DC Velocity - March 2016

BY BEN AMES, SENIOR EDITOR

LABOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

technologyreview

FACED WITH SWIFTLY CHANGING BUSINESS CONDITIONS, LOGISTICS PROFESSIONALS are finding creative new uses for their labor management systems (LMS), in addition to their core application of tracking labor performance in order to identify workers in need of remedial training and offer bonus incentives to high-performers.

Under pressure from economic trends such as omnichannel fulfillment, demand for next-day shipping, and warehouse labor shortages, companies are using data generated by their LMS to help solve a wide array of logistics challenges. Today’s LMS platforms allow DC supervisors to quickly adjust to changing market conditions, provide real-time feedback and coaching to employees, and boost efficiency in smaller facilities and retail stores.

Although the specifics will vary from one operation to the next, all of these applications can save users time and money. What follows are five ways companies are wringing extra value from their labor management systems:

1To provide mobility for managers. “LMS platforms have come a long way in the last five to 10 years,” says Bradley Gillette, director of supply chain excellence at Ryder System Inc., the Miami-based third-party logistics service provider. Ryder works with a variety of LMS systems in its operations, including commercial and in-house platforms on both its own and its clients’ networks.

One of the most visible of those changes is mobility, Gillette says. Software developers now offer labor management systems that can run on mobile computing platforms, such as tablets and smart-phones. This allows warehouse supervisors to walk the floors of their facilities and provide on-the-spot coaching to their workers, instead of sitting alone at their desks pulling clerical reports, he says.

Coaching workers based on real-time feedback can help boost efficiency and safety, improve teamwork, and enhance training efforts. Access to LMS data also allows warehouse managers to adapt to new work flows, such as the addition of tasks like each-picking, light assembly, returns, or kitting.