Want to know how to survive in a down economy? Look in the Warehouse! 

FREE Webinar…….Wednesday, June 17
1pm CT / 11am PT

In this “FREE” webinar, Rene’ Jones can show you the financial impact of your warehouse on your organization. No matter what the current economic situation! The ultimate success or failure of your organization is dependent on your warehouse. Your warehouse must be able to deliver what your customers want, when they want it and at a competitive price. Your warehouses ability or inability to do that, wins and losses more business than your sales people could ever imagine.  

However, it is management’s failure to understand the financial impact of the warehouse, on the organization as a whole, which causes the sales staff to overpromise and the warehouse to underperform. And because of this lack of appreciation your warehouse is eating your customers, while your profit and market share are being eroded. Specifically, Jones can show your company how to:

• Identify inefficiencies in your picking process,
• Successfully challenge your outdated stocking methodologies that limit warehousing success,
• Uncover the “Real” reasons product is lost hours after it is received,
• Understand the “True” capabilities of your warehouse.

Join us NOW! The insights from this seminar can have a dramatic impact on your future performance.The first 50 people to register will receive a “Free” copy of the popular book…. “This Place Sucks! What your warehouse employees think about your company and how to change their perceptions!”

Register by clicking the following link….

https://www311.livemeeting.com/lrs/0000012644/Registration.aspx?pageName=x0v1ddh7d8575btn

Warehouse Christmas Carol 

It was the night before Christmas, when all through the warehouse, Not a forklift was stirring, not even a mouse;  

There were no stockings hung, only safety signs that read, Pedestrians beware, or you could end up dead;  

As I looked around I noticed, the inventory was not nestled where it was supposed to be, The warehouse was out of space and all the world could see;  

The supervisor in his ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled down and told me, the consultant, “he was sick of this crap;” 

Inaccurate inventory, not enough space, Constant employee turnover, a pile of returns, He took a deep breath, and then put his hands on his face; 

How did we get here, he asked, what are we doing wrong,How will we catch up with receiving, I thought to myself, “This is the same tired song;” 

Next comes the dreams of a Warehouse Management System, to save us next year, But it never comes, because a lack of ROI is what the executives fear; 

I tell him the lack of ROI is not because of the software, But because few organizations address their problems,Before implementing a solution that big, They merely end up putting clean clothes on dirty kid; 

He says, nothing ever changes and wonders if we will be able to keep our sanity, How many more customers will we lose and blame on the economy; 

What will we do when the customer on the phone asks, “Are you sure you have that in stock,”Smile like always and say, “Can you hold while I check my receiving dock;” 

Just then the CEO enters and asks how is it going, The supervisor smiles and says, “Its going, as you can see its going;” 

The CEO then tells of a simpler time when customers weren’t so demanding, When inventory levels were low and all he thought about was expanding; 

Well expand we have done, with a warehouse bursting at the seams, But is the warehouse too small he asks, or do I need to speak with the Purchasing team; 

The supervisor responds no I think we will be okay, We just need to catch up on the receiving that came in the other day;  

Well we definitely need to get those receivers entered so we can close out this year, So do what you can, to make it disappear; 

As he began to stroll away, down the aisle, he stepped over numerous piles of inventory, He then turned and said, “Merry Christmas you two,” and that is the end of Warehouse Christmas story.  

And I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy (Prosperous) New Year. 

Rene’ Jones is founder of Total Logistics Solutions, Inc., a national logistics and supply chain consulting organization that focuses on improving your warehouse operations. Rene’ is the author of the acclaimed book, “This Place Sucks (What your warehouse employees think about your company and how to change their perceptions!)” and the book “WMS 101 (Selecting, Implementing and Maintaining a Warehouse Management System”. To learn how TLS can help your organization send an email to info@logisticsociety.com or visit the company’s website www.logisticsociety.com

There once was a company who made a lot of shipping errors. Customers were beginning to get really upset and started threatening to take their business elsewhere. After thinking long and hard about what to do, the owner decided to give each department a bag of nails and he told the supervisor of each respective department, “Every time an order was shipped wrong, the person who made the error must hammer a nail into the back fence”.  The first day, the warehouse had driven 16 nails into the fence, customer service had driven 20 nails into the fence and purchasing only had to drive 7 nails into the fence. Totaling 43 nails the first day alone, and after only a week they could not believe how many nails had been driven into the fence.

Over the next few months, as the company began to improve things got a lot better and the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. People began to discover it was easier to pay closer attention to the customer’s order than to make the dreaded walk to the back of the building and drive those nails into the fence.

Finally, the day came when there weren’t any mistakes at all. The respective managers told the owner and he suggested, “Wait a week and see how each of your departments continue to do.” By the end of the second week without a mistake, the owner suggested each department now pull out one nail for each mistake free day.

The days passed and managers were finally able to tell the owner that all the nails were gone. The owner then called an emergency meeting with the entire company in the back by the fence. He said, “You have done well, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When we ship an order wrong, can’t find the inventory promised to a customer or don’t deliver their order when promised, it leaves a scar just like this one. And he pointed to the holes in the fence. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It eventually won’t matter how many times you say ‘I’m sorry,’ the wound will still be there. Our customers spend their hard earned money with us, because we have promised two simple things. That we will deliver what they want, when they need it. If we don’t do that it is like driving a nail into their account. And a customer will only take being hurt so many times until they begin giving their business to our competitors. And it is virtually impossible to get a customer back once they are gone.”

How many nails would your fence have?

Rene’ Jones is the founder of Total Logistics Solutions, Inc. (www.logisticsociety.com <http://www.logisticsociety.com/> ). Rene’ is a published author and industry speaker, his recent articles and workshops have focused on improving warehouse distribution operations. You may contact Mr. Jones at (888) 807-0958 ext. 709 or via email at rene.jones@logisticsociety.com.

As a distribution professional, you have several key performance indicators you are always aware of. The operations and fulfillment field includes many KPIs–quantifiable measurements that reflect the success factors of an organization.

But which warehouse KPIs are in your “Fav Five?” Here are mine, in descending order.

5. Returns processed
By this I mean returns processed as a result of incorrect product being shipped, or that the warehouse made a mistake. If you do not accurately track this metric, how do you know the effectiveness of your warehouse staff? You don’t!

4. Inventory movement
When was the last time you took a long, hard look at where your product is located within your warehouse? Most organizations don’t do this regularly—and they should. Did you know that 20% of your product is picked for 80% of your orders? And 55% of your pickers’ and receivers’ time is spent traveling to and from your locations? That’s why this metric is on my list.

3. Employee turnover
From recent studies, 40% of employees polled said they were actively looking to change jobs. The average employee will be with your organization for four years or less. A warehouse employee will leave your company for less than 50 cents more an hour–less than $4 more a day. How do you reduce turnover? That’s a whole other article, but keep in mind that “employees don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers.”

2. Inventory accuracy
If your pickers and receivers spend 55% of their time traveling to and from your locations, and the product is wrong when they get there, what does that do to the productivity in your warehouse? Several things—all of them bad. For one, it prevents receiving from being received and put away the day it arrives. It also means that returns may not be processed for weeks, and that orders will not be shipped 100% on-time. It can even prevent your warehouse from being cleaned. When it comes to inventory accuracy, your KPI cannot be based on the results of your annual physical. The value of your inventory can be as high as 20% of your annual sales revenue. If this metric isn’t in your Fav-Five, what you are measuring is irrelevant.

1. Profitability
There are a lot of things organizations measure, but let’s face it, the most important metric we all track is profitability. Without profit there will be no cash to grow. We all know we measure what we value. And that is why we place such an emphasis on sales metrics. Now that you have my distribution center Fav-Five, it’s time to think about your own. I’ll leave you with one more thought: In a rising tide, no one notices the rocks on the bottom of the river. But when the water recedes and the rocks begin tearing up the bottom of the boat, everyone wants to know how those rocks got there. By then, it’s too late. The water is definitely receding—are there rocks under your boat?

Rene’ Jones is the founder of Total Logistics Solutions, Inc. (www.logisticsociety.com) which as recently named, “One of the top 100 Supply Chain and Logistics Providers for 2007”. Rene’ is the author of the acclaimed book, “This Place Sucks (What your warehouse employees think about your company and how to change their perceptions!”). He can be reached at info@logisticsociety.com or www.logisticsociety.com