Put your layout, inventory onhand info to good use

In our previous blog, we described new visual technologies to improve your DC operations and its productivity.

We showed you this graphics image below.

Key benefits of this 3D model graphics to you and others in your DC organization

1.  make it easier to visualize your DC.

Besides the Warehouse Manager, Supervisor, Inventory analyst, share the same information visually with your Buyers, Re-buyers, merchandisers.

You as a DC manager are only responsible for the cost of the DC operations and its productivity.

Unfortunately, you have no direct say in how they are purchased, how they are ordered by the customers etc.

You allow everyone to see the Item catalog list etc.  Why not show them, the current on-hand info visually. It may change their re-order process, promotional set-ups etc.

2.  What do we need to create a similar 3D graphics for your warehouse(s).

we need your layout drawings, plan views, elevations and 3 data-bases.

Data Bases:   (1) Item Master  (2) Order pick data  (3) current on-hand inventory in all slots

This link below has full details.

https://sites.google.com/site/bringyourdcforatuneup/data-required

3.  How long will it take to make these graphics and the process for your DC?

may take between 1 week to 4 weeks; based on your DC's complexity and your needs.

4.  How much will it cost?

To make cost estimates, please send a layout drawing of your DC and answers to the 3 questions below

    4.1  Size of your DC in sq.feet or sq.meters

    4.2  Number of active SKU's slotted in the DC

    4.3  Number of warehouse staff (without admin. and clerical support staff)

5.  WiFi or No WiFi

Do you have a WiFi environment inside the DC?

     This helps to mount IPad's (and other Tablets) to be mounted on Forklifts or displayed at other places.  If you have only a Wired environment, fine, you can use it in desktop PC environments.

6.  IPad's and other Tablets.

There are many APPS that allow your Ipad to connect to a Windows-based PC's.

One well-known APP is called "LogMeIn".

You may be in-charge of a facility in El Segundo (Los Angeles Calif) and on a visit to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. Thanks to LogMeIn and your IPad, you will remain connected.

On WiFi environments, we suggest a every-5-minute refresh of the data.

7.  So far, this is just the basics.  We have not talked about Profiling, Best-Fit layouts for both bulk storage and pallet rack, HITS analysis, design forward pick slots to minimize travel incurred in picking and replenishment.

8.  We have not talked about - how we will keep your DC at its best, with our low cost weekly slotting service.

Few more 3D graphics for you to enjoy.

Hits analysis - which items are moving

a close-up view with ITEM and SLOT details

Seen on a IPad screen

Our weekly slotting service

Contact:

ram.krishnan@karma-logistics-inc.com

A 'live' view of your warehouse on your PC, Laptop, IPad

    Imagine a live 3D view of your DC showing actual ITEMS, their onhand in formation.

    Imagine this information in the hands of your inbound putaway forklift drivers

    Imagine this information in the hands of your replenishment forklift drivers

  Imagine no more.

  Karma Logistics Inc, wants you to be the first to learn about this graphical technology.

  We can prepare these 3D models for your warehouse now.

  Plus, we can also tell you, how well you are using your Cube in the DC

  Plus, for your given inventory and the current layout, what is the BEST combination of slot heights.

  Watch this space next week for all the details.   

We know how to fix our DC's but we are 'boxed in" with no way out

Dear fellow warehouse practitioners,

We start this edition of our BLOG with a set of 4 questions.
DC stands for Distribution Center.

Please, answer the following 4 questions.

1. My DC is boxed-in with poor slotting, poor labor productivity
a. Yes
b. No

2. We know how to improve our performance. We don’t need any outside help.
a. Yes
b. No

3. But we cannot do anything, because we are in a jam.
a. Yes
b. No

4. We do not have any funding to make large scale layout changes
a. Yes
b. No

Just in case, you have answered “YES” to all the 4 questions,  join the vast majority of DC’s across the Logistics World that share your feelings.

We all know that a good layout and slotting cuts down travel time and increases productivity.

Where do we go now for more improvement? How can we improve our performance with ZERO capital funds available? We are assuming that you have some ‘operating funds” available

Do you have slotting situations like the 2 above pictures in your DC?
Picture on the left: an extreme case of bad slotting.
Picture on the right: Innovative use of reserve storage. Putting 3 small pallets one on top of the other.

In this graphic, the green color represents the CROSS BEAM.  The most common length of this cross beam is 96” and the vertical thickness is usually around 4” to 6” (in the US). But you can buy these cross beams in any length and thickness you want.

We will be discussing the rest of this article about these cross-beams and how they influence the vertical height of the slot (and the total cube of the slot).

When the DC was first constructed or when it was last remodeled, the location of these cross beams were assigned.

Flexible versus Optimum – which is better?

Designing Flexibility in a design comes with a cost. The rack design shown above [left most] is a Flexible design. You are able to fit a wide variety of products. Often such a slotting scheme will maintain a clearance of 60” in each level. But, you get only 3 levels.

Optimum design 

The rack design shown above [right most] can be considered as an efficient design, tailored to the needs of the current inventory. It has 7 levels. Compared to just 3 levels in the Flexible design.

Which is better?

We don’t know. We must examine different options and actually fit the existing inventory. Is that the design shown in the middle.

Karma Logistics is introducing a new technique to find the Best-fit slot openings for your DC and at the same time, maintain a degree of flexibility.  If you are interested in improving your cube efficiency and hence the picking productivity, please contact us.

Where do we start?

We first analyse your current slot openings.

Our analysis will prepare a list of all the slot openings you have. And this will be compared against the correct number and types of slot openings we need.

As we prepare the slot moves and the slot adjustments, we will emphasize FAST MOVERS located in a bad area plus slotted in a wrong slot size. But before that, we will work on your SLOW ITEMS occupying PREMIUM SLOTS. We will first move the SLOW movers. This will create empty slots. We then look at FAST movers and move them to the SLOTS of the correct size in the premium locations.

Before we conclude this BLOG, we want to restate an old axiom for DC's.

The picture below is an attempt to show a DC made up of ICE BLOCKS. Instead of having real products, pretend that they are all made up of similar sized ice blocks.

[See picture below]

Now pretend that it is a hot day in June and the outside temperature is over 90 degrees F.

And all the ice blocks have melted. And we carefully collected all the melted water and stored them over the warehouse floor.

Question:  How high will this water be, from the floor?

Answers:  1.  20 feet high.    2.   15 feet high    3.  10 feet high  4. 2 feet high   5.  11" high

The correct answer is closer to 11" high.  

Why look at CUBE efficiency?

We only pick cases. But our asset is really CUBEs.

Using the Karma Logistics technique, 

1.0  we will help you find the correct sizes and numbers of slots.

2.0  we will make sure that the available cases in the pick slots will support a certain days of sales demand.

3.0  this will reduce the number of 'mark outs' and 'partial picks'

4.0  will help organize and streamline the replenishment process

5.0  Plus of course, we will slot the item based on its movement and other characteristics.

Once we take your DC to that new and efficient configuration, we will help you maintain that high level of efficiency with a weekly slotting service.

See this link for Data Requirements and the process

https://sites.google.com/site/bringyourdcforatuneup/home

Contact:


Karma Logistics Inc
Ram.Krishnan@yahoo.com
Minnesota USA
Bangalore India

We offer a 4-point program to improve your DC facility's productivity - in space usage and product slotting. Based on our proven techniques, we have developed easy-to-install methods.

We know that most DC's were once upon a time were quite efficient and optimal. Over the years, through both internal strategic merchandising and distribution programs, that same DC is no longer efficient. To complicate matters, external changes like new competition, changes in demographics and methods of ordering, the situation has gotten worse.

In the slide below, we show the 8 most common symptoms that affect a warehouse (DC).

Spend a minute looking at the above 8 symptoms. Hope you don't conclude that we are describing your operations.

Our 4-point tune up program.

Step 1 How is the current layout?

There are hundreds of warehouse storage types. But we will speak of just 2 to make it simple.

Bulk storage :  Where pallets of products are stored directly on the floor. The verical storage is limited by the stackability of the product.

Rack storage : where each pallet of every SKU is stored on steel pallet racks. Here also, we have many, many types of racking designs and patterns.

Our discussion relates only to the layout, storage and space or cube usage.

Step 1.a  What is the problem with bulk storage?

In one word, it is called 'Honeycombing".

Products may be stored as 3-deep storage, or 4 deep etc. Unless the entire depth of 1 sku is shipped, we cannot use that space for another SKU. Based on the relative velocity, one such storage depth may take many weeks to empty out. We are forced to keep the partially empty space as empty. This is called "HoneyCombing".

The graph on the right is an estimate of space lost at various pallet depths of storage. At the higher end, if we use 12 deep storage, we can expect to lose 26% of the sq.feet of the DC size to honeycombing.

Step 1.b What is the main problem with Rack storage?

We are describing an existing warehouse rack layout.  Though we know how to examine the current layout and design a brand new layout, we don't change our layouts every week. It is not possible and does not make any practical sense. We are assuming that we are keeping the existing layout, keeping the same aisle widths, subject existing column spacing etc.

Hence, we are limited (in this discussion) to matching slot heights (cube) and product pallet heights (cube).

We look at each slot, the sku placed there, the relative velocity and determine the current cube usage. In the above bar-chart, we assess the value of each slot opening - how many slots are available versus how many slots are needed. We use this analysis to adjust slot sizes by modifying the cross beams.

Step 2.  How to find the BEST FIT for both Bulk and Rack storage.

Karma Logistics has developed field tested heuristics to analyse the customer's SKU and ORDER profiles and develop the best fit.

In the case of the Bulk storage, we find the BEST combination of pallet storage depths (to minimize the sq.feet space on the floor).

In the case of rack slots, we use heuristics to fine the best combination of slot sizes that will maximize Cube usage.

Step 3. How to get there? From your present layout to the BEST FIT layout?

We create a drawing showing how the current slots are used. In the drawing above, the colors are as follows:  RED - fast movers, BLUE - medium, YELLOW - slow movers. This is the starting point. We then create our placement groups. Each group indicates what collection of items need to be placed in which section of the layout.

The Excel report above shows 'slot moves' to change from current layout to the desired slotting. Often in the beginning for many weeks, we are moving 'slow' moving items for a prime slot to a non-prime slot. Such moves create room to place fast move items in the correct slots.

Step 4: How to keep the BEST-FIT forever?

Once we have constructed the placement groups and the 'slot move procedure' then we follow the above cycle.  (1) we download the current data from the customer's site. (2) Examine current product slotting against the slotting criteria.(3) Prioritized by HITS, we identify the most valuable slot moves, using our penalty costs. (4) customer physically implements the slot moves.

The slot moves are provided as both Excel and ASCII files. These can be uploaded to the customer's data sets.

We also provide a 3 dimensional model of your facility. This model allows you to visually monitor the moves (plus few other functions). You can use the new generation of Tablets like the IPad to view the model and product information.

Key benefits

Our application of these techniques will result in :

• Better use of the existing slots, without asking you to do a major layout change
• We will create the correct number of pick slots to support the required weekly demand.
• We will find the BEST-FIT slotting goals and help you migrate to that.
• Use your existing facility better. Delay or avoid costly capital investment.
• Improve your picking labor productivity

Testimonials

How to get started?
Send us this information:

• the sq.feet size of your warehouse
• total number of active SKU's slotted in this warehouse
• Number of warehouse staff (exclude clerical and admin)
• a plan view drawing of the warehouse
• your contact - email and telephone number

We can respond to you better once we know what your DC looks like.

When we wish to proceed with the full project, we will ask you for 3 databases. These are described in this link.   Data required  

Contact:
Ram.krishnan@yahoo.com
Senior warehouse consultant

Karma Logistics - consulting and service offering

Application of Karma Logistics techniques in different product sectors

During the last few months, we have discussed many aspects of warehousing productivity improvement techniques.  In the month of Jan 2012, we introduced our 3D technique to improve your warehouse slotting. You can scroll to the bottom of this BLOG, click on Older Posts and visit the earlier Blogs.

During this month Feb 2012, around 600 people from around the world have visited our Blog sites and many have downloaded our Demo Software showing the 3D technique. If you missed any of this and wish to see them, please email us at  Ram.krishnan@Karma-Logistics-Inc.com

Our technique

YouTube link that describes our techniques and the process;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHPV7_E8608

Note: A section of this video starting at 4:30 minutes has been intentionally blurred to protect our techniques.

In the next 5 Blogs, we propose to write project case histories. These will describe how we applied our techniques, describe the type of warehouse, size, type of layout and storage, the pilot effort, how we rolled out the software and its application to all the DC's in the company's network.

We will mention the product and DC type, but not the actual company names.

Here are the 5 case studies.

1.0  Hospital and Nursing homes product distribution.

       DC networks in this sector may be located in major metro cities, to offer local presence and speedy delivery. Based on the customer groups, same SKU's may be slotted in a full pallet rack, a case pick section from a hand-stack rack section, picking eaches from both carton flow racks and bin shelves.  After full installation at all DC's over a few years period in a Company in this sector, they increased picking productivity by 35%.

2.0  Paper, tissue, napkins etc sector

        Paper manufactures require lot of water. Hence, most of the companies in this sector are located next to large lakes, rivers or the oceans. Each production unit is in charge of producing a certain group of items only. Typically, DC's will be located attached to the manufacturing facilities. We may have 400 to 600 sku's. But lots of on-hand pallets stored directly on the floor. The DC's size may be in the range of 450,000 to 600,000 sq.feet. The stackability of the products becomes a key factor.

       Karma Logistics has created a special iterative algorithm to find the BEST combination of product storage. DC's in this sector end up wasting space due to 'honey combing'. Since the main DC is losing space due to honeycombing, often there may be 1 or 2 smaller outside rental storage areas. This only makes matter worse. Every day, there will be a transfer truck, bringing 'picked' products from the outside rental DC's to the Main DC, merge the orders and send the shipment. We have routinely saved 10 to 15% of the space, many times closed down the outside DC's.

3.0  Electric, Lighting, Utilities etc

This sector covers a wide range of DC types. There may be just 1 or 2 large DC's in USA. Or have around 12 DC's to cover US.  Often the DC's layouts will have everything - pallet racks, carton flow racks on 2 or 3 level mezzanines, an old Carousel to house thousands of small items, some bulk storage on the floor.

We have surprised few companies in the sector with 25 to 35% savings by reslotting the products.

4.0 Office Products

We developed unique Variable width slotting techniques for carton flow shelves. Plus, to avoid 'look-alike' picking errors, we introduced randomization of products to be slotted in nearby slots. Companies in this sector usually keep a DC in every large city.

5.0 Food manufacture

Companies in this group are somewhat like the Group 2 described above, except, they don't need lots of water. Hence, they can be located anywhere in the country. Decrease Honeycombing, slot products based on stackability' and maintain FIFO rotation.

We need your feedback at this time.

Of the 5 types of sectors listed above, which one do you want us to write first.

Karma Logistics