DC Velocity - January 2012

Don’t sit back in 2012 – Boost Profitability
through Lean Process Improvements

Lean Process Improvements – Automation Enhanced Reduce labor, boost productivity and increase profitability throughout your supply chain and distribution operation. Numina Group’s 25 years of application know-how and expertise deploying mission critical WCS are the keys to the success of order fulfillment and distribution process improvements with documented ROI.

With the economy showing life in 2011 and continuing to spring back in 2012, this is the year to focus on process improvements and technology updates to streamline the order fulfillment process. The highest productivity and profitability gains in pick, pack, and ship improvements result when the process is streamlined using a synergistic integrated design plan. Numina Group calls this approach Lean Process Improvement- Automation Enhanced.

What’s more lean than combining pick, pack, and ship into a single continuous process? A holistic design that evaluates all elements of the process produces the best results. First step is evaluating and improving; slotting, ergonomics, reducing touches, pick methods, and travel path optimization. Second step is assessing the right automation technologies that magnify the performance of the lean process. The combination of lean process - automation enhanced; yields far higher gains in operational productivity across the entire order fulfillment process.

Multi-modal voice combines hands-free pick - pack validation in a single step, eliminating the vast majority of secondary order checking at packing. Voice directed picking provides the ability to pick direct to the shipping carton, allowing the use of semi or fully automatic packaging technology; auto insert void fill, shipping documentation, sealing, and print and apply labeling to automate shipping and manifesting.

Lean automated design lowers your investment in conveyor and complex material handling equipment, and saves space by operating in a smaller footprint or facility. Lean process improvements result in improved ergonomics, lower labor costs and travel time; with productivity gains of 30% or more and accuracies above 99.9%. Results; faster ROI compared to complex automated material handling systems.

Make 2012 the year for implementing lean process improvements - automation enhanced processes. Reduce labor, improve accuracy, and realize a faster order delivery window leading to higher operational profitability and improved customer satisfaction- sweet music to your CFO and CEO.