Operion Group
    NL

    Warehouse

    Improve warehouse processes: from receiving to dispatch

    Every warehouse has four processes that run into each other: receiving goods, collecting orders, packing and dispatch. Here you read where it usually goes wrong and how to improve logistics processes without throwing everything out.

    Overview

    Four processes, one flow

    The warehouse processes follow each other like links in a chain. What goes wrong at receiving comes back at collecting as an item that is not in its place, and at dispatch as a complaint. That is why it is best to improve the flow as a whole rather than one process on its own.

    A calm run from arrival to dispatch is called flow. Everything that interrupts that flow is waste. For each process we check where the interruption sits.

    Process 1

    Receiving: a good start

    At receiving you check what arrives and record it in your administration. This is called goods receipt. Errors made here stay in the system and cost a lot of time to find later.

    Much of the gain is in fixed agreements: who checks, with what, and what happens with deviations? A clear receiving zone, a fixed place for what still has to be checked and a short path to storage make sure goods do not stand around. It concerns the same data with which the delivery note was made, so check it against the order.

    Process 2

    Collecting orders: the longest route

    Putting an order together from the shelves, in trade language picking, takes the most time in many warehouses, mostly because of walking. Improving starts with the sequence: does an employee walk a logical round or back and forth?

    There are three common ways of working. With zone picking each employee works in a part of the warehouse of their own. With batch picking one person collects several orders in a single round. And with a fixed sequence through the warehouse everyone walks the same route. Which fits depends on the number of orders, the number of lines per order and the layout. We determine that in the scan.

    Process 3

    Packing: checking and finishing

    At packing you check that what is in the box matches the order. An error is still cheap to repair here; one step later it is a return. A calm packing place with everything within reach, fixed box sizes and a clear sequence makes the work quicker and reduces the number of errors.

    Put the packing place close to collecting and dispatch, so that the order does not have to travel across the floor. Record agreements about packing material, so that nobody has to search.

    Process 4

    Dispatch: away on time

    At dispatch, parcels and pallets go to the carrier. This is about times: until when can an order still leave that day? That time is called the cut-off time. An order that misses the cut-off leaves the next day, and the customer notices.

    Improving here mostly means planning ahead. Record when the collecting round starts, when packing must be finished and where the parcels stand. Which integration with your carriers is possible, we agree with you in advance.

    Method

    How to improve a process

    We work in four steps, for each of the four processes:

    • Measure

      We count what happens now: how many orders contain an error, how long an order waits, where people walk the most.

    • Draw

      We draw the steps with value stream mapping, so that it becomes visible where time is lost.

    • Change one thing

      We adjust one aspect and see whether it works, before we change the next.

    • Record

      We record the new way of working and put it in your WMS, so that it does not slip back.

    Process 5

    Returns: the forgotten flow

    Returns run the other way and are often forgotten when the processes are designed. What comes back has to be assessed, stored again or disposed of. That is called returns processing. Without a fixed place and fixed steps, returns lie around and cannot be found again.

    Give returns a zone of their own, a fixed sequence and a status of their own in your administration, so that an item that comes back is not sold again by mistake before it has been checked.

    Sound familiar?

    Four common bottlenecks

    We see the same bottlenecks return in all processes:

    • Peak moments

      All orders arrive at the same moment, so a team that is quiet the rest of the day is now overloaded.

    • Unclear agreements

      Everyone does it a little differently, so errors and exceptions pile up.

    • Handover between steps

      An order that moves from collecting to packing lies waiting because nobody knows it is ready.

    • Data that is wrong

      The stock or the location in the system differs from the warehouse, so employees start searching.

    Service

    Part of the redesign

    Improving processes belongs to our redesign. The outcome of the warehouse scan determines which process we tackle first. Do you prefer the lean approach? Then read lean in the warehouse.

    How a system supports the processes is at warehouse management explained from BizBloqs and at warehouse efficiency.

    Read on

    More about warehouse optimisation

    Terms for this topic

    FlowWaste (muda)Delivery noteValue stream mapping

    Explained at BizBloqs

    What a system does and how you manage stock, BizBloqs explains itself:

    Part of our warehouse services

    Improving your warehouse processes is part of our warehouse services. We agree the scope and the price with you in advance.

    View the warehouse services

    Improve your warehouse processes?

    Tell us which process causes the most problems. We will tell you what a redesign covers and what the fixed price is.