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IWLA_IL_½ page DCV ads.indd 3 4/22/14 9: 34 PM
engineer would study how the best workers performed an
activity. Today, any logistics manager with a digital cam-corder at his or her disposal can record workers as they
go about their daily tasks, says consultant Steve Mulaik,
a partner in The Progress Group. Afterward, the manager
could study the videos to determine the best methods for
carrying out each task.
Clips of the best methods can then be compiled into a
video that can be used to train new workers. Instead of
letting new hires figure out for themselves the best way
to perform a task, the videos can show them how the best
workers do it, according to Mulaik.
4Put a stop to “inventory safaris.” Companies often store multiple stock-keeping units (SKUs) in a single bin location to save on space. However, that doesn’t
necessarily promote efficient picking. Instead, it can result
in what consultant Marc Wulfraat calls “inventory safaris,”
where workers are forced to spend valuable time sorting
through all the products stored in that location to find
the desired item. “This may sound trivial,” says Wulfraat,
who is president of MWVPL International Inc., “but many
companies still mix multiple SKUs together in the same
bin location, and this can easily introduce five minutes to
a pick task.”
The solution is for companies to set up discrete bin loca-
tions sized appropriately for the majority of their products,
so that each item can be stored separately. Then, it’s a
matter of setting inventory business rules in the warehouse
management system (WMS) to ensure individual items are
assigned their own bin locations, Wulfraat says. “A pick
transaction should always be performed as fast as possible,”
he says, “and searching is an unnecessary evil that can easily
be eliminated.”
5Pay temps on a cost-per-unit basis. When DCs need extra hands, they generally turn to staffing firms for temporary help. Trouble is, they don’t always get the
most for their money. While the DC generally pays the
same hourly rate for temporary help as it does for full-time
workers, the temporary workers often perform only half
as effectively as their full-time counterparts, according to
Mulaik.
That’s why Mulaik recommends that DCs arrange to pay
temporary workers on a “cost per unit” basis rather than an
hourly rate. “You don’t pay the staffing firm by the hour.
You pay them by the unit worked—for example, every unit
picked,” he explains. “This puts a much larger burden on
the staffing firm to find people who will show up, learn the
job quickly, and generate solid productivity faster.” N
