Safety in Distribution

Whether you provide a third party logistics service or strictly a warehouse service where you are responsible for the distribution of the product, then you are now responsible for driver safety issues.

Congratulations, you are now responsible for not only safety training but also the general public. Now you will have the obligation to set up protocol to ensure that proper processes are followed.

Several steps that you may want to consider are the following:

• Get a Department of Motor Vehicles print out of the employee’s driving record. Check for traffic violation or worse such as conviction for drunk driving
• Verify training received for his or her Commercial Driver’s License
• Conduct a background check that could indicate any conviction for drug abuse or theft that could potentially affect the individual’s ability to do his or her job
• Conduct random drug screens by an authorized clinic that will handle the chain of custody forms and the reading come from a physicians, so that the clinic can further investigate the reason for the positive drug screen and you as the employer will not be accused of discrimination or tampering with the specimen
• Continuous safety training is important to ensure that incidents of accidents are kept at a minimum
• Institute a rewards program for low accident rates

By taking proper precautions, you will help ensure that your accident rating is kept at a minimum and the health and safety of the general public. Work with your human resources department to institute a policy plan.

An Opportunity to Expand Revenue

Are you looking for ways to add revenue to your current warehouse or third party logistics company? Then consider adding a cross docking service to your current business plan. Meet customer needs by providing services. According to Steve Avila from Emulex Corporation, 85% of their shipping volume comes from cross docking. The benefits speak for themselves because of no inventory storage and inventory requirements: effectively lowering labor and inventory costs while providing an opportunity to provide a fairly inexpensive method to increase bottom line profits for your organization.

Timothy Egan, the Director of Warehousing for McCain Foods USA, notes that they save twenty to thirty percent in warehouse costs by not holding inventory. The idea is that product is dropped off at one dock and quickly moves out another. You act as an intermediary between drop-off points.

According to Maida Napolitano the editor of Logistics Management, there are several factors to consider if you want to begin providing cross-docking services.

1. 
   Look for suppliers and products that need to move quickly such as perishable products, pre-packed and ready to move. Essential to this idea is to work with product that is easily anticipated and has predictable movement to distribution.
2. Consider your dock –area layout to make sure that product will move quickly and efficiently.
3. Do you have enough docks available and personnel that understand how to expedite the receiving, loading, and exit of the cross-docking process?
4. Other considerations will include sufficient equipment and materials handling capability.
   The opportunity is there, it is up to you to make it come alive.

Source
Warehouse Management: How to be a lean, mean cross-docking machine - 1/1/2007 - Logistics Management

Review, Reassess, and Revamp

The warehousing industry has been working on streamlining processes since its inception. By the twentieth century, computer automations made it easier to develop such systems like manufacturing resources planning, accounting automation through such systems as QuickBooks, and the development of advanced planning and scheduling systems. What do all these have in common? The use of computer based automation systems. Although, economic difficulties have caused a reduction in third party logistics production and warehousing activities in some industries, smart principals are looking at this time as an opportunity to review current practices and clean house. I am not just talking about your labor force, but your current computer hardware and software systems.

It is no secret that in order to remain competitive within your industry that it is necessary for you to update your current inventory and third party logistics practices. In the past, internal IT departments often created manufacturing planning software by modifying in-house systems. Unfortunately, this system can be very unwieldy over the long run because it becomes difficult to integrate knew equipment with old computer technology.

The solution often entails the installation of current and proven technology that has been developed specifically for the use in supply chain management. The software you choose will be determined by your industry requirements. For example, the manufacturing of particular electronic equipment will require the use of specific software that can perform the calculation of mathematical algorithms specifically designed for electromagnetic equipment.
Many organizations are viewing this time as an opportunity to streamline and update, so try to view your current situation as an opportunity to improve.

Is Cheaper Better?

In the past, I have written about the importance of having individuals that not only have good customer service skills, but excellent communication skills as well. A growing trend for warehouse and third party logistics companies is to outsource their telephone call center personnel to a foreign country. Companies are finding that it is more cost effective to transfer this service to an organization that can perform this function cheaper.

I recently encountered one of these “more cost effective” outsourced call centers. The transaction was so frustrating that I actually cancelled my order. Why? The individual on the phone line spoke broken English that was so bad, that I could not understand what the she was saying and when providing my information, I had to repeat myself several times: slowly spelling my name and address several times. Had the distribution company taken certain precautions, the company would not have lost my sale as well as, I am sure, others.

If you hire a call center outsourcing company to take care of your customers, you should consider the following:

• Get referrals for call center services from organizations that have outsourced their call center services
• Find out what sales training the call center company provides to their call center employees
• If possible, you should observe the sales staff in action. Does he or she portray a professional telephone demeanor? Is the personnel knowledgeable about the product and service? Does the staff do an effective job at cross selling related products?
• Make certain the call center staff is proficient in communicating in English
  

Outsourcing the call center function can seemingly be cost effective for your company, but you should consider the drawbacks such as customer frustration caused by poor communication and negative public relations that you may encounter because of unfavorable sentiment due to outsourcing labor outside the US.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS)

Supply chain management uses manufacturing resources planning to schedule production based job attributes like processing time, due date, selected bottleneck, and to minimize work in process. However, unlike manufacturing resources planning systems (MRP), advanced planning and scheduling (APS) simultaneously plans and schedules production based on available materials, labor, due date, and planning capacity.

The APS system has the capability to analyze job order data and realize finite capacity of the resources available. Jobs are produced based on such as information of available materials, which includes inventory, pending deliveries, labor, and warehouse space. The jobs are then completed based on the user-defined schedule. The manufacturing is then synchronized based on delivery to scheduling of facility capacity.

Production scheduling is determined by you entering each job in sequence depending on the due date, delivery modes, and priority of completion. The information is process and production progresses as each resource becomes available. The operations are then elected from the queue for work to be completed. Production is considered by determining the job attributes like processing time, selected bottleneck, minimize work in process, and minimize the number of set-up changes.

Advanced planning and scheduling will help you to become super efficient in production planning.

SCOR - Supply Chain Operations Reference - Model

Supply Chain Operations Reference- model (SCOR) was developed and endorsed by the Supply Chain Council to be used as a standard of metrics to determine best practice with respect to all aspects of the supply chain process. It is used as a diagnostic tool in supply chain management which covers every level from the “supplier’s suppliers to the customer’s customer” to improve supply chain management.

SCOR encompasses three basic concepts:

Process Modeling:

• Plan to meet sourcing, acquisition, production, inventory and transportation requirements
• Source to procure goods and services
• Making the products or developing the service
• Deliver which is transport management
• Returns which encompasses reverse logistics

Performance Measurements Pillar: Use of key indicators to measure performance to measure the company’s overall performance

The Best Practice Pillar: Conduct a gap analysis to determine where the company is verses where it needs to be by using the SCOR Model

• Develop structured processes that are repeatable and consistent
• Use current supply chain practices
• Use proven success processes
• Develop methods of business processes and strategies

By using the Supply Chain Operations Reference - model, supply chain managers have a proven and successful process to follow, compare, and use of metrics to compare current company practices against a proven supply chain model.

Sources
Supply-Chain.Org :: SCOR Model
Army Logistician (Understanding the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model)

Pharmaceutical Warehouses

Just like in the food storage and distribution industry that requires a specialized storage industry and refrigeration units, or the clothing warehouse industry that requires specialized presses and hanging units, the pharmaceutical industry has its own challenges to overcome. The pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated and requires close monitoring of production and inventory control.

Needless to say, that in order to maintain proper inventory supplies, it is necessary to institute a warehouse management system that is specific to the pharmaceutical industry. A system such as Terada Data Mart Appliance provides enterprise data warehouse management that can integrate with your current information technology system. This system can provide analyses and reporting of sales data, which ultimately increases return on investments.

A pharmaceutical warehouse management system provides benefits such as the capability of verifying quantities, purchase requests, maintenance of stock records, financial management procedures, and automation of all aspects of purchase and inventory control specific to the pharmacy industry. The proper system allows you to eliminate manual data entry, paper files, and automates records and documents essentially eliminating the human error factor.

Daily distribution of products to pharmacies is highly regulated, so a fully integrated system that allows you to track inventory and distribution is a necessary aspect in overall profitability and regulatory factors.

Source
allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/operations-customer/11694806-1.html

Green Packaging

Many years ago newspaper, which is made of biodegradable materials, was used for packaging goods. The development of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has led to issues with exposure to carcinogens as well as a non-biodegradable product that causes issues with landfill and pollution.
The hot color topic is green. In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, we have been jumping on the green or eco friendly bandwagon. Product packaging accounts for millions of pounds in landfill, so retailers like Wal-Mart and Target are looking at alternative packaging that is biodegradable. At the very least, many warehouses have begun to include inserts in their product packaging that encourages reusing or recycling packaging, which may not be biodegradable.

Interestingly enough, according to Steve Jeffrey, president of Imex, sometimes the use of vinyl can actually be a good alternative. He notes the example of the use of a vinyl cover that was utilized as a car seat carrying packaging rather than cardboards that could have accounted for 65 thousand tons in cardboard waste. He expressed that viewing the “big picture” is just as important as switching to an alternative material.

So what is the answer? I suppose it depends on who you talk to and the comparison made between types of materials, amount of materials produced, by-products, environmental impact, and affects on shipping and overall costs. Saying that you are going green does not necessarily mean that you are switching to a completely biodegradable product. It could mean that you consider alternative methods of packaging. Ultimately, time will tell what direction manufactures take to reduce carbon footprint.

Sources
http://www.allbusiness.com/retail/retailers-general-merchandise-stores-discount-club/6618245-1.html
http://www.allbusiness.com:%20environmentally%20friendly%20packaging

Stretch Wrap Your Freight for Fast and Efficient Storage and Delivery

The use of palletization is widely used by distributors to prepare freight for shipping. There are alternatives such as strapping and using containers, but those methods have significant drawbacks. Strapping does not work as well on pallets that are oddly shaped and containers can be a waste of space if not completely filled resulting in higher and wasted shipping expenses.

The other alternative is the use of stretch wrap or film, which is made of a polypropylene. This film can be easily applied by hand or the use of semi-automatic or fully automatic high-speed stretch wrap machines. Hand wrapping only allows for a 25% stretch capacity. The use of a high-speed pre-stretch system can allow up to a 300% stretch capacity, which will help control shipping weight.

The use of stretch film provides a moisture barrier that strapping or boxing along does not. It is practical for irregularly shaped pallets up to two tons and 25 feet wide. It is light weight, puncture resistant, can be applied quickly and efficiently using a high-powered fully automated machine, and keeps freight dry and secure. Rather than operators having to move freight manually freight in smaller increments, it is possible for driver operators to automatically move and store large quantities of freight quickly using forklifts without the worry that the pallet will fall apart during the storage process.

Once the freight arrives to its destination, the wrap is easily removed and disposed of except for a bit of dust. There is a wide variety of options in wrap density, size, weight, length, and clinging capacity. The use of the proper equipment based on productivity, space, need, and capacity will ultimately save you shipping time, space, efficiency, and speed up shipping freight to market.

Source
warehouseblog.com

Promotional Item Assembly

As customers, we tend to remain with the tried and true products with which we are comfortable. The hairspray that we have used for the past ten years was good enough then, so it is good enough now. So, how do you get new customers to try your product? Give away free promotional items that will entice prospective buyers to try your product and expectantly fall in love with it, which will ultimately result in repeat business. Consumers want to feel like they are getting a bargain. They will generally be more likely to try something new if they feel like they get their money’s worth.

More is more in the public eye. With limited resources how do you get the promotional items to the public without the expense and headache of hiring additional personnel, training and establishing additional quality control procedures and protocol, and locating and establishing additional space to assemble and package promotional items that will be distributed during an initial marketing campaign? Easy enough. Third party logistics (3PL) companies offer a service such as the assembly and distribution of promotional items.

The benefits of using an outside company seem to make sense when you can relinquish the burden of human resources alone. They arrange for either temporary or fulltime personnel for the duration of the project. Once the assignment is complete, let them handle reallocating their resources. If the 3PL does not have further work, they deal with the layoffs and unemployment rating rather than you.