“Why are so many bins short now? What’s going on?” All of a sudden, … Read More
One of the Most Common Flaws in Distribution Center Design
If you’re expanding or building a new facility and think that maximizing storage density in every possible way will give you the biggest bang for your buck, … Read More
How Old Books Can Teach Us New Putaway Tricks
The New York Times recently profiled a new storage and retrieval system that the New York Public Library is building underground next to its historic main branch in Manhattan. The library decided to upgrade its onsite facility after … Read More
Tastes Great… Less Filling! The Battle of Two Slotting Strategies
There are two basic strategies for assigning items to bin locations in a warehouse. In a fixed slotting system, every SKU has a set location and new replenishments of that item go to the same bin. In a random slotting system, items are placed in any open bin into which they fit, a decision made on the fly by… Read More
Honey, The WMS Shrunk Our Cooler!
A recent site visit, to a 1 million+ square foot grocery distribution center in the Northeast, provided yet another example of how important it is to view your supply chain infrastructure (buildings, equipment and technology) as a single cohesive unit.
The VP of Distribution was giving me the tour and… Read More
Pretty soon, every warehouse in the world will be a 3PL
Logistics has been dramatically transformed in the information age. The ability to collect and transmit data; to build logic using that data to direct work and plan complex, global networks; to see patterns in human consumption that were at best guessed-at only decades ago: we have managed amazing things… Read More
ROI – Return on Illusion
A recent meeting with a prospective client had me wondering about the wisdom of where venture capitalists park their money.
They were working with no systems, a slap-dash layout and painful processes designed almost to guarantee nothing made it out the doors in time. Sales were booming. After touring the operations, I sat with the COO for what became a short and unsuccessful meeting.… Read More
5 Things Every Supply Chain Professional Should Know About Infrastructure
Here are 5 things every supply chain professional should know about infrastructure in 2015:
- Supply Chain Infrastructure are the buildings, equipment and I.T. required to operate a supply chain.
When folks think “supply chain”, they think processes, activities and the movement of goods from suppliers through to customers. What they seldom think about are the platform on which all this happens… Read More
Amazon’s Robots and the Genius of a 44 Year Payback
Amazon’s robots are getting flattering press. And for good reason: they’re the cutest darned things.
Well, that’s not fair. According to Amazon, these shelf-moving buggies eliminate picker travel in their distribution centers which means that wherever they install them, the buggies boost productivity from 100 units picked per hour to 300 units picked per hour. Remember, this isn’t retail split case picking;… Read More
Implementing a WMS Reality Check
Simply Google ‘WMS implementation stats’ and you will find alarming numbers about the reality of WMS implementations. Too many are delivered behind schedule, over budget and fail to address the problems they set out to solve. If you are considering putting in a WMS be aware the odds of a successful implementation are stacked against you.… Read More
