We have prepared a number of cases studies which illustrate some of the ideas that have been developed to assist clients internally and externally, which have had a considerable impact on the operations and profitability of the respective businesses.
Names and references have been excluded to protect confidentiality.
1. Consolidation equipment
Equipment built to consolidate cases of extrusions to reduce handling and damage in transit.
A factory specialising in the manufacture of extruded aluminium had levels of transit damage which were unacceptable even though they were packaged in wooden, aluminium or plastics crates.
The creates were handled a minimum of 6 times and up to 10 times including sorting, before being line-hauled and delivered to customers around the country. Internal packaging was good, but because of the different shapes and lengths of the extrusions, internal movement within the crates was unavoidable.
In an attempt to reduce the number handlings, we developed an aluminium or steel base 6 metres ling and 2.3m metres wide upon which the creates could be stacked, secured and sorted according to region. The crates were strapped to the bases by load binders and the bases were strapped to the deck of the line-haul unit.
The country was divided into regions to which the company line-haul vehicles travelled each night, and the bases were employed where volumes each night justified their use. The bases were line-hauled as units to the destination region’s depot, the crates were unloaded, then delivered to each customer.
The empty bases were returned to the originating depot that night.
By introducing the bases, at least 4 handlings of the crates was removed over the whole journey, and significant reductions in transit damage were reported as a result.
2. An example of smarter logistics
Creating a moveable bunded area within a general warehouse to provide secondary containment of liquid Dangerous Goods.
In a large warehousing operation there was requirement to create a bunded facility for secondary containment of a range of Class 6 and 8 chemicals to be stored in bottles, carboys and drums.
A series of concrete beams were built to form the perimeter of the bund within the main 9400 square metre warehouse, within which racking was erected. The bunded area was designed so that forklift access to the racking was available. A ramp was built in one corner of the bund with a drop-in barrier over the ramp erected to prevent spillage from occurring around the ramp.
The beams were bonded to the floor to prevent leakage in the event of a spill, and if at some future point in time the containment system was not required, the whole structure could be dismantled.
When the entire facility was being inspected for a prestigious NZ Chemical industry certification, the final report commented on the innovative design and cited it as an example of best practise.
3.Improving storage systems and inventory accuracy
Providing protection and accurate locations systems for small sized SKUs in a large general warehouse.
A multinational company had decided to contract out its NZ operation to a 3PL service provider.
A significant number of the SKUs were very small and were stored on the ground floor under a mezzanine floor system. The shelving was not protected and the conditions of the items was not good as well as being poorly identified from a location perspective.
The 3PL operator was persuaded to purchase a number of cupboards with 5-6 shelves per side to hold these materials.
The shelves and cupboards were individually numbered and set up in the WMS (Warehouse Management System) and provided a clean environment for the smaller SKUs in the range.
In addition inventory accuracy rose significantly and became a key contributing factor to the client’s satisfaction levels being built and retained over a long period.
4. Product picking and placement for efficient picking
Multiple picking techniques employed to reduce travel distances, and providing a transit storage area for reduced journeys for picking.
An office products company had decided to contract out its operations to a 3PL operator.
a). The order profile of the business was such that there were a large proportion of the daily orders which were single or at best 2-3 lines.
The 3PL changed the WMS to permit bulk picking of manually selected orders so that 5 orders at a time could be picked rather than as single discrete orders.
Productivity improved markedly and the process provided a useful additional double check at the picking point stage then prior to packing and despatch.
b). One bulk SKU which represented the largest proportion of the volume was stored remotely from the packing and despatch area due to a number of factors.
A decision was made to locate closest to the packing and despatch area, enough stock in bulk form so that orders could be picked quickly and more efficiently.
The bulk product was replenished in full pallet form then picked as individual cartons as required, reducing significantly the time and resources compared with the previous method of picking at the bulk stock face.
