KEP Strategy Is In Vogue
In times gone by, the occasional customer request for special services was not a rule of the game. It used to be processed off-line as one of case, an exception. Warehouses used to always strive for on time delivery. The focus was primarily on maintaining high throughput and order accuracy. This is no longer true since customer delight is the only mantra for success. In today's quick response environment, while throughput and order accuracy are still important, the key competitive factors now are flexibility and agility to quickly and efficiently adjust system operations to changing order profiles, while providing customized order processing and palletizing services - all within a small shipping window.
Let us scratch our grey cells and recapitulate that big ticket investments like replacing the MHE or WMS need a careful evaluation of TEAR factors to assess the ROI. In one of my recent blogs I had mentioned these factors. They are presented below once again for ready reference.
- Training: The WMS/WCS should be configured and designed in such a way that it crosses the demographic boundary. The screens should be easy to navigate and use and only relevant information is displayed for each user based on his role. It is important to understand that a warehouse comprises operators of all age groups, therefore it important to have systems that are user friendly. They should be appealing and not appalling.
- Efficiency: The WMS/WCS should be configured and designed in such a way that it enhances the efficiency of operations. This translates to increased pick rates (picks per hour) and fewer user touches per picks. WMS/WCS often replace the batch pick methods with dynamic picking opportunities. This not only enhances the efficiency but also increases the reporting accuracy to the ERP under consideration.
- Accuracy: This is vital in terms of fulfilling customer orders. Customers have unique remaining shelf life requirements that WMS/WCS can help achieve. WMS/WCS ensure that FIFO oldest components and oldest lots are picked before newer ones to insure product shelf life and eliminate fragmentation.
- Responsiveness: WMS/WCS reduce the amount of manual effort involved in the warehouse. This in turn in turn implies shorted delays. Since the work orders are assigned automatically the instant that they arrive from the ERP, they are picked within minutes instead of longer durations.
So what is the right time to replace the age old systems? What is that tipping point, to accept the moment of truth? A meticulously thought of evaluation criteria needs to be established. Some of the obvious variables that need to be measured and assessed are:
- Initial System Investment
- Throughput achieved by new system
- Maintenance Issues and Uptime with the new system
Replacement strategy is always associated with a risk. Organizations today also look at getting the best of both worlds wherein integrating new automated order fulfillment processes with existing receiving and shipping operations provides the desired flexibility and agility going forward. It may sometimes prove to be a healthy marriage. So what is the most logical sequence when it comes to strategizing? When considering the options of keep, replace or enhancing MHE and WMS, the most suitable sequence should be keep, enhance, and replace (KEP). What would you keep in KEP?
