cycles in Warehousing

To run an efficient warehouse or third party logistics company, it is important to have cash available to conduct the day-to-day activities of running your business. The funds available for use for the day-to-day business is a measure based on the length of time the inventory is converted to cash. The faster the product flows through the cycle, the faster you have funds available to continue business.

The cash-to-cash cycle is the time that operating capital that is not available for use by your business. This makes it all the more important to fee up capital. To help you calculate the cash-to-cash cycles add the days that your cash is caught up in inventory plus receivables and deduct the days that cash is free for use. So, how do you get cash to be available faster? You need to lower inventory, force faster turnover of your inventory, which leads to a faster billing cycle. Important to the cash cycle is that receivables are processed immediately and collections conducted quickly so as not to delay income of funds. Also, consider delaying payment of debts, which equals additional operating cash. The idea is to pay upon the invoice due date rather than early. Those funds can either be used for additional operating funds or accumulate interest.

Ventilation for Warehouses

Critical to the health, safety, and work performance of your employees is adequate air ventilation. Issues that typically arise in warehousing are air quality, air contamination, and humidity. Warehouses store toxic chemicals of every type, no matter how careful you endeavor to be, ultimately accidents do happen.

Prescribed air limits are regulated and accommodating that is important. For instance, for a heavy work environments it is recommended that at .5% liters per person per hour, required is 3.9 to 5.3 liters and for very heavy work environments 5/3 to 6.4 liters per hour. In addition is the importance of using commercial filtration systems to reduce air born infections, carbon dioxide, and humidity.

In order to achieve this or better, appropriate equipment is necessary. Ideal of course is fresh air that can be provided by fans, but for the majority of warehouses, more drastic measures are needed by the use of velocity extractor units that are attached to a wall or roof, which expels dust, pollen, bacteria, odors, smoke, and other forms of contaminants. The air must be changed often.

There is a multitude of options to select in ventilation systems. Important to the selection process is to consider the type of work done in the warehouse, what is stored, square footage, meeting regulatory standards and the welfare of all your workers.

Cargo Tracking

Clients want immediate satisfaction whether that means getting his or her product immediately or knowing what day their product is to arrive at their door. One of the benefits of purchasing from a retail outlet, is the pleasure of immediate satisfaction of bring home that prize, so how do you compete if your primary source of business is through e-commerce? Give your customer a way to track their purchases.

E-portals are beneficial for both customer and third party logistics companies in several ways. First, it allows the customer to create and pay for their order, receive a tracking number, and see an approximate shipment arrival date. The customer receives a tracking number that gives them a way to follow their item from warehouse to delivery. This includes the package scanned for shipping, pick-up, location of the package in route, dropped off at a warehouse for continued shipping, and finally arrival.

With the aid of the right software, there are benefits for you as well. A web-based ordering system allows for automatic processing and order confirmation via e-mail. You are able to view up to the minute transactions, product inventory, stock balances, and payment confirmation. A detail analysis is possible, because of the integrated reporting systems.

Robotic Manipulator Arms

The twentieth century brought amazing progress in all areas of manufacturing and research. Essential to many third party supply chain organizations and warehouse and distributions centers is the robotic manipulator arm with articulated joints that is typically powered by electricity. They used in many industries such as auto building, warehousing, operating room, scientific research, and manufacturing.

Manipulator arms are precision tools that can be custom designed to accommodate virtually any need of the client. Handling can be programmed to work autonomously for repetitive duties or manually as an extension of your hands. It is used for grabbing with jaws, rotating, rope cutting, and telemetry. Manipulator arms come in self-bearing models, attachments, and repositionable.

Types of manipulator arms include picking and moving arms that can use magnets, suction cups, and claws to move a variety of products including pallets of boxes, sacks, reels, and bobbins. Articulated arms are used for welding, assembly, repetitive movements and motions.

Robotics arms can be customized to suit your needs. Although, there is a substantial initial investment, over the course of time you see a reduction in general workers’ compensation claims because of accidents or repetitive movements as well as increased accuracy, efficiency, and time saved.

Performance Appraisals Can Be an Effective Tool

It is unfortunate that many managers do not use performance appraisals as effectively as they could. Unfortunately, many supervisors emphasize the negatives rather than focusing on the many positive accomplishments made by an employee. Another problems that occurs is that many managers really do not have a good grasp of the job the employee is doing, primarily because there has been no expectations established throughout the year prior to the review. The employee may have a completely different view of his or her expectations and goals than the employer, and it does not become apparent until review time or there is a disconnect.

A performance appraisal can be a useful tool to review work history and accomplishments. Problem areas should have been addressed well in advance of review time. Make sure to put a positive spin and talk about possible solutions to issues rather than telling the individual everything is bad. For example, if an individual has difficulty prioritizing work, then consider a weekly meeting to help with addressing with prioritizing.

Sometimes, employers will conduct employee reviews for individuals within particular responsibility group, such as mid-manager, however it is important that you spend time with every one of your employees from pickers and packers to warehouse managers. Reviews should be used as an opportunity to both encourage good behavior and constructively address problem areas. Conducting annual performance reviews does not have to be a bad thing.

E-commerce and Marketing

The popularity of e-tail is beyond description and plays a vital role for many retailers both the traditional and e-commerce focused only. Without the overhead, successful e-tailers have higher profit margins; leaving the overhead to third party logistics and warehouse companies to handle the manufacturing and distribution and allows you to focus your energy on what your company does best.

Successful retailers have several aspects of promotion in common and those include:
· The use of shopping portals
· E-marketing, which includes the use of email distribution lists, email alerts and marketing
· It is essential that your marketing message is included on all levels of your website in an effort to ensure that information is made available no matter what page the customer is directed
· Web content management, which includes, among other things, the use keywords and phrases, back links, and most importantly links are directed to the appropriate location for a good shopping experience
· Misdirection to the wrong web page is quite irritating for the customer and can jeopardize the relationship and bottom line
· A poorly developed website can be the death of an e-tail business. A custom designed website, which is attractive, user friendly, includes a shopping portal, and links that work properly is very important
· Critical is search engine optimization
· Important is to research the market including seasonal search and market trends
If you are not knowledgeable about creating a workable web site or an IT Department, then consider out sourcing to a company that specializes in developing e-commerce websites.

Meeting the Customization Needs of Retailers

Many large companies have a variety of needs to meet for their customers. These needs include shipping in bulk and merchandise that requires pick and pack, meeting compliance requirements, private labeling, as well as cost effectiveness, efficiency, and timeliness of deliveries. These customizations are costly, so organizations resort to third party logistics companies in order to accommodate the needs of large as well as smaller, mom and pop shops. Companies are using warehouse management companies that have the ability to customize according to the needs to the retailer.

In order to provide the global logistics services needed, the organization you employ must utilize a strong customization department, which includes over sight of quality control, documentations, accuracy of materials handling and shipping, inventory accuracy and rotations, product rotation, and meeting OSHA and MSDS requirements. Flexibility is of utmost importance when you need to provide services to a multitude of customers. In an effort to sustain high quality and lower cost, organization see the use of outside supply chain companies or warehouse distributers as a cost effective way to meet the challenges of an ever change industry that requires constant updating, new computer systems, continuous documentation, changing levels of distribution, and differing packaging and delivery requirements.