DC Velocity - May 2017

YOU CAN’ T MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IF YOU DON’T KNO W WHERE
you are. That’s the reason for metrics. Distribution centers measure per-
formance to help them identify what incremental changes they can make
to improve operations, boost efficiency, and drive down costs.

Each year, DC VELOCITY teams up with the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) to look at how metrics are being used within distribution centers. This is the 14th year for this partnership, and once more, our crack research team uncovered some very interesting results (see our infographic on pp. 56–57).

Take the respondent pool, for instance. For the first time in our sur-
vey’s history, retailers made up the largest share of the respondent base,
Picking and packing e-commerce orders requires a
lot of labor, and labor is the biggest line item in most
DC budgets. It’s no surprise, then, that our study
showed that companies are increasingly measuring the
impact of labor on their operations. For the first time
in our survey’s history, four employee-focused metrics
have cracked the list of “Top 12 most commonly used
DC metrics.” Furthermore, 62 percent of respondents
ranked people as being of primary importance. To quote the study, “In
an age where process improvement and technological advancement take
almost every headline, our findings suggest that people are still the criti-
cal link that keeps the supply chain running.”
The study also shows that companies that focus on people invest more
time in their employees and maintain a higher percentage of full-time
workers, resulting in better performance and lower turnover. They also
make better hiring decisions. “They are more interested in the future
potential of their candidates than they are in the short-term gains,” the
report says.

These companies typically provide more training for existing employees and are more likely to empower workers to make decisions. They trust their employees and reap the benefits. The findings show that companies that put their people first achieve better performance results than companies that place primary importance on processes or technology.

The full survey results, which will include performance and bench-
marking data, will be available after the annual WERC conference in
Fort Worth, Texas. To obtain a copy of the report, go to www.werc.org.

bigpicture

Chief Editor
David Maloney
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