Logistics processes and daily operations

Virtually every logistics organisation knows them: damaged racking in the same location, delays that occur around the same time every week, discussions between departments about exactly the same topic. These problems are rarely ignored, on the contrary, people often work hard to solve them. And that is exactly where the danger lies: an organisation can become so good at solving problems that nobody asks any more why they keep returning.

Below are the questions I get asked most often about this, followed by all articles on the topic.

Where do I lose time and money in my logistics operation?

Dashboards alone rarely tell that story. Recurring problems are rarely recorded, precisely because they keep getting solved by employees jumping in and planners shuffling work around. That keeps the operation running, but also keeps the structural cost invisible.

See why some warehouses keep solving the same problems over and over, why temporary solutions are rarely temporary and why companies often pay too much attention to exceptions.

How do I increase productivity without immediately adding more people?

When pressure increases, extra capacity is the most obvious response. But an operation in which every department performs well individually is not automatically an operation that performs well as a whole. The biggest gains often lie in the handover between departments, not within the departments themselves.

Inbound, inventory and dispatch can each function fine on their own, and still together form a sluggish operation. Read why good departments can still form a poor operation together and why process optimisation often starts somewhere other than people think.

Which parts do I improve or automate first?

Not every process is a good candidate for automation. This is what I look at first.

The shop floor often knows where things go wrong before the system that measures it does. See why employees often know what is going wrong before management does and why practice always beats the process.

What does a process change actually deliver?

Without a baseline measurement, there is no way afterwards to establish whether an improvement actually delivered anything, however good it sounds on paper. So before making a change, record what genuinely matters: lead time, error rate, utilisation or cost per action.

The same applies to advice itself. See what a logistics consultant costs and what makes an independent logistics consultant different, precisely because independent advice isn't driven by an interest in a particular solution.

How do I set up my operation for growth without repeatedly investing?

By designing processes so the assumptions behind them don't collapse immediately at higher volumes, and by not letting knowledge depend on one person. Customer contracts often have a limited term, but the operation still needs to stand after that.

See how you invest for the long term when customers can leave tomorrow and why your best employee can sometimes be your biggest risk. Want to know first where your operation stands today? The free Warehouse Performance Check gives an initial picture in fifteen questions.