100 Blogs later… To celebrate our 100th blog posting, our subscribers picked their favorite from the Taylor resource library. View their top picks.
Annually, National Logistics Day™, on June 28th, promotes appreciation for the critical role the logistics industry plays in both our national and global economies! Personally, we think this is the greatest day ever so to honor the day of logistics here are some logistics facts about the Nation’s Most Progressive Family Owned Logistics Company.
Nearly 1 in 10 will be in an accident
85 of the accidents will be fatal
Over 34,000 serious injuries
Keep Your Team Safe
Make sure your load is balanced
Take it easy on the coroner
Drive nice and slow
Keep Your load as low as possible
Drive only in approved areas
Obstructions: Ensure the floor is clear of debris, overhead impediments are removed, and nearby objects are removed from the operating area.
Safety Items: early warning systems like horns, alarms, and lights should be fully operational.
Harnesses: Ensure the seatbelt of other restraint mechanisms are intact.
Brakes: Test the parking brake, regular brakes, and other stopping systems.
Cargo Handling: Make sure the forks, left mechanism, title function, and other related functions are performing error-free.
Cockpit Controls: Ensure that there are no steering or control panel issues.
Most Improved- Anthony Watts Jr.
Picking- Forrest Mitchell & Donnie Clark
Putaway- Mike Berry
Receiving- Justin Rundel
Loading- Anthony Watts Jr.
Safety Award- Forrest Mitchell
Learn more about Taylor’s warehouse award system
Operating a fleet is a complicated and time-consuming task. From hiring drivers to managing routes, payroll, insurance, vehicle maintenance costs, safety compliance, taxes, and more – it can easily interfere with your core business operations. However, there is a solution for your transportation needs—a dedicated fleet. Dedicated fleet services came into existence with a simple concept – give customers an optimized transportation service and sales channel that fits into their organizational structure like a brick in a wall.
Dedicated fleet services, also known as dedicated transportation, are services commonly offered by third-party logistics companies. A dedicated transportation team provides a company with guaranteed capacity, supply chain control, and visibility of the entire operation. In short, the company has complete control, along with the ability to brand trucks and add revenue by shipping goods for other companies when allowed. A dedicated fleet is a service that is ideal for anyone with a regular shipment to complete. Below are some of the most often-sighted reasons for choosing dedicated transportation.
Whether you need just-in-time delivery or hot-shot service, if you choose dedicated transportation services, you can rely on the fleet to always be available for your scheduled delivery. Your 3PL will ensure the specialist equipment you need for this delivery is reserved for your recurring shipment.
Using a dedicated fleet allows shippers to continually move freight on the same routes, which helps build a steady flow of inbound and outbound shipments. Whether moving freight on local, regional, or long-haul routes, shippers can stage loads to customers or to other locations, which frees up warehouse space, making for a more effective supply chain.
Shippers who choose dedicated trucking also see more consistent pricing. Many carriers offer lower rates for dedicated shipping due to the predictability of the shipments, the routes, and the backhaul assistance programs in place to decrease empty miles.
The world is ever-evolving, and as the transportation industry changes to meet demand, it’s crucial to be prepared for possible challenges. By partnering with a third-party logistics company like Taylor and implementing a dedicated fleet, you’ll benefit from their expertise and resources that can further improve efficiencies and savings and drive the future of your company.
Talk to Taylor today for information on dedicated transportation or dedicated fleet services, warehousing, drayage, and freight brokerage services, etc.
Our current coronavirus-world has turned food and beverage supply chains on their heads, highlighting the importance of supply chain visibility and communication. The aisles and aisles of empty supermarket shelves give the appearance that the United States, improbably and alarmingly, is running out of food. However, some of the nation’s largest retailers, dairy farmers and meat producers say that isn’t so. The food supply chain, they say, remains intact and has been ramping up to meet the unprecedented stockpiling brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. To keep products fresh, on shelves, and at peak quality, there needs to be excellent communication among food and beverage supply chain partners.
Unlike other industries, the food and beverage industry face unique challenges with their shipping, such as:
Deliveries needed before expiration dates
items needing temperature-control,
Some items require extra-careful handling
These are just some obstacles you have to face when shipping food products. These challenges closely connect the food manufacturing industry with logistics and transportation partners.
With freight transportation, communication begins right from the start. Not all freight travels the same, so setting expectations is the best way to get started. Additionally, having a partner who understands the challenges of shipping your products will prove to be beneficial. Due to this, many food and beverage companies choose to outsource their logistics with a third-party logistics company.
3PLs have experience quickly solving complex freight solutions every day. You can feel relief when working with a 3PL to arrange your freight transportation. 3PLs have a vetted carrier network with experience in transporting food products and many modes to offer you shipping solutions. You can gain the use of their cutting-edge technology to track your freight.
If you are looking for an all-around solution to your problem of communication in your supply chain, a transportation management system (TMS) could be your answer. A TMS can help act as a communication hub for all partners in your supply chain. You can gain end-to-end visibility by working in one place, rather than across various sources.
All relationships need open communication to work well. That is no different for supply chain partners in food and beverage. Each partner in the supply chain should keep in contact as needed to provide full visibility and keep everyone in the loop. This can prevent damaged products, recalls, extra costs, and frustration.
We are more than a logistics advisor; we are an extension of your team here to help you through every step of the supply chain. From SQF certified food grade warehousing to a full transportation team we have altered out business to offer all logistics needs. Learn more here.
Taylor would like to congratulate the March 2020 monthly warehouse award winners from our team in Bellevue, NE. These awards are given based on productivity and QA points. Congrats to all!
As always, we are continuing to put the health and safety of all employees at the forefront of operations.
Most Improved- Forrest Mitchell
Picking- Forrest Mitchell & Mike Berry
Putaway- Freddy Marquez
Receiving- Roger Cozad
Loading- Nate Juhl
Safety Award- Josh Mather
As a supplier or manufacturer, you may need to manage regular demand, seasonal spikes, and special promotions with strategies that allow you to meet your customer’s in-store requirements without burdening your inventory pipeline. Custom displays, created in the warehouse just before shipping, are a proven working strategy. Not only do custom displays help with your inventory pipeline, but they are an essential marketing tool for several suppliers on retail floors.
A lot of displays have come through Taylor’s facilities across a variety of industries and a wide range of customers. From temporary projects to those that are more permanent, and they range in size from large pallet and floor displays to small counter-top displays. To evolve with special project demands, Taylor has launched a new team, the ISDT team or In-Store Design Team. This newly organized unit was created to be solely designated to the operation and building of point-of-purchase (POP) display units.
Along with the creation of the ISDT, Taylor offers other unique warehousing and fulfillment capabilities. Taylor has created a non-soiled operation system comprised of top of the line logistics services for their customers. Taylor’s transportation group, in alignment with their brokerage department, can manage inbound and outbound transportation using the most efficient modes. Taylor aligns all processes with design and technology allowing them to be there for you throughout the entire process to the retailer.
Heightened Retail Visibility
Bold, Vibrant, Inviting Presence
Brand Awareness
Ready For Market
In these disruptive times, Taylor would like to acknowledge the dedication of our many employees who have been working tirelessly to keep the supply chain running. Our fleet is keeping shipments moving during the high demand; our warehouse crews and brokerage are working hard to ensure all products are getting to the customer, especially those that are essential. Operations teams, along with accounting, are making sure everything is running smoothly. Team Taylor is comprised of employees who continue to show commitment to their craft while keeping pace with the ever-changing industry standards, all while maintaining the most eminent levels of safety. These employees are truly driving commerce, making it possible for businesses to continue.
We are so thankful for the valuable contributions made by Team Taylor. Thank you for playing an essential role in keeping several industries moving and adapting to the demand.
Taylor Logistics Inc. has been continuing to monitor the unprecedented situation around COVID-19. We first want to say that Taylor remains open, and we are committed to continuing to help you, our valued customers.
Meanwhile, we are doing everything within our power to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including:
Hand washing standards are posted and visible
Restroom cleaning frequency increased
6′ of distance: No handshaking, fist-bumping, high fiving, staggered breaks
Reminders on Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
Reminders on the policy of not being sick at work
HR to point people towards our Teledoc service if their doctor is backed up
If doctors are backed up we will handle case by case or remove policy of doctor’s note
More supervisory awareness/consciousness to check for sickness of their staff and to send them home
Ensuring ever more so that our master cleaning schedule is being followed with additional sanitizing (RF guns, computers, forklifts, etc.)
All employees who can work remotely are currently working from home
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and you
CINCINNATI, OHIO—March-24, 2020 — Food Logistics, the only publication exclusively dedicated to covering the movement of product through the global food supply chain, has named Grant Taylor to its 2020 Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain award.
The Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain recognizes influential individuals in our industry whose achievements, hard work, and vision have shaped and attained milestones in safety, efficiency, productivity and innovation through the global food supply chain. From early pioneers and entrepreneurs to non-conformist thinkers and executive standouts, this award aims to honor these leaders and their contributions to our industry.
“The 2020 Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain exhibits the true rock stars of the industry, those that go the extra mile, so to speak, to ensure their company’s supply chains are being operated in an efficient, safe and transparent manner,” says Marina Mayer, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics. “These professionals are a true example as to why today’s food and beverage supply chains are in position to curtail tomorrow’s consumers’ demands, and why today’s youth should consider the supply chain and logistics industry as a possible path of employment.”
Recipients of this year’s 2020 Food Logistics Champions: Rock Stars of the Supply Chain award will be profiled in the March 2020 issue of Food Logistics, as well as online at www.foodlogistics.com.
About Food Logistics
Food Logistics is published by AC Business Media, a business-to-business media company that provides targeted content and comprehensive, integrated advertising and promotion opportunities for some of the world’s most recognized B2B brands. Its diverse portfolio serves the construction, logistics, supply chain and other industries with print, digital and custom products, events and social media.
Lean relates to reducing waste of any form in any industry. For the logistics industry, that’s the waste of materials and products, order processing, and employee time as well as loss of sales throughout the supply chain, but is there a way to apply lean principles to your home life? We promise not to turn this blog into some Pinterest lifestyle content, but a recent conversation amongst some colleagues sparked an idea. Everyone at Taylor has practiced the art of the lean business approach – and for a good reason. It helps companies decrease costs and cultivate leadership qualities in team members. After talking a bit about it, we discovered that many members of our team had implemented lean principles to life outside of Taylor. In some cases, we didn’t even realize we were doing it; lean is simply taking over.
5S is a workplace organization method common in lean companies. It is used to create and maintain an organized, clean, and safe workplace through the following five steps: sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain. What might this look like at home?
Sort: Remove clothing and other items that you don’t frequently use so that you will have easy access to the things you do enjoy.
Straighten: Keep items close to where they will be used.
Shine: Immediately clean and carefully store small appliances and cooking equipment after use.
Standardize: Have a set day for tasks like changing the sheets or vacuuming the upholstery.
Sustain: Reassess your success concerning the above regularly.
Lean doesn’t just dictate what companies do; it also tells them what not to do. Everything that doesn’t add value to the customer is considered waste and is eliminated. Consider your activities and commitments. Are there things you do out of habit or guilt that don’t enrich your life? Maybe arts and crafts with your kids will be a more valuable use of your time than your usual
Just like in professional settings, it’s a good idea to reduce the amount of work in progress you have at home. It’s critical to avoid having a dozen half-finished tasks. For example, if the dryer buzzer dings, don’t stop the task you’re working on to fold the clothes. Wait until you’ve completed that project, then move on to folding the laundry and putting it away. Again, this streamlines processes and ensures tasks are completed rather than being left half-finished.
Lean organizations look for ways to eliminate waste by identifying processes and resources that add value, those that don’t add value but are necessary under current conditions, and those that don’t add value and should be eliminated. Doing this at home can simplify your life and save you time and money. An overcrowded fridge is an example of the waste of inventory. You may let food spoil because you didn’t know it was hiding in the back. The full fridge may be due to making more food than your family can eat, or in Lean terms, overproduction. Once you have an eye toward waste reduction, you’ll likely be surprised by how much you find.
Supply & Demand Chain Executive Announces the 2020 Pros to Know
Leading B2B Publication Releases Annual List of the Supply Chain’s Top Professionals including Taylor Logistics Inc. GM of Warehousing Grant Taylor.
Fort Atkinson, WI — March 15, 2020 — Supply & Demand Chain Executive, the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, is pleased to announce the 20th annual listing of the 2020 Pros to Know in the supply chain industry.
The Pros to Know Awards recognize supply chain executives, and manufacturing and non-manufacturing enterprises, that are leading initiatives to help prepare their companies’ supply chains for the significant challenges of today’s business climate. This year’s list includes more than 200 individuals from software firms and service providers, consultancies or academia, who helped their supply chain clients or the supply chain community at large prepare to meet these challenges—and more than 40 Practitioner Pros, who do the same within their own companies.
“The supply chain profession is ever-changing, with transformative technologies and evolutionary best practices driving greater efficiencies and innovations for companies. At the heart of it all are supply chain professionals. Supply & Demand Chain Executive congratulates the 2020 Pros toKnow recipients who are setting the bar for supply chain excellence,” says John R. Yuva, editor-in-chief for Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “Whether you’re a practitioner or provider, the leaders in the profession are growing each year, with rising standards and thought leadership. Reach out to our 2020 recipients and engage with them, ask questions and seek feedback. The supply chain profession is a community with a commitment to excellence that should not be overlooked.”
Supply & Demand Chain Executive received more than 500 entries for the 2020 Pros to KnowAwards.
Check out Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s website at www.sdcexec.com for the full list of all of the 2020 Pros to Know and Practitioner Pros winners.
About Supply & Demand Chain Executive
Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer executives and supply management professionals through the complicated, yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain competitive advantage. Visit us on the web at www.SDCExec.com.
Most Improved- Tony Watts Jr.
Picking- Forrest Mitchell & Matt Marty
Putaway- Mike Berry
Receiving- Freddy Marquez
Loading- Hosea Byrd
Safety Award- Mike Berry
Learn more about Taylor’s warehouse award system by clicking the button below.
Presidents Day is observed on the third Monday in February and the holiday celebrates President George Washington’s birthday. According to the National Archives, Washington was born on Feb. 11, 1731 in Virginia, according to the Julian calendar. But the National Archives explain that in 1752, when Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, Washington’s birthday moved to Feb. 22, 1732.
Congress voted to honor the nation’s first president with a federal holiday in 1879.
Abraham Lincoln, the other most associated president with Presidents’ Day, was born just a little ways from Taylor’s Newport, KY office in Hodgenville, KY.
The two presidents most closely associated with Presidents’ Day are George Washington and Abraham Lincoln — both of whom are generally considered among the greatest presidents this country has produced. It’s a good idea to have a holiday which honors them.
Congratulations to Grant (GM Warehousing) on being selected as the Rising Leader semi-finalist for February by the Goering Center. He was selected under the category of Dynamic Business Strategy, which is one of the 10 best practices of family & private businesses – the criteria for the Rising Leaders program. Learn more about Goering Center’s Rising Leader program here: https://business.uc.edu/faculty-and-research/research-centers/goering/family-and-private-business-awards/rising-leader.html
As a company, it’s important to us to build a culture of continuous improvement from the bottom-up, empowering all team Taylor members to seek opportunities for growth continuously; it’s how we find strength within our organization. Through continuous improvement, embracing change and innovation, we become our customer’s strategic partner and their competitive advantage in supply chain performance.
Taylor employs a team of Six Sigma & LEAN certified team members to lead our continuous improvement programs. All of which provide consistency training across all departments to ensure our processes are as seamless as possible to reduce costs and save time. Some ways Taylor helps to enable processes improvement are:
Employees should not be limited to suggestions. Instead, they have the power to test and implement changes within the organization. Process changes are monitored, talked about, and measured to ensure they provide the desired outcome.
When it comes to continually improving processes on the warehouse floor and in the office, it’s the people doing the work who offer some of the best suggestions. Yes, it can be challenging to get people to question the way they have always done a particular process to make it better. That’s why we provide a comfortable work environment where all ideas are good ideas.
Nothing is more important than the safety of employees, our customers, our customers customers, and the motoring public. We also value food safety, food quality, and compliance, be it regulatory or our customers specifications.
Quality requires innovative thinking, dedication, effort and continuous improvement. Continuous improvement consists of incremental efforts to improve all aspects of the business no matter how small. Dedication and effort directed towards quality will allow for creative problem solving and evolutionary results. Innovation will follow and allows larger gains.
Business is the ultimate team sport and teamwork is the cornerstone of success. We must build on our strengths and organize to make our weaknesses irrelevant. Team working is powerful and takes sustained effort to achieve. We must be collaborative to create and maintain the company values and success.
We exist to create lasting relationships, both internal and external. Relationships add value and are the groundwork for collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
Ethics means taking the long view. We have been in business since 1850 and must conduct our business as such. We act towards our co-workers, customers, and the business with the highest level of ethical behaviors.
For Continuous improvement programs to succeed, one must understand the role of company values and culture. If you read the above core values, what will stand out to you is that for them to actually happen, you must invest in your people. Company culture and values will generate a creative and innovative environment, which is the foundation for process improvement.
Taylor would like to congratulate the January 2020 monthly warehouse award winners from our team in Bellevue, NE. These awards are given based on productivity and QA points. Congrats to all!
Most Improved- Tony Watts Jr.
Receiving- Freddy Marquez
Loading- Hosea Byrd
Putaway- Tony Watts Jr.
Picking- Mike Berry & Forrest Mitchell
Quality/Safety- Mike Berry
We wish you a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year from the team at Taylor. As a reminder, all Taylor locations will be closed for the holidays on December 24th and 25th, and on January 1st.
If you worked with us this past year, we thank you for being our customer, carrier, partner, or agent — please tell us how we’re doing.
If you haven’t worked with our team yet, we invite you to take a look at our service portfolio. Everything we do is designed for best in class performance. Put our services to the test in 2020!
The Ohio Success Awards will honor annually the most successful and consistent of these organizations and leaders across our state. The event will also serve as a forum for you to connect with other decision makers on the issues and objectives throughout the state.
The Ohio Success Awards will recognize the accomplishments of:
Companies that have demonstrated growth both in revenue and employees, as well as having demonstrated involvement in their community and service in their industry
Non-profits that have made a significant impact upon the communities they serve
Governmental organizations that have created unique value or opportunities based upon their ingenuity, partnership, and perseverance
Leaders, amongst these from all above, that have demonstrated beyond comparison that their efforts have made lasting impact
The Cincinnati Business Courier ranked the largest logistics firms in the greater Cincinnati region. Taylor Logistics Inc. ranked as 4th amongst TQL, Verst, and Integrity Express Logistics.
We would like to Congratulate the September 2019 monthly winners from our team in Bellevue, NE. These awards are based off of productivity and QA points. To learn more about our warehousing awards click here.
Most Improved– Emmett Williams
Receiving– Justin Rundel
Loading– Emmett Williams
Putaway– Eddy Rosete
Picking– Nate Juhl & Shawn Emmons
Congrats to all the Winners!
It’s International Podcast Day! Need a new podcast to listen to? Tune into Taylor Talk, a monthly logistics podcast where our professionals cover everything from carrier relationships to warehouse superusers. Click any of the pictures below to listen!
“Proud to have been a finalist from The Goering Center’s best Family Business with 100+ employees for our legacy, leadership, and strong culture and am honored to be apart of it alongside Rex Taylor, Drew Taylor, and Keith Swensen and the rest of the Taylor Logistics & Taylor Distributing Family. Thank you Noelle Taylor for all your work with this and John Goering & Carol Butler for their work and dedication to the Cincinnati community” – Grant Taylor
Customer Service Relations Coordinator Rhonda Mettey discusses Taylor’s carrier qualifications. To listen to the episode click here.
Taylor Logistics is a Semi-Finalist for the 20th Annual Goering Center Family & Private Business Awards.
Although Taylor’s taglines have changed throughout our nearly 170 years in business, they’ve always been geared around our founding year. From “Since 1850″ to the longer ” Your Trusted Partner Since 1850″ we’ve never shied away from telling people our age. However, through recent research amongst our customers as well as industry experts, it came to our attention to rethink our tagline and our overall branding. No, we’re not getting rid of “Since 1850″, but it’s no longer our primary talking point. It’s moved to the secondary so we could talk about our processes and people first. We are thus repositioning our brand to the new era of ” The Nation’s Most Innovative Family Owned Logistics Company.”
Why the change? We asked our customers why they like working with Taylor. What sets us apart from the thousands of other logistics companies out there? Two key points stood out to us the most the first being the fact that we are a family owned and operated business, and the second being our innovation. Taylor is a mid-sized family owned business currently in 6/7th generation ownership. We provide a level of customer service that large corporations cannot. But more importantly, we are progressive; we stay up to date on our software, processes, and technology. But it doesn’t just stop there; our company culture is progressive. We rely profoundly on education and our quality program. Our quality program is a massive part of how we stay on the cusp of innovation not only is it apart of our mission, but it is also in our values. At Taylor, we have a saying: 85% on improving processes and 15% on innovation. That’s what makes us the Nation’s Most Innovative Family Owned Logistics Company.
Employee education is an essential key to the success of your organization- it’s a fundamental way to set your business apart from the competition. Employees who feel their company is invested in their careers are likely to stay longer and work harder. On top of employee satisfaction training allows your employees to become more versatile and bolsters the value of that employee. There countless benefits to the importance of employee development, such as– a more competitive workforce, increased employee retention, and higher employee engagement.
At Taylor Logistics, we make sure all staff members in any role are equipped with the tools they need to succeed. We have memberships to many professional logistics, warehousing, management, and quality organizations that allow our employees to benefit from their classes, webinars, and discussions. Organizations such as The Resource for Warehouse Logistics (IWLA) which offer various course offerings throughout the year. A number of our staff members have attended IWLA courses including their Essentials of Warehousing and Rate Class. All classes are closed with a course exam and upon a passing grade are complete with a certificate adding value to that employees’ career.
Along with classes, our upper management will send several employees a year to various conferences in our particular fields. It’s a part of the Taylor model not only to learn and grow from these opportunities but to gain a new network from them. Through these various organizations and conferences, we have expanded our industry contact list, which allows for continuous brainstorming and mentorship.
Training doesn’t have to be as complicated as sending someone to a class for a certification or to a conference but can be a tutorial on creating a PowerPoint Presentation or on Adobe InDesign formatting. If there is an area an employee is looking to improve in, we try and provide the tools necessary for their success. The importance of training our employees – both new and experienced – cannot be overemphasized in our organization.
Other classes, organizations, conferences, and certifications our staff attends:
IWLA, IANA, TIA, TMSA, WERC, Lean, SQF, Six Sigma
When storing another companies’ products in your warehouse it is crucial that your operations team has a system for sanitation and workplace organization. At Taylor we utilize the practice of 5S which stems from concept of lean management.
Here are the steps of 5S:
5S: Sort
This requires all equipment and tools have appropriate areas within the warehouse. It’s important to sift through materials, keeping only the necessary items needed to daily complete tasks.
5S: Set in Order
It’s important to make sure all items have a designated location. Organize all workplace items in a logical way so they make tasks easier for employees. It’s also important to make sure each item has a specific spot to ensure that the team doesn’t put an item in the wrong place it also allows for managers to tell if something is missing.
5S: Shine
After items are sorted and set in order it is time to clean. A clean and orderly warehouse ensures purpose-driven work place all team members. Look for potential safety hazards and hard to read labeling. Storage bins can be used for smaller items to prevent any loss.
5S: Standardize
Create a set of standards for processes and organization. For every item create rules for how and when they will be used. These standards can involve schedules, charts, lists, etc.
5S: Sustain
This step focuses on taking all of the previous steps of 5S and transforming them into ongoing habits to ensure continuous improvement. Sustaining a lean warehouse involves constant evaluation and discipline. The goal, after all, is to be as efficient as possible.
Working in a warehouse at times can be repetitive, demanding, and labor-intensive. How do you keep warehouse staff engaged and motivated in such an environment? One of the most important resources is a motivated team. How staff are treated and how they value the company has direct impact on our overall success and competitive advantage. With our warehouse team being such a critical part of the company Operations Manager Randy Newman in Bellevue, Nebraska came up with a creative and innovative way to keep our staff motivated.
Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition? Internal rivalry is an effective way to ignite motivation as well as boost performance and productivity. To avoid stress and hostility, great managers must know effective ways to help competition benefit the workplace. Randy has successfully implemented a friendly competition that has our warehouse staff excited and motivated for work each day. He came up with a monthly awards system that are given out to warehouse staff. Awards such as monthly picking winner, receiving winner, putaway winner, loading winner, and most improved. These awards are based off of three different criteria accuracy, efficiency, and teamwork. It’s not all about who gets the job done fist but who does it with these three things in mind. It’s human nature to thrive on success. We simply love it when we meet a target because it’s proof of our hard work and achievements. All awards are complete with bragging rights along with a WWE style belt that can be worn for the shift or simply held for a picture to be added to our warehouse board.
Since the implementation of Randy’s award system, we have had a great response from both warehouse staff and management. Healthy contest has made the team stronger than ever. Even though the awards are given out individually it’s teamwork that makes them possible. All in all, the awards have encouraged team members to use the competition as an opportunity for personal growth, to learn from each month’s winners, and to be more motivated. It’s creative ideas like Randy’s that are what makes Taylor’s workplace an environment for all to succeed.
Whether you’re a basketball fan or just choosing your March Madness bracket based off of mascots. Each year millions tune in to watch 68 teams compete in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. This basketball spectacle involves 67 games in 14 stadiums across 12 different states all within a 12-day period. To pull off March Madness it takes multiple resources to select arenas, reserve flights and hotels for teams, create contingency plans, and the list continues. With all this planning some of the logistics are arranged years in advance however with the one and done nature of the bracket other logistics are dependent on last minute variables.
When you think about the operations behind March Madness, it’s easy to draw parallels between the tournament and managing a supply chain. From teamwork to skill there is a lot to learn about what it takes to be the champion on the court or in business.
It’s without question that accuracy is one of the most important aspects to winning the championship title. Like any game of basketball, the way you win is by shooting baskets with great accuracy and scoring points. Accuracy is even measured from free throw shot percentage to how many three pointers were sunk. Accuracy also plays a massive roll in logistics operations. Operation managers are responsible for managing and maintaining company accuracy reports for order picking, on-time deliveries, and invoices. Data is extremely powerful when it comes to managing a logistics business and having accuracy data available for operations teams can significantly impact if your business is a “winner” or not.
Another key ingredient in winning the National Championship is knowing your competitor. Typically, teams in the bracket are facing off between teams they don’t typically play against in the regular season. It’s important to study up on who your opponent is, what kind of defense should you play? Who is the primary shooter? All of these questions are key in developing a strategy to advancing in the bracket. For logistics it’s important to understand your competition and how to differentiate yourself from the unbelievable amount of logistics companies out there. How fast can a product be delivered? How much does it cost to store my product? are questions that companies should ask themselves to set them ahead of the competition. It’s also important to make sure your company is constantly researching and educating themselves on industry trends. Combining accuracy with knowing your competitors is the winning formula not only for the NCAA Tournament but for your logistics company.
Since transitioning to our new warehouse on International Boulevard in Cincinnati, Ohio our operation managers have decided to implement new principals into our daily practice. At our old facility all employees, visitors, and contractors were required to wear the standard yellow safety vest. Having everyone in the same colored vest made it hard for managers and employees to distinguish team Taylor from contractors on the warehouse floor. Grant Taylor General Manager of Contract Warehousing had an amazing idea to order different colored vests and create categories for the various different colors. Taylor employees in yellow, contractors and visitors in orange, and all management in a tri-colored vests. This way everyone can spot who is who on the warehouse floor.
Since the implementation of the different vest categories we have had great response from warehouse operators and our warehouse management. Clay Revis Taylor’s World Park Warehouse Manager states “ It’s more of a safety thing than anything, there are several projects happening on the warehouse floor. It’s nice to look out and see where the contractors are” . At Taylor we are always looking for ways to improve our processes and by doing so we follow a procedure called 5s. 5s is an organization technique to create and maintain an intuitive workspace. Given the name 5s there are five essential categories sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain. The implementation of the safety vests falls under the 4th S which is “standardize” set standards for a consistently organized workplace. As we continue to refine practices we will be using the 5s model to help guide us to a safer and more profitable warehouse.
In 1841, aboard a small ship called the Russell Glover, John Taylor (1794-1875), his wife Dinah Raikes, and their six children including our founder John Rex Taylor emigrated from Bath, England to the United States, arriving in New Orleans in March. From this popular immigrant port, the Taylors made their way up the Mississippi River to the bustling river town of Cincinnati, Ohio where John Rex Taylor assiduously began his business (before 1850, but who’s counting?) with a horse and wagon, delivering goods to and from the Miami and Erie Canal the engineering marvel which ran from Toledo to Cincinnati, providing goods from as far as New York City. He named his business the Taylor Drayage Company, thus creating the point from which we trace our values, vision, and culture. Soon after, John Taylor joined his son in the business. The 1860 census shows John Taylor as Drayman and John Rex Taylor as a Laborer. For reasons unknown, John Rex Taylor and his wife moved to Wisconsin for a few years (most likely to start a new terminal for the business) but soon returned to find John Taylor in charge of the Taylor Drayage Company. Along with his father and son Edward, John Rex Taylor operated the business as a family affair, the same way we do today. In the early 1900s, Edward took over the business, adding larger and stronger wagons, pulled by two or more horses, called teamsters. The 1910 census shows Edward as a Team Owner. However, the increasingly viable motor truck put the horse and wagon at risk and it was during this time that Edward was succeeded by his son, John Rex Taylor III. During the Horseless Age John Rex Taylor III steered the company through disruptive technological advances, economic turmoil, and strict government regulations. The change to motor trucks brought the decline of the Miami and Erie Canal canal an important route to the Taylor Drayage Company and the rise of the rails, spurring two important events: a move closer to the railroads and a change of the name to the Taylor Trucking Company. During this time, our three largest customers were Oscar Meyer, Swift, and Planter’s Peanuts. To this day our market focus is food. John Rex Taylor III kept the company steady, effective, and innovative in the midst of this major change in American commerce and transportation, along with the dangers of the Great Depression and the Motor Carrier Act of 1935. Because of this act, today we boast the Motor Carrier number 022276, a true testament to our longstanding history in the Cincinnati transportation business. John Rex Taylor III’s legacy teaches us that ultimately, effectiveness trumps efficiency. No amount of efficiency in horse drawn wagons would have allowed us to stay in business. Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing. Bringing the company through the mid-century was John Rex Taylor III’s son, John Rex Taylor IV; or, Jack Taylor. Jack was the family’s first college graduate (Indiana University, 1949) and a proud member of General Patton’s Third Army in Europe. With the addition of warehousing, the company name changed again, this time to its current Taylor Distributing Company. With customers like Jolly Rancher, York Candies, M&M Candies, and Vicks Cold Medicine, Taylor continued its dedication to food storage during a boom in the Candy industry. Jack Taylor also saw a major change in the development of Warehouse Management Systems. In the beginning, inventory control was done manually. Jack kept it all in his head. But in 1972, with a move to a new warehouse on nine acres of land on Sharon Road, the company saw its first automatic technology: the IBM System/34, running on RPG II, with 64KB of memory. Today, our warehouse runs on the organized and efficient Synapse by Zethcon. Under the current management the sixth generation formed a third business, Taylor Logistics Inc., a brokerage-based logistics offering integrated solutions. And after many years in the pool distribution business, Taylor ended its operation to focus fully on the drayage business, bringing us full circle to our heritage. From its founding in 1850 to today, the Taylor companies have represented a steadfast, adaptive, and continuously improving business that has earned its longstanding reputation and defined the standards of logistics by committing to excellence in customer service and employee satisfaction.
