Our production, kitting, and packaging team at our public warehouse World Park One operated at over 100% efficiency optimization last week. How is running at 160% yes 160% efficiency even possible? Especially during the busy holiday shipping season? Well, let’s break it down.
Our Operations Business Manager, Liz runs time studies on various customer kitting and packaging projects using general cycle time formulas, which can be used to calculate the time needed from receiving the product from the bins to having it “ship ready.” In addition to performing time formulas, here are some other ways our team stays productive:
Our production team has optimized the floor to make it simpler for employees to locate all parts in one place, which ultimately boosts worker efficiency and productivity.
We print shipping labels beforehand, which cuts out the need to weigh and label individual items at the time of shipping.
There are particular techniques and sequences we use to ensure that profitability is not consumed by poor planning. First, pick each case and pallet in separate zones by separate individuals for fast parallel picks. Second, combine a set of picks into one wave set with options to auto-ship or move to packaging with secondary quality assurance checks. Third, license plates are automatically assigned during picks for optimal staging, kitting, packaging, shipping, and site transfer receipts. Fourth, institute a short pick, unpick canceled orders or partially staged picks with a hold status. Fifth, order picks with routes are automatically distributed in the reverse stop order. Seventh, we review FIFO (First In, First Out), FEFO (First Expired, First Out), primary pick, or hybrid models.
The pandemic has accelerated eCommerce growth in the US this year, with online sales reaching a level not previously expected until 2022. Not to mention the shipping delays, this eCommerce volume is producing. That’s why it’s critical for our teams to be operating at the highest efficiency levels, to ensure our customers’ products are getting to the consumer on-time and mistake-free.
Warehouse kitting is a simple but effective order fulfillment strategy that can save your business time and money! Please contact our fulfillment experts with any questions. We are happy to consult with you on how to provide a kitting solution to meet your specific needs.
