unit4_warehouseingandstoresoperations

© The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, February 2006

CILT Certificate

Open Learning Materials

Unit 4

Warehousing and Stores Operations

© The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, February 2006

© Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Institute of Logistics and Transport.

CILT Certificate – Unit 4 Warehousing and Stores Operations

© The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, for use in 2006 1

CONTENTS

Section Page

1 Principles of Warehouse Design and Layout 5

• Why have warehouses? 5 • Warehouse design 5 • Location 6 • The building 8 • Warehouse operating functions 10 • Important concepts 12 • Marshalling, goods receiving and dispatch 16

2 Storage and Equipment 21

• Palletised unit loads 21 • Racking types 22 • Aisle width and equipment selection 24 • Additional fork truck selection considerations 29

3 Order Picking 35

• Objectives and principles of picking 35 • Item picking 37 • Case-picking 41 • Pallet picking 43 • Other considerations 44

4 Inventory Issues 49

• Why hold stock? 49 • Stockholding costs 49 • Inventory accuracy 50 • Stock checks 53

5 Service and Administration 57

• Service quality 57 • The concept of the “perfect order” 58 • Pareto law 58 • The administrative process 59 • Performance measurement and control 64

6 Waste Management 69

• Packaging and legislation 69 • Minimising waste 70



7 Safety and Training 74

• Equipment use and maintenance 74 • Other regulations 76 • Risk assessment and prevention 77 • Health and safety policy 77

8 Case Study 81



Unit 4 comprises 8 sections

♦ Section 1 – Principles of warehouse design and layout

♦ Section 2 – Storage and equipment

♦ Section 3 - Order picking

♦ Section 4 – Inventory issues

♦ Section 5 – Service and administration

♦ Section 6 - Waste management

♦ Section 7 - Safety and training

♦ Section 8 – Case study

The purpose of this unit is to:

♦ Explain the principles behind planning and operating a warehouse

♦ Explain the principles involved in selecting equipment for a warehouse

♦ Describe the techniques that are available for order picking operations

♦ Outline issues relating to inventory in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency

♦ Describe the process in deciding customer service levels

♦ Detail the workflow and the administration of a warehouse

♦ Explain waste management law and operations

♦ Outline the safety law framework and why safety and training is important



Section 1: Principles of Warehouse Design and Layout

Why Have Warehouses?

There are four main reasons for having warehouses ♦ To provide a buffer against variations in supply and demand, by holding

stock – a safety net, in effect.

♦ To safeguard stock from damage, theft and deterioration.

♦ To record accurately receipts, current stockholding and dispatches, and provide an interface with all other parts of the business system being served.

♦ To enable “value-adding” processes to be conducted such as ticketing stock for customers or repacking.

Warehouse design

The warehouse is, in most organizations, the last area in which significant improvements can be made. If properly designed, built, planned, organized and managed, it can improve customer service levels whilst reducing money tied up in stock and in processes that do not add value. This has the effect of improving an organization’s profitability.

As a designer of a warehouse, you need to consider a number of factors: ♦ Location.

♦ Building type.

♦ Warehouse operations.

♦ Materials handling.

♦ Storage.

Section Objectives Having completed this section you should be able to: ♦ Know why warehouses exist

♦ Have an appreciation of the factors influencing choice of location.

♦ Understand the key structural elements of a warehouse build

♦ Understand what activities take place in a warehouse and the flow of product

♦ Appreciate the 5 key principles involved in warehouse design

♦ Understand the importance of marshalling areas This section will take approximately 8 hours to complete.



♦ Order picking.

♦ Receiving/dispatch.

Location and building type may well be areas in which the warehouse designer has no input as the facility is already in existence, and the design will need to be based around existing buildings. All of these factors are inter-related in that choices made in one area will impact on those in another. No one area can be considered in isolation. Most companies already have facilities that they have to work with, and warehouse managers have to make do with buildings, equipment and locations that are not ideal. A company will often find that what may have been designed according to the requirements of the company several years ago is no longer suited to the business as the size of the operation has changed and there have been changes in the mix of customers and suppliers. This section, however, will enable you to look at all the elements that need to be considered when designing and building a new warehouse. Many of these can be revisited in a warehouse that has been in existence for many years.

Location

There are two main factors in deciding where a warehouse should be built:

o the location of the markets being served, o the location of manufacture of the products being sold.

The actual site chosen will often be a compromise between the two. If the warehouse is sited close to the market, then distribution costs will be low, but purchasing and transport costs may be high due to the distances over which goods need to be shipped. The reverse will apply if the warehouse is sited close to the manufacturing location. If a number of markets and suppliers are considered, then the process can start to become quite complex. If your organisation decides to serve a number of different markets, then a number of warehouses could be considered, especially if the markets are geographically distant from each other. A European manufacturer based in Germany, for example, could deliver to all its customers within Germany, and perhaps even other parts of Europe, from one facility. If the same company was also selling into North America, though, it would need to look at setting up a new warehouse nearer that market. With such a facility, the large distribution costs associated with the shipping of small orders over large distances would be replaced by the reduced cost of bulk movement of product over the same distance. The difference between the two would justify the build and operating costs of this warehouse. As the number of warehouses within an organization increases, however, so does



the cost of holding inventory – particularly if all the product range has to be held at each location. It is therefore a financial exercise to determine not only where warehouses get built, but how many. Over the last decade, there has been a movement towards a smaller number of better managed, better organized and more automated facilities. Overall, this has resulted in lower costs and better service levels.

Optimum number of warehouses

Cos

ts

Total costs

Distribution costs

Trunking costs

Near to manufacturer/ supplierOptimum location

Near to market

Optimum location of warehouse

Co

sts

Total costs

Warehouse costs

Transport costs

Number of depotsTheoreticaloptimum



The Building

Ideally, the storage and handling systems that will be used in a particular operation should be considered before a warehouse is built. In practice though, as a designer of a warehouse operation, you may have to make use of an existing building, and compromises will have to be made. The principles that are used in the design of a new building, however, can often be used within an existing facility.

Building Height

As the cubic cost of the warehouse reduces as the height increases, there is a strong argument to build as high as is practicable. Not only do build costs reduce as the building height increases, but as rent and rates are dependant on the footprint (square footage) of a building, then this adds further justification. Fork trucks can now lift to heights of approximately 12 metres. If the intention is to build higher, then specialist lifting equipment will be required, perhaps adding cost. If a building that currently exists is too low, then raising the roof height could be an option, although it would be difficult to implement because of the disrupting effect it would have on operations.

Docks and Offices

Loading docks need to be designed to allow for bringing vehicles safely onto the site, enable them to manoeuvre onto the dock itself (bearing in mind that there is a different requirement for space for left hand and right hand drive vehicles) and to allow the loading and unloading of the vehicle safely and efficiently. Ideally, the docks should face the sun, and avoid prevailing weather. An office should be sited between the receiving and dispatch areas, ideally on the ground floor. Other offices that do not need to be on the ground floor can be built above these offices to minimize the amount of space taken up.



Docks in a warehouse photo G Wheaton

Floor Design

The warehouse floor needs to be capable of withstanding unusually high loads. Storage equipment such as racking or mezzanine flooring results in high point loads on the floor as the weight of both the racking and their loads is focused on the narrow legs. The base below the floor slab and the slab itself therefore need to be designed and built so that the racking can be positioned as required. Besides this static loading, the floor also has to be capable of withstanding dynamic loads – applied by the movement of fork lift trucks, particularly when they are carrying loads. The joints between the flooring slabs need to be capable of withstanding these loads or the floor will break up when vehicles begin to move. In your planning and design, the floor surface also needs to be considered, as there will be high levels of wear in the operating aisles. Concrete surfaces should be treated with a floor hardener. Floors need to be very flat, and the higher the racking that is to be used within the warehouse the flatter the floor surface needs to be. A difference in the floor level of just 4mm over a 1500mm wide aisle translates to a 32mm deflection with equipment lifting to a height of 12m. This could be dangerous. Furthermore, the racking itself needs to be flat to permit access to pallets stored.

Building Column Spacing

Although it is possible to build warehouses with large clear spans, it is more common (and less expensive) to use columns to support the roof structure. These should be minimized though, to maximize flexibility for future changes that may be required, and to reduce the amount of lost space. Ideally columns should be positioned within the racks themselves to ensure they do not interfere with the operation.



Roof spans and column spacing picture G Wheaton

Warehouse Operating Functions

As a warehouse manager you will be responsible for four primary activities that are conducted within your warehouse – receiving, storage, order picking and dispatch. This is the same for different organisations, and all types of goods. The diversity of products that need to be stored in conjunction with operating and design constraints make warehouse design a complex task. Overlying this is the fact that warehouses are dynamic and need to be flexible. What would perhaps be the perfect design today would not necessarily be so in a year’s time. Ken Firth, in the Handbook of Logistics Management, has come to the conclusion that many types of warehouse have common sub systems: ♦ Delivery vehicle unloading area – this is where goods are actually

brought into the warehouse.

♦ Unpacking, checking and reforming area – this is where goods are checked and reformed into unit loads that can be stored within the warehouse.

♦ Temporary storage (sorting) – this area is only required if there is a need to control the flow of goods inwards for smoothing or sorting.

♦ Reserve storage – this is the main store for stock within the warehouse.

♦ Working storage (selection) – in some warehouses, changes in unit load patterns are required and, for example, pallets may be reduced or part pallets may be consolidated together. This is more important where picking activity will take place.

♦ Order consolidation – this is where all the items required for a particular order are brought together and packaged ready for dispatch.

♦ Dispatch – this is the area that enables stock to be moved from the



warehouse onto collecting vehicles.

Data relating to all the above activities needs to be sourced and analysed before a warehouse design can be prepared accurately, and should include the following: ♦ Physical characteristics of the product stored, for example fragility, size

and perishability. ♦ Stock holding volumes (cartons, pallets).

♦ Throughput (number of orders, lines per order, items per line, receipts, etc).

♦ Equipment available for storage and handling.

♦ Cost data (buildings, equipment, labour).

♦ Existing equipment and buildings constraints.

♦ Statutory requirements.

♦ Market trends – what is likely to happen in the future.

♦ Synthetics – the analysis, modelling and simulation required to establish optimum equipment.

♦ Labour availability and quality.

♦ Service level requirements – what customers expect.

♦ Safety and security.

♦ Capital and time available.

♦ The relationship with other parts of the system – both internal with other departments within the same organization and external with customers and suppliers.

The basic warehouse structure should include areas for goods receiving, bulk reserve storage, order picking, goods inwards and associated offices. Additional space should be given to marshalling. Very simply, the flow of product and processes within a warehouse would be as shown below



There are many different ways to lay out and operate a warehouse, and designers often go through the process of evaluating a number of alternatives before a decision is made. Although the optimum least-cost warehouse system may appear attractive, it needs to be considered along with other aspects of the business to ensure it does not lead to diseconomies elsewhere. Warehouse design involves consideration of a combination of materials handling systems, warehousing systems and layouts, different types and costs of building, and the equipment that is available.

Important Concepts

As a warehouse designer, you will need to consider 5 important principles in the process of warehouse design.

1. Unit Loads

Most warehouses operate with unit loads – “the assembly of individual packages, usually of a like kind, to permit convenient composite movement”1 The concept is to form as large a unit as possible as early as possible, and retain this configuration for as long as possible in order to minimize movement and the type of handling equipment required. The most common form of unit loads is the pallet of stock, with many of the same item stacked on the one pallet. This results in ease and speed of handling, better use of space, protection of products and reduction of the risk to

1 Source: Handbook of Physical Distribution Management, John Gattorna, Gower, 1981



staff. Standardisation has largely been brought about through the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

Picture – G Wheaton A photograph of a 40 by 48 inch (1 by 1.2 metre) pallet – a standard size agreed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO). The pallet is 4 way entry (meaning forks can enter on any pallet face) with a perimeter base to increase sturdiness.

At its most basic level, the pallet can be manoeuvred using a hand pallet truck.

Picture – G Wheaton



The forks of the truck are pushed underneath the pallet and the handle pumped to lift the pallet which can then be pulled or pushed. If long journeys, heavy loads or lifting to any height are required, then a fork lift truck is necessary.

2. Using Warehouse Cube

Warehouse space is expensive, and needs to be used as efficiently as possible to avoid adding too much cost to product, which could ultimately make it unattractive to consumers. Stock should therefore be stacked as high as possible and as densely as possible, without compromising accessibility for picking and shipping operations. Racking the warehouse is the usual method used to enable this to happen. The space between the racks needs to be considered as well as the height of the racking itself. The closer the racks are together (the narrower the aisle), the better the cube utilization.

3. Minimising Movement

Any movement of product within a warehouse adds cost in additional time and resource, plus the risk of damage, and therefore excessive movement needs to be avoided, or speeded up where this is not possible. There are a number of techniques available for reducing movement. ♦ Separating stock for picking from other stocks, thereby keeping the

picking face as small and tight as possible.

♦ Determining which items are most popular – most frequently picked – and locating these close to the dispatch area.

♦ By storing bulk stock (reserve) close to the picking face for those items so that when the picking face needs to be replenished it can be done quickly and with minimal movement.

♦ Batching orders and picking a number of them together – this can mean picking staff going to a location once for a particular product for a number of orders rather than a number of different trips.

♦ Adopting systems that move product to the picker (e.g. a carousel) rather than the picker having to travel to pick the stock.

♦ Implementing zoning, which restricts picking staff to particular zones of the warehouse, and consolidates stock picked by different staff into customer orders at a later stage?

♦ Eliminating paperwork which has to be taken to particular stations for processing.

It is important to ensure that attempts to minimize movement do not result in congestion in particular areas of the warehouse and produce an overall deterioration in performance.



4. Controlling Flow

The flow of goods, vehicles and people within the warehouse needs to be as smooth as possible (to ensure optimum productivity), and attempts must be made to minimize the number of cross-over points and areas of high density traffic flows. There are two main methods for enabling this to happen. The first is by establishing a “U” flow system within the warehouse, where both movements into and out of the warehouse take place on a single face of the building, although separated. The second is “through flow”, where the input and output are at opposite ends of the building.



5. Safety and Security

Poor design of warehousing systems can increase the risk to employees working within that area, so it is important that in your design you keep fork truck activities separated from where other pedestrian activities such as picking are likely to take place. This can be either a physical separation, or a separation in time, for instance having different activities on different shifts. Attention must also be given to making manual handling as safe as possible. There is also a legal requirement to assess risks in many countries, and take steps to minimize them. The framework in the UK is provided by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Besides the health and safety of employees, and the potential for litigation (and costs) if accidents occur, there is also risk to product. If fork trucks are operating in aisles that are too tight, or where there is insufficient marshalling space, product can get damaged.

6. Marshalling, Goods Receiving and Dispatch

The marshalling area within a warehouse is used for receiving stock into the warehouse prior to being put away, and is also used for consolidating goods prior to dispatch. As a warehouse designer you need to consider the yard area in which the vehicles will be arriving and departing. The marshalling area is important within the warehouse, and it is important to ensure that sufficient space is allocated or it is possible that bottlenecks will develop, leading to poor labour, equipment and vehicle utilisation, possible stock losses and negative impacts on service levels. The marshalling area is used for incoming stock, where the products are taken from delivery vehicles, checked against delivery documentation and broken down into the unit loads that will be used whilst product is stored in the warehouse. If deliveries are in bulk from the supplier, it may have been possible to arrange with the supplier to deliver the stock in the configurations required. If this has not been possible, then more space will be required to enable the stock to be sorted and reconfigured. Once stock is reformed, it can be moved to the main storage area. Marshalling space is also required for the dispatch of goods. If your organisation is concerned with the bulk dispatch of unit loads (primarily pallets), then it is possible that stock could be moved direct from the main storage area to be loaded onto waiting vehicles, reducing the space required. Where unit loads are not being shipped, with stock being picked to customer orders, this is the area in which those orders can be consolidated prior to being loaded using the method most appropriate. This may involve roll cages, pallets, totes, or floor loading in the vehicle for example. Space needs to be given to the equipment that may be manoeuvred into place to load the vehicles such as conveyors or fork lifts.



If space is particularly restricted, then it is possible to increase the space available by utilising drive-in racking, for example, in which to put goods on receipt or store customer palletised orders prior to dispatch. Typically, goods receiving and dispatch areas are considered less than other areas of warehouse layout.???? What is meant by this SENTENCE? This is because the warehouse operator has less control than in other areas so more flexibility is required and this normally results in more space being left than is actually required to cover for emergencies. As a designer, you will also need to consider a number of factors when designing marshalling, goods receiving and dispatch areas. ♦ The type, size and number of vehicles making deliveries and

collections. If there are lots of vehicles making deliveries or collections, then more space will be required both inside the warehouse and outside in the yard. Articulated vehicles will need more space than vans and rigid vehicles.

♦ The means of access on to the site. This needs to be big enough to enable vehicles to manoeuvre safely.

♦ Traffic flow around the site. The vehicles should be able to exit and get on to the road network safely.

♦ Manoeuvring for all vehicles used on the site.

♦ Space requirements for marshalling, checking and quality control. Sufficient space has to be given over in the warehouse to segregating product.

♦ Product characteristics and throughput. Large volumes and bulky items will require more space.

♦ Unit load characteristics and throughput. Consideration needs to be given to how product will be handled, and what mechanical handling equipment is required.

♦ The environment. There may be restrictions on deliveries out of a warehouse sited in a residential area at night, for example.

♦ The number of loading and unloading bays required.

♦ Control and administration. Offices will be required for document processing.

♦ Security and safety of personnel.



Activity 1 With reference to your own warehouse or one you know about, carry out the following tasks. 1. Attempt to explain the location of the warehouse in relation to both the organisation’s markets and suppliers. 2. Do you think your warehouse would be better located elsewhere? Explain your answer. 3. Explain the building structure of the warehouse 4. Look at the operation and explain how it works in relation to the 5 key principles of warehouse design. 5. Consider the marshalling area of the warehouse and evaluate whether it is an appropriate size in relation to the operation, and explain why.

Section 1: Knowledge Check

Answer the questions below to check your understanding of the material covered in this section.

1. What factors does a warehouse designer need to consider?

2. What are the main factors to be considered when looking at a warehouse build?

3. Why should warehouses be built as high as possible?

4. Why should warehouse floors be given special consideration?

5. What can happen if columns supporting the roof and racking layouts are not considered together?

6. What are the four main activities that take place within a warehouse?

7. What are the 5 important principles of warehouse design?

8. What is a unit load?

9. What factors need to be considered before a warehouse design can be drawn up?

10. What measures should be taken to ensure warehouse cube is used effectively?

11. How can movement be reduced?

12. What types of flow are there in a warehouse?

13. Why are safety and security important?



14. What is the purpose of a marshalling area?

15. What factors need to be considered when determining the size of a marshalling area?



Section 1: Knowledge Check - Answers

1. What factors does a warehouse designer need to consider?

Location Building type Warehouse operations Materials handling Storage Order picking Receiving/dispatch

2. What are the main factors to be considered when looking at a warehouse build?

Building height Docks and offices Floor design Building column spacing

3. Why should warehouses be built as high as possible?

Cubic cost reduces as height increases.

4. Why should warehouse floors be given special consideration?

They have to withstand very high point loads from the heavy weight of the racking and its contents acting through the very small area of the base of the legs. They also have to be very flat to minimise the angular deflection when lifting to a height and to allow access to pallets.

5. What can happen if columns supporting the roof and racking layouts are not considered together?

There can be an unacceptable amount of lost space.

6. What are the four main activities that take place within a warehouse?

Receiving Storage Order picking Dispatch

7. What are the 5 important principles of warehouse design?

Unit loads Using warehouse cube Minimising movement Controlling flow Safety and security

8. What is a unit load?

“the assembly of individual packages, usually of a like kind, to permit convenient composite movement”



9. What factors need to be considered before a warehouse design can be drawn up?

Physical characteristics of the product stored. Stock holding volumes Throughput Equipment available for storage and handling Cost data Existing equipment and buildings constraints Statutory requirements Market trends Labour availability and quality Service level requirements Safety and security Capital and time available The relationship with other parts of the system.

10. What measures should be taken to ensure warehouse cube is used effectively?

Stock should be stacked as high as possible and as densely as possible with the minimum aisle width between stacks.

11. How can movement be reduced?

Separating stock for picking from other stocks. Locating the most popular items close to the dispatch area. By storing bulk stock (reserve) close to the picking face for those items. Batching orders and picking a number of them together. Adopting systems that move product to the picker rather than the picker having to travel to pick the stock. Implementing zoning. Eliminating paperwork.

12. What types of flow are there in a warehouse?

U flow and through flow.

13. Why are safety and security important?

The health and safety of employees, the potential for litigation, risk to product.

14. What is the purpose of a marshalling area?

For receiving stock and consolidating goods before dispatch.

15. What factors need to be considered when determining the size of a marshalling area?

The type, size and number of vehicles making deliveries/collections. The means of access on to the site. Traffic flow around the site. Manoeuvring for all vehicles used on the site Space requirements for marshalling, checking and quality control. Product characteristics and throughput. Unit load characteristics and throughput. The environment. The number of loading and unloading bays required Control and administration. Security and safety of personnel.



Section 2: Storage and Equipment

There are three main types of storage. ♦ Palletised unit loads.

♦ Small parts.

♦ Long loads.

The first two concern most warehouse operations, and the latter operations such as carpet warehouses.

Palletised Unit Loads

When storing a product that is not going to be picked from (reserve or bulk storage), the simplest method you can use for storing it is to place one pallet on top of another in rows without any racking. This is known as block stacking. The height to which a product can be stacked depends on the nature of the product. The more robust and light the product, the higher it can be stacked, taking advantage of the height of the warehouse. This method can be applied either with a fixed-location system, where a given area is marked out for particular stock, or with random-location by row, that will depend on stockholding at any one time. A fixed-location system is ideal where the product lends itself to being stacked in this way and there is a relatively low number of items, but in large quantities. Random-location is preferable where there is a significant variation between the minimum and maximum stockholding of any product. Block stacking is cheap, uses only simple equipment and can make good use of cube. The disadvantages are that there is the possibility of damage, control can be difficult, utilization can be poor if the product cannot be stacked high enough and there is no means available to adopt a first in – first out (FIFO) policy.

Section Objectives Having completed this section you should be able to: ♦ Understand the methods available for storage in a warehouse

♦ Know what factors determine racking selection

♦ Understand the relationship between storage density, aisle width and fork truck selection

♦ Understand factors other than racking type that need to be considered when selecting a fork truck.

This section will take approximately 8 hours to complete.



Individual Pallet Access

If there are a lot of items stored, with relatively low quantities of each, then it is good practice that every pallet in a warehouse will need to be accessible without moving other pallets first. This means that racking is required, along with either a manual or computerized system for recording what quantity of which product is stored in which location. Racking can ensure that maximum use is made of available headroom. Pallets would normally be stored randomly within racking.

Racking Types

There are many different types of racking to suit different products and methods of operating.

Adjustable Pallet Racking

This is the most common design of pallet racking used. The standardized “teardrop” connection design makes the uprights and crossbeam interchangeable with those from other manufacturers. This is very versatile and the boltless design simplifies reconfiguration of beam levels. The alternative to boltless racking is structural pallet rack which is assembled with mechanical fasteners (usually bolts) and may offer higher capacities. Structural pallet racking is also sometimes designed into the structure of the building itself supporting the roof.

Picture courtesy of SpaceRak The figure below shows the most common configuration of selective pallet racking where single pallet depth racking is placed back to back. This configuration can be used with wide aisles using a standard forklift, in narrow aisles using a reach truck, and very narrow aisles using order selectors, turret trucks, and swing mast trucks.

Picture courtesy of Steel King Industries



Push-Back Racking

This is a racking system that incorporates a carriage or other sliding device that makes it possible to feed multiple pallets into the same location, “pushing back” the previous pallet. This can be used in wide aisle and narrow aisle applications.


Gravity Flow Rack

This is a racking system which uses some type of gravity conveyer system built into each racking level. Pallets are loaded in one side and flow to the other side for picking. It works well for high density storage where first in-first out (FIFO) rotation is necessary.


Drive-in/Drive-through Racking

This racking system has been designed to allow a fork lift truck to drive into the bay creating very high density storage for non-stackable loads. It is useful for operations with limited stock keeping units (SKUs) and high quantities of pallets per SKU. FIFO is difficult to maintain in drive-in racking systems however.



Picture courtesy of SpaceRak

Cantilever Racking

This is a racking system where the shelving supports are connected to vertical supports at the rear of the rack. There are no vertical supports on the face of the rack allowing for storage of very long pieces of material such as piping, timber or carpets.

Wire Decking

Wire decking can be used with adjustable pallet racking and cantilever racking, and is usually used when a product is placed into racking without pallets. Wire decking increases safety, productivity, and reduces product damage. There are other types of decking available including solid decking, but fire inspectors generally do not like solid decking since it reduces the effectiveness of sprinkler systems.

Individual items can be stored in carousels or in drawer systems as well as in shelving. Carton live storage can also be used.

Aisle Width and Equipment Selection

Determining the optimal aisle width (the space between racking faces along which fork lift trucks have to travel) is a critical part of an overall storage/material-handling strategy. Aisle width decisions must attempt to achieve the best combination of productivity, space utilization, flexibility, safety and equipment costs for the specific application. The narrower the aisle width, the greater the density of storage that can be achieved, but this requires more specialised and expensive equipment. The primary constraints to aisle width are the type of lift trucks used and the characteristics of the loads being handled.

There are 3 main aisle types: ♦ Wide aisle.

♦ Narrow aisle.

♦ Very narrow aisle.



Fork lift trucks used for handling unit loads in racked storage are classified by the aisle widths they are designed to work in. Wide aisle (WA) trucks are the most common type of fork lift trucks – also known as a counterbalance. Wide aisle trucks generally operate in aisles greater than 4 metres, handling 48” deep pallet loads (the ISO standard pallet size – 1.2 metres). They are also used in yards, marshalling areas or for vehicle loading. They are available in a number of different configurations – fuel type, tyre type, lift height and attachments. Many small operations will only have a need for this type of fork lift.

A typical conterbalance truck Picture courtesy of Crown



Narrow Aisle (NA) trucks operate in aisles of approximately 3 metres, and include reach trucks. The reach truck is a narrow aisle truck designed specifically for racked pallet storage, lifting up to 12 metres. It consists of outriggers in front and telescoping forks that permit pallets to be picked up and retracted over or between the outriggers. This reduces the overall truck and load length, permitting turning in a narrower aisle. Double-deep reach trucks use an extended reach mechanism which allows storage 2 pallets deep in specially designed double-deep rack. Reach trucks are designed for working in racked areas only and a counterbalance is required in addition to load vehicles.

A typical reach truck Picture courtesy of Crown



A reach truck in operation (picture courtesy of Le Creuset UK Ltd)

Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) trucks generally operate in aisles of less than 2 metres and work in conjunction with guidance systems (wire, rail, optical) to travel safely within the aisles. VNA trucks can be either man-down (where the operator remains at ground level) for moving full pallets, man-up order pickers used to handle less-than-pallet-load quantities manually or man-up turret trucks used to handle full pallets. There is also a swing



mast truck, where the mast can swing 90 degrees to allow access to pallets, and the increasingly popular `bendi` truck that looks (and can be used) like a standard counterbalance, but the mast is mounted onto the steering axle The most significant difference between VNA trucks and all others is that VNA trucks turn only the load while wide aisle and narrow aisle trucks must turn the entire vehicle in the aisle.

Man-up turret truck Swing mast truck Picture courtesy of Drexel Picture courtesy of Crown

If space is an issue within the warehouse, then as a rough guide, moving from a wide aisle to a narrow aisle system will increase storage capacity by between 20 and 25%. Moving to very narrow aisle will increase capacity by between 40 and 50%. Double deep storage is another option for increasing storage space. This is where one run of racking immediately backs onto another, an aisle being used every four racks, but as one location blocks access to the location immediately behind, it is only really practical where the same SKU is stored in both locations.

Double deep racking



Density of storage is not the sole criterion for designing warehouses. Increasingly, speed of movement and productivity are determining the way in which warehouses operate. Flexibility, cost and the reduction of inventory are now key drivers. Moving to narrow aisles and a reach or double deep reach provides greater storage density with only marginal additional equipment investment. Reach trucks are also capable of greater storage heights in excess of 10 metres compared to the 7 metres or less of wide aisle trucks. Disadvantages include slower travel speeds, slower putaway/extraction rates, longer learning curves and the inability to load trailers. Also, even though reach trucks operate at heights above 10 metres, it is much more difficult to place and extract loads at these heights with a man-down vehicle. Options including lift height selectors and tilt control are highly recommended for these high-lift applications to help increase productivity and reduce damage and driver fatigue. Neck strain, eyestrain, potential product damage and operator safety need to be carefully considered when storing at these heights. VNA storage with order selectors and turret trucks is increasing in popularity. For storage of quantities less than a pallet, order selectors provide quick access to product in rack up to 13 metres in height (7-10 metres are most common) and aisle widths under 2 metres. Order selectors are very affordable although optional guidance systems can drive up costs. Turret trucks provide unit load storage up to 13 metres and also provide the flexibility of order selector functionality for case-picking operations. The man-up design of most turret trucks combined with the functionality of the turret can provide higher putaway/extraction rates than their wide and narrow aisle counterparts. The required guidance systems can also provide high travel speeds in aisles. Cost is the primary disadvantage of turret truck systems as both the vehicles and the guidance systems will cost significantly more than other systems. These systems also require much tighter tolerances for level floors and racking. This makes them more likely applications for new construction rather than for retrofitting existing facilities. Although the initial costs of turret trucks and the guidance systems are substantial (approximately £60,000 currently, excluding guidance), the savings associated with both space and productivity can easily offset these costs in moderate to large operations. Safety is obviously a concern with man-up vehicles and strict enforcement of safety belts or harness use is critical. While some of the non-standard VNA vehicles available are capable of trailer loading, man-up vehicles (turrets and order selectors) are not designed to load or unload trailers, so an additional staging step will be required with these vehicles.

Additional Fork Truck Selection Considerations

In addition to the design of the lifting apparatus there are some other things to be considered when selecting a fork-lift truck.



Fuel Types

There are a number of fuel types that can be used with fork lift trucks. Electric vehicles are designed for indoor use only. Their big advantages are the absence of fumes and their quiet operation, along with the fact that there is no requirement to keep an eye on fuel stock. Where shifts are worked in a warehouse, additional batteries and charging/transfer stations are needed. In single shift operations, or, if the truck is not used 100% of the time, it can be charged out of work hours. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has the advantage of minimal fumes (however heavy use indoors requires adequate ventilation), the ability to use both indoors and outdoors, and the ability to quickly change LPG tanks. They are commonly used in indoor/outdoor operations such as timber yards. Petrol or Diesel fork trucks should be for outdoor use only. They are extensively used in construction and scrap yards, for example.

Tyre Type

Consideration also needs to be given to which tyre type is to be used with a fork truck. Cushion tyres are solid tyres generally with no tread pattern (though tread patterns are available) designed for use indoors on smooth solid surfaces. Pneumatic tyres require air and are designed for use outdoors on uneven and loose surfaces. Pneumatic tyre trucks will also have higher ground clearance which raises the centre of gravity thus reducing its rated lift capacity.

Lift Capacity and Lift Height

It is important to know the maximum weight and dimensions of the loads that will be handled as well as the maximum fork height needed to stack or rack the loads in order to determine the capacity of the vehicle needed. The lift capacity of a truck is affected by lift height and load size. A larger size load moves the centre of gravity of the vehicle/load combination reducing the lift capacity as does the height the load is being lifted. Attachments also affect the capacity of a truck. Every lift truck is required to have a placard showing the rated capacities. If there are any changes made to the truck — like adding an attachment — the placard must be replaced with one showing the revised capacities. Higher-capacity trucks are physically larger and require wider aisles than lesser capacity trucks.



Mast Options

Single, double, triple and quad are the types of masts available, denoting the number of stages in the mast. The greater the number of stages, the shorter the mast in the lowered position, which means that overhead clearances can be reduced, making it useful if the truck needs to go on the back of a vehicle, for example.

Attachment Options

There are a number of attachments and options available for lift trucks. While most attachments are designed for use on standard lift trucks, some of them are also used on reach trucks and VNA trucks. Sideshift devices allow the fork carriage to slide left and right to allow more accurate placement of the load. Sideshifts will increase productivity and safety as well as reduce product damage by allowing the operator more flexibility in load placement. Fork positioners allow the operator to adjust the distance between the forks without getting off of the truck. Used primarily in high volume operations where there is a great variety of pallet and crate sizes handled. Fork pivots allow the forks and carriage to pivot (rotate). Used for transporting and dumping specially designed hoppers. Slip sheet attachments are used where slip sheets (a sheet of cardboard, paperboard, or plastic) are used rather than pallets. The slip sheet attachments has a push/pull mechanism that clamps onto the slip sheet and pulls the load onto a thin platform and then pushes the load off of the platform when the truck reaches the destination. Paper roll clamps are designed specifically for the handling of large paper rolls, the paper roll clamp ensures that it clamps around the roll and also allows for a full 360 degree rotation. Carton clamps operate like the paper roll clamp except the clamping surface is flat rather than circular. Drum handling attachments are available in many different designs for to handle large drums. Some are smaller versions of a paper roll clamp while others may engage the upper rim of the drum, or the lower rings. Some drum attachments are capable of picking up multiple drums at the same time. Prongs are specialized rod type attachments used for picking up rolls of materials such as carpet rolls, wire and cable spools, and rolled steel, by inserting the prong into the centre of the spool. Fork extensions slide over the existing forks on the truck to allow longer loads to be picked up.



Height selectors allow the presetting of certain fork heights to correspond with rack levels. This option is most commonly used on reach trucks working at heights above 20 ft. Tilt control allows an operator to preset fork tilt angles. When evaluating for specific equipment and designing for racking configurations a decision will need to be made about the most appropriate aisle width. For turret trucks and order selectors this is best done by the equipment supplier. For other vehicles there is a need to balance space savings that come from minimal aisle widths with the increased productivity that can come from wider aisles. It is possible to divide the warehouse and use wider aisles for faster moving product and narrower aisles for the slow items.

Activity 2 What aisle types do you operate with in your own organisation and why? What type of fork lift trucks do you operate with? Do they have any attachments, and if so, why?



1. What are the three main types of storage in a warehouse?

2. Is racking always required to store pallets?

3. What racking types are available for storing pallets?

4. What equipment is available for storing small parts?

5. What racking type is used to store long loads?

6. What racking type would give greatest storage density?

7. What are the three main aisle types?

8. What factors should be considered when deciding aisle type?

9. What type of truck should be used in a VNA environment?

10. How much potentially will storage capacity be increased by moving from wide aisle to narrow aisle?

11. As well as aisle type, what other factors need to be considered when selecting a fork lift truck, and why?

12. What effect does adding attachments have on the forktruck’s capabilities – both positive and negative?

13. Where should petrol/diesel fork lift trucks be used?

14. What tyre type should be used within a warehouse?




1. What are the three main types of storage in a warehouse?

palletised unit loads small parts long loads

2. Is racking always required to store pallets?

No.

3. What racking types are available for storing pallets?

Adjustable racking Pushback racking Gravity flow racking Drive-in/drive-through racking Cantilever racking

4. What equipment is available for storing small parts?

Carousels Drawer systems Carton live storage

5. What racking type is used to store long loads?

Cantilever racking

6. What racking type would give greatest storage density?

Drive-in/drive-through

7. What are the three main aisle types?

Wide aisle Narrow aisle Very narrow aisle

8. What factors should be considered when deciding aisle type?

Productivity Space utilization Flexibility Safety Equipment costs

9. What type of truck should be used in a VNA environment?

A turret truck or swing mast truck.

10. How much potentially will storage capacity be increased by moving from wide aisle to narrow aisle?

20 – 25%

11. As well as aisle type, what other factors need to be considered when selecting a fork lift truck?

Fuel type Tyre type Lift capacity and height Mast options Attachments



12. Where should petrol/diesel fork lift trucks be used?

Outdoors only.

13. What tyre type should be used within a warehouse?

Cushion tyres.



Section 3: Order Picking

Objectives and Principles of Picking

The aim of a picking operation is “to convert products as they are held in the warehouse to a form as required by the customer at an expected service level and at a lowest total system cost”. In any picking operation there will be a trade-off between the need to stock the full range of products in as small an area as possible and holding quantities that minimise replenishment. A balance between the two needs to be struck. As warehouse manager your picking operation should look to achieve the following objectives: ♦ Minimise movement.

♦ Simple administration.

♦ Eliminate ineffective time.

♦ Lowest error rate.

♦ Fastest order turnround.

The correct balance of these will provide you with an appropriate level of customer service at maximum productivity and minimal cost. Of all warehouse processes, order picking tends to get the most attention; there are generally more outbound transactions than inbound transactions, and the labour associated with the outbound transactions is normally a big part of the total warehouse labour budget. Another reason for the high level of importance placed on order picking operations is its direct relationship with customer service levels. Turning round customer orders quickly and accurately has become an essential part of doing business.

Section Objectives Having completed this section you should be able to: ♦ Understand the aim and objectives of a picking operation

♦ Understand what measures should be taken to maximise efficiency in picking

♦ Know the different types of picking operation in relation to items, cartons and pallets

♦ Know what equipment is available for picking operations




The methods for order picking vary greatly and the level of difficulty in choosing the best method for an operation will depend on the type of operation itself. The characteristics of the product being handled, total number of transactions, total number of orders, picks per order, quantity per pick, picks per SKU (stock keeping unit), total number of SKUs and value-added processing such as private labelling for some customers will all need to be considered; as will whether the operation includes individual item/piece-pick, case-pick, or full pallet-loads. In many situations a combination of picking methods is needed to handle diverse product and order characteristics. Your main objective as a manager in designing an order picking operation include increasing productivity, reducing cycle time, and an increase in accuracy. Frequently these objectives may conflict with one another in that a method that focuses on productivity may not provide a short enough cycle time, or a method that focuses on accuracy may sacrifice productivity. Again, finding the right balance for the operation is necessary.

The design of the picking flow should be such that: ♦ The order picker ends up fairly close to the original starting point.

♦ The picking document should have the picks sorted in the same sequence as the picking flow.

♦ Fast-moving product should be stored close to the point of dispatch and the main cross aisle and additional cross aisles put in to allow short cuts.

♦ Larger bulkier items would be stored towards the beginning of the pick flow to ensure that product is not damaged.

Picking Productivity

Productivity in order picking is measured by the pick rate – the number of items, lines or pallets picked over a given period of time, usually an hour. Since the actual amount of time it takes to remove the product physically from the location tends to be fixed regardless of the picking method used, productivity gains are usually made by reducing the travel time by using mechanisation, for example by using goods to man systems.

Cycle Time

Cycle time is the amount of time it takes to get an order from order entry to the point of dispatch – the shipping dock. Customers’ increasing expectations in terms of how quickly they want to receive orders has increased the emphasis on reducing cycle times from days to hours or minutes. Immediate release of orders to the warehouse for picking include methods that provide concurrent picking of items within large orders thus reducing cycle times An example being splitting an order into different parts and giving one part each to a number of picking staff.



Accuracy

Regardless of the type of operation, accuracy is a key objective. Virtually every decision made in setting up a warehouse will have some impact on accuracy, from the product numbering scheme, to the design of product labels, product packaging, the design of picking documents, location numbering scheme, storage equipment, lighting conditions, and picking method used. Technologies that assist in picking accuracy include pick-to-light systems, counting scales, and bar-code scanners. Beyond the design aspects of an order picking operation, employee training, accuracy tracking, and accountability are essential to achieving high levels of accuracy.

Item Picking

This is also known as piece picking or broken-case picking and is where individual items are picked. Piece-pick operations usually have a large SKU base in the thousands or tens of thousands of items, small quantities per pick, and short cycle times. Mail-order catalogue companies and repair parts distributors are good examples of piece-pick operations.

Basic Order Picking

In the most basic order picking method, product is stored in fixed locations on static shelving or pallet racking. An order picker picks one order at a time following a route up and down each aisle until the entire order is picked. The order picker will usually use some type of picking cage or trolley, or pick product directly onto a pallet.



The photograph (courtesy of Le Creuset UK Ltd) above shows basic order picking, with customer orders being directly picked onto a pallet that is moved by a hand pallet truck. This basic order picking method can work well in operations with a small total number of orders and a high number of picks per order. Operations with low picks per order will find the travel time excessive in this type of picking and operations with large numbers of orders will find that the congestion from many pickers working in the same areas slows down the processing.

Batch Picking

In batch picking, a number of orders are grouped together in batches. An order picker will pick all orders within the batch in one run using a consolidated pick list. Usually the picker will use a multi-tiered picking trolley with a separate tote or carton on the trolley for each order. Batch sizes usually run from 4 to 12 orders per batch depending on the average picks per order in that specific operation. Batch picking systems may use extensive logic programmed to consolidate orders with the same items. In operations with low picks per order, batch picking can greatly reduce travel time by allowing the picker to make additional picks while in the same area. As multiple orders are being picked at the same time, systems and procedures are required to prevent orders being mixed. In very busy operations, best practice is batch picking is often used in conjunction with zone picking and automated material handling equipment.

Zone Picking

In zone picking, the picking area is broken up into individual pick zones. Order pickers are assigned a specific zone, and only pick items within that zone. Orders are moved from one zone to the next as the picking from the previous zone is completed in assembly line style (also known as "pick-and-pass"). Usually, conveyor systems are used to move orders from zone to zone. In zone picking it is important to balance the number of picks from zone to zone to maintain a consistent flow to maintain productivity. Zones are usually sized to accommodate enough picks for one or two order pickers. Creating fast pick areas close to the conveyor is essential in achieving high productivity in zone picking. Zone picking is most effective in large operations with high total numbers of SKUs, high total numbers of orders and low to moderate picks per order, such as mail-order operations. Separate zones also provide for specialization of picking techniques such as having automated material handling systems in one zone and manual handling in the next.

Wave Picking

A variation on zone picking and batch picking where rather than orders moving from one zone to the next for picking, all zones are picked at the same time and the items are later sorted and consolidated into individual orders/shipments. This is the quickest method for picking, but sorting and order consolidation can prove to be difficult.



The Table needs a tile

Item Picking Equipment

As with the picking methods, the picking equipment used will also depend on a variety of factors. Static Shelving The most common equipment for storage in item-pick operations, static shelving is designed with depths from 12” to 24”. Product is either placed directly on the shelving or in cardboard, plastic, or steel parts bins. Static shelving is economical and is the best method where there are few picks per SKU or where parts are very small. Carton Live Storage (flow rack) Carton live storage is similar to static shelving with the exception that rather than shelves, there are small sections of gravity conveyor mounted at a slight angle. Product is stocked from the rear of the flow rack and picking is done from the face. Product can be stocked in cartons or small totes or bins. As a carton or tote is emptied, it is removed from the rack and another one will roll into place. Carton live storage is most useful where there is a very high number of picks per SKU. Carousels Horizontal carousels work on the same principle as those used at baggage reclaim at airports, although on a smaller scale. Generally an operator will run 2 to 4 carousels at a time avoiding the need for the operator to wait while one unit is turning. Picking is usually performed in batches with orders downloaded from the host system to the carousel software. Horizontal carousels are most common in picking operations with very high number of orders, low to moderate picks per order, and low to moderate picks per SKU. Horizontal carousels provide very high pick rates as well as high storage density. Pick-to-light systems are often integrated into carousels. Vertical Carousels (similar to a small scale Ferris wheel) are frequently used in laboratories and specialty manufacturing operations and are rarely used in regular order picking operations.

Basic Order Picking Total Orders: Low Picks Per Order: Moderate to High

Batch Picking Total Orders: Low to High Picks Per Order: Low

Zone Picking Total Orders: Moderate to High Picks Per Order: Low to Moderate

Wave Picking Total Orders: Moderate to High Picks Per Order: Moderate to High



Horizontal carousel Vertical carousel Pictures courtesy of Remstar Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) An ASRS is a system of rows of rack, each row having a dedicated retrieval unit that moves vertically and horizontally along the rack, picking and putting away loads. ASRS systems are available in mini-load types that store and transfer product on some type of tray or in bins, and unit-load types that transfer and store pallet loads. In addition to the automation features, ASRS units can provide extremely high storage density with capabilities to work in racking up to 100 feet high. Unfortunately the high costs of ASRS equipment and the length of the retrieval times make it difficult to incorporate into a piece-picking operation.

Picture courtesy of Rapistan

Automatic Picking Machines Fully automated picking machines (such as A-frames) are still pretty rare and are used only where very high volumes of similar products are picked such as music CDs, or, where high volume in combination with high accuracy requirements exist such as pharmaceutical fulfilment. Pick-to-light Pick-to-light systems consist of lights and LED displays for each pick location. The system uses software to light the next pick and display the quantity to pick. Pick-to-light systems have the advantage of not only



increasing accuracy, but also increasing productivity. Since hardware is required for each pick location, pick-to-light systems are easier to cost justify where very high picks per SKU occur. Carton flow rack and horizontal carousels are good applications for pick to light. Bar-code Scanners Though very useful in increasing accuracy levels, bar-code scanners in a fast-paced piece-pick operation tend to become cumbersome and can significantly reduce pick rates. With proper training, tracking, and accountability, very high accuracy rates can be achieved in order picking without scanners. These are generally better suited to case-pick, pallet-load, putaway and order checking operations.

Voice-directed Picking Voice technology has come of age in recent years and is now a very viable solution, although it is not widespread. Directions are given to staff via head sets. Automated Conveyor and Sortation Systems Automated conveyor systems and sortation systems will be integral to any large-scale piece-pick operation. The variety of equipment and system designs is enormous.

Case Picking

Case picking operations (where numbers of the same item in carton quantities are picked) tend to have less diversity in product characteristics than piece picking operations, with fewer SKUs and higher picks per SKU. The methods that can be used are similar to those outlined above for item picking. The basic case picking method relies on product being stored in pallet racking rather than shelving, and cases being picked from floor locations directly onto a pallet on a hand pallet truck.

It should be noted, though, that batch picking is rarely used because of the physical size of the picks.

Case Picking Equipment

Pallet Rack Pallet rack is the most common storage system for case-pick operations. Carton Live Storage/Flow Rack Although carton flow rack rarely applies to case-pick operations, pallet flow rack or push-back rack can be useful. Carousels Although you can incorporate unit-load carousels into a case-pick operation, it tends to be an unlikely match-up. If doing batch picking



where you have many picks per SKU and few pieces per pick you can pick from an ASRS unit onto a unit-load carousel. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) Unit-load ASRS systems can be useful in case-pick operations, especially if you can provide storage heights of 40 to 100 feet. Pick-to-light Pick-to-light can be used in case-pick operations, however, its application is significantly less than in piece-pick operations. Bar-code Scanners Bar-code scanners are frequently used in case-pick operations. Since the time to physically pick the product is higher in case-pick operations, the time spent scanning tends to have little impact on productivity and therefore the accuracy benefits will usually outweigh any reduction in productivity. Voice-directed picking Voice directed picking is equally suited to case picking operations. Automated Conveyor and Sortation Systems If using zone or wave picking, automated conveyor and sortation systems are likely to be a part of the system. In case picking, standard conveyors may be used to transport individual cases, or unit-load conveyors used to transport pallets. Lift Trucks Motorized pallet trucks, man-up order selectors, and man-up turret trucks are the vehicles of choice for case-pick operations. The basic motorized pallet truck is designed for the operator to walk along with the truck to move loads and there is a stand-on version, which the operator rides on. Stand-on machines in particular are good for moving loads over long distances, and are fast, manoeuvrable and require little operator training.

Motorised pallet truck Picture courtesy of Yale



The order-picker has been designed specifically for manual handling of less-than-pallet-load quantities in racking. The man-up design has fixed forks attached to a platform which elevates both the load and the operator to make manual handling easier and safer.

Man up order picker Picture courtesy of Yale

Pallet Picking

Pallet picking involves picking of the complete pallet at once, rather than selecting individual cases or items from it.

Basic Pallet Picking

This is the most common method for full-pallet picking, with orders being picked at a time. The order picker will use some type of lift truck to retrieve the pallet load and place it in a marshalling area in a staging lane designated for that order, or just pick and load directly into an outbound trailer or container.

Zone and Wave Picking

Pick zones can be used for pallet picking operations. The storage area is broken into zones to eliminate multiple lift truck operators from picking in the same aisle. The lift truck operator may pick the pallet and deliver it directly to the designated staging lane or place it on a unit-load conveyor that will deliver it to the sorting/staging area.

Task Interleaving

Task interleaving is a method of combining picking and putaway, where every time an operator puts a pallet away into storage, the in-house



warehouse management system will ask for one to be picked – taken out – to minimise the amount of empty running.

Pallet Picking Equipment

Pallet Rack Numerous pallet rack configurations can be used in full pallet picking operations, from standard back-to-back single pallet depth configurations to double-deep rack, push-back rack, drive-in/drive-thru rack, and flow rack. The best racking configuration for an operation will be based on the total number of pallets per SKU and the pallets per pick. Trade-offs need to be made during the selection process between storage density, picking productivity, equipment costs, and the ability to maintain first-in, first-out. ASRS Unit-load ASRS units when combined with unit-load conveyors and sortation systems can provide fully automatic pallet picking operations, with excellent storage density. Automated Conveyor and Sortation Systems Automated conveyor and sortation systems can be combined with ASRS units or used in conjunction with manual picking with lift trucks in zone/wave picking systems. Either the ASRS or the lift truck operator delivers the pallet load to the conveyor. The conveyor system then delivers the pallet to the marshalling area where it is either manually sorted by lift trucks into the designated staging lane, or a sortation system automatically sorts into a staging lane. Staging lanes can be equipped with automated or gravity fed unit-load conveyor. Bar-code Scanners Bar-code scanners are very commonly used in pallet-pick operations. Voice-directed Picking Again, voice-directed picking is suitable for pallet picking. Lift Trucks The lift trucks used for pallet picking will inevitably depend on the chosen storage configuration. Standard counterbalance lift trucks are used in bulk floor storage and wide-aisle pallet rack storage in singe-depth, push-back, drive-in/drive-thru, and flow rack. Reach trucks are used in narrow-aisle storage in single-depth, double-deep, push-back, drive-in/drive-thru, and flow rack. Swing mast and turret trucks are used in very narrow aisle storage in single depth pallet rack.

Other Considerations

Fixed locations are a method commonly employed in picking operations with each SKU always being stored in the same location. In any system the fastest moving products should be located as near to the marshalling



area as possible (to minimise movement) and at the heights that are easiest to pick from. As a warehouse manager, you will need to review product location regularly to ensure that popular products are located where they need to be. Data need to be analysed to establish what the most popular lines are. Problems do arise if this process is carried out too often because of the operational disruption it can cause; moving products from location to location can often negate the benefits gained from the repositioning exercise, particularly if there are few free locations. In random storage operations, a warehouse management system (WMS) system can direct fast-moving stock to the closest available location to the optimum pick point. Replenishment systems need to be put in place to move products to the fixed picking locations as inventory levels drop to a predetermined figure to ensure that picking locations are not empty when warehouse staff go to pick a particular item, as this could impact negatively on productivity. Prior to actual order dispatch, you also need a checking process to be put in place to ensure that what is required is actually being dispatched. This can vary from a simple look at the order to see if it looks right to more complex check-weighing or scanning. Once stock has been picked and consolidated into the customer’s order, it may be packed in a carton if the quantity is small, and shipped via a parcel carrier. Larger consignments can be placed on pallets and stretch wrapped to hold the order together before transporting. This will increase security, especially if sealed with security tape.

Semi automatic stretch wrapping machine. Picture courtesy of Strapex



Activity 3 What type of picking do you use in your operation, and why? Describe basic order picking for items



1. What should be the aim of a picking operation?

2. How is picking productivity measured?

3. What is cycle time?

4. What measures help improve picking accuracy?

5. How should the design of the picking flow be organised?

6. What factors need to be considered when selecting picking methods?

7. What types of picking are there?

8. What equipment is available for item picking?

9. What would be the most appropriate picking method if there were a high number of SKUs, with a low volume per SKU ?

10. In what type of operation would basic order picking be best?

11. What are the benefits of batch picking?

12. How does wave picking differ from zone picking?

13. What is pick to light?

14. What is task interleaving?


1. What should be the aim of a picking operation?

“To convert products as they are held in the warehouse to a form as required by the customer at an expected service level and at a lowest total system cost”.

2. How is picking productivity measured?

By the pick rate – the number of items, lines or pallets picked over a given period of time, usually an hour.

3. What is cycle time?

The amount of time it takes to get an order from order entry to the point of dispatch.



4. What measures help improve picking accuracy?

Design aspects Technology Training Monitoring

5. How should the design of the picking flow be organised?

The order picker ends up fairly close to the original starting point. The picking document should have the picks sorted in the same sequence as the picking flow. Fast moving product should be stored close to the point of dispatch and the main cross aisle and additional cross aisles put in to allow short cuts. Larger bulkier items would be stored towards the beginning of the pick flow to ensure that product is not damaged.

6. What factors need to be considered when selecting picking methods?

The characteristics of the product being handled. Total number of transactions. Total number of orders. Picks per order. Quantity per pick. Picks per SKU. Total number of SKUs. Value-added processing. Whether piece-pick, case-pick, or full-pallet picking is required.

7. What types of item picking are there?

Basic order picking. Batch picking. Wave picking. Zone picking.

8. What equipment is available for item picking?

Static shelving. Carton live storage (flow rack). Carousels. Automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). Automatic picking machines. Pick to light. Bar code scanners. Voice-directed picking. Automatic conveyor and sortation systems.

9. What would be the most appropriate picking method if there were a high number of SKUs, with a low volume per SKU ?

10. In what type of operation would basic order picking be best?

When there are a small total number of orders and a high number of picks per order.

11. What are the benefits of batch picking?

It greatly reduces travel time by allowing the picker to make additional picks while in the same area.

12. How does wave picking differ from zone picking?



Rather than orders moving from one zone to the next for picking, all zones are picked at the same time and the items are later sorted and consolidated into individual orders/shipments.

13. What is pick to light?

Lights and LED displays at each pick location display the next pick and quantity to pick.

14. What is task interleaving?

A method of combining picking and putaway.



Section 4: Inventory Issues

Why Hold Stock?

There are several reasons for holding stock: ♦ Cost of purchasing. The more orders that are placed, the greater the

costs in terms of administration. Typically suppliers offer greater discounts the larger the order.

♦ Variability of demand. Stock needs to be carried to avoid stock outs.

♦ Variability of supply. Suppliers’ lead times can vary (the time from receipt of an order to delivery).

♦ Speculation. Stock is sometimes purchased against anticipated price rises, industrial action, sudden demand changes and so on.

♦ Work in progress. Semi-finished stock moves between different sections of the manufacturing process.

♦ Economies of production. Low unit production costs are achieved through long production runs, which inevitably results in short term inventory peaks. A balance needs to be struck between stockholding costs and production economies.

♦ Costs of not holding stock. This includes the cost of losing customers if stock is not available.

Stockholding Costs

The cost of holding stock varies from industry to industry, and from business to business. Martin Christopher states that “It is estimated that in total it (inventory) costs a minimum of 25 percent per annum of the book value of inventory just to hold it” 2 The cost of holding stock is made up of two main elements – the investment in the inventory and the storage costs.

2 Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Martin Christopher, Pitman Publishing 1998. p81

Section Objectives Having completed this section you should be able to: ♦ Identify the reasons for holding stock

♦ Understand the costs associated with holding stock

♦ Understand what steps should be taken to improve inventory accuracy

♦ Know how to set up a stock check, and what the alternative is




There are a number of costs associated with holding stock: ♦ Cost of working capital/opportunity cost. If a company needs to

borrow money in order to purchase stock, then interest needs to be paid on the loan. If borrowing is not required in order to buy stock, but there are borrowings elsewhere in the organization, then any reduction in inventory could free money to help pay off these loans. If a company is not reliant on loans to fund stock purchases, then it needs to look at how much money could be made if the money used to purchase stock was invested in something else instead – the opportunity cost.

♦ Staff wages ♦ Equipment costs (racking, fork lift trucks etc)

♦ Heating, lighting, water

♦ Rent ♦ Rates

♦ Insurance. These costs are directly related to stockholding. The higher the stocks, the greater the premium that has to be paid.

♦ Repairs and maintenance

♦ Shrinkage (theft)

♦ Deterioration

♦ Depreciation

♦ Obsolescence. Stock may become obsolete if stored for too long, especially in fashion or technology where change is rapid.

Overflow storage areas need to be considered when calculating total storage costs, including any movement to and from these locations, and associated administrative costs. Because of the high costs of holding inventory, policies should be adopted by the organisation to minimize the amount of stock held.

Inventory Accuracy

If an organisation is having problems with inventory accuracy, it is often assumed that the introduction of new technology such as bar-coding, or pick-to-light will solve the problems. It is possible for technology to reduce errors, but not eliminate them altogether. As a manager, your organisation’s focus should be on the basics first.

Attitude

Maintaining inventory accuracy must be an integral part of your attitude and of your organisation. Like quality, customer service, and plant safety, accuracy must be promoted throughout the organization as everyone's responsibility. Processes are often shortcut if they impact on short term productivity and profitability. In the long term, this will reduce an



organisation’s ability to service its customers to expected levels, and could result in losing customers.

Defining the Process

As an inventory manager you must define clearly the processes in an organisation that affect inventory. Each of these processes can then be evaluated to find out where and why errors occur, and steps taken to correct them. Formal checks can be put in place at critical points to reduce problems. Input is required from all areas within the organisation to gain a complete understanding.

Procedure Documentation

The processes and procedures within them should be written down, once identified, and staff advised that they must follow them. The documentation should be as clear and comprehensive as possible and it should be written for a specific task within a specific job responsibility, it should include everything the employee needs to know to complete the task. Good practice requires that procedures should also include the correct method for filling out and processing paperwork, the sequence and timing of entering data, and any checks that are required to be performed. If there are any exceptions to a procedure they should be specified in the document, allowing undocumented exceptions to a procedure will decrease its effectiveness. Once the documentation is complete, it should be passed initially to a few key employees and monitored to see if anything is missing or incorrect. Once this is done, it can be passed to all staff.

Employee Training

Again as a manager it is important that you set time aside to go through the processes with staff to ensure they have a thorough understanding of what needs to be done for each documented task. Revisions to procedures should take place periodically, but not too often as this can cause confusion.

Employee Testing

Employees should be tested to ensure they understand what is required of them. Those you have identified as not having understood properly must be retrained.

Monitoring

Any actions observed which do not comply with the written procedures must be addressed immediately with the employees involved.



Standards

Setting standards requires tracking of the accuracy and productivity of the tasks being performed which makes it more viable when there are a number of people performing the same tasks. Standards need to be enforced, but should be set at reasonable levels, after researching what these should be. They can always be raised later.

Tracking Accuracy

There is a need to track accuracy both organizationally (as a total) and individually by person. Accuracy tracking should always be measured as a percentage of total transactions, and should be communicated to staff as a way of improving the operation, not trying to find fault.

Accountability

People must be held accountable for following documented procedures. If someone is not following the procedures you as a manager must deal with this using appropriate disciplinary action. People will always make mistakes, but they should at least be following procedures.

Count

Inventory will need to be counted to determine accuracy, although reports from customers relating to short shipments should quickly help to identify problem areas. Year-end stock checks are tools used by accountants, but do little for inventory accuracy. Stock needs to be counted more regularly to be useful, and this can be achieved with cycle counting. This is where the SKUs are split by popularity, and more popular SKUs are counted, say, 10 times a year. Medium SKUs could be counted 5 times, and the slow movers twice a year. A number of SKUs could be counted each day as part of normal warehouse procedures.

Re-evaluation

You should ensure that processes and procedures are regularly re-evaluated.

It is often difficult to change the attitudes of staff to the importance of inventory accuracy. Other factors that can assist in improving inventory accuracy are: ♦ Dedicated positions for managing inventory. It is easier to

manage staff that are direct reportees.

♦ Control employee turnover. Dave Piasecki states that “My experience shows a new employee generally makes 2 to 5 times as many mistakes as a one-year employee and 5 to 10 times as many mistakes as a five-



year employee.”3 High turnover also results in short-staffed operations that are more error-prone. Staff frequently falling short of standard, even after retraining, should be dismissed or reassigned, but it should be remembered that it is costly to recruit new staff so it may be preferable to pay more to keep staff.

♦ Storage areas. How product is stored affects accuracy. Crowded unorganized areas become “black holes” for missing product. Crowded areas also cause increase damage to product that is then often disposed of without inventory corrections being made. High-density storage makes it very difficult to count the product accurately. Maintaining proper lighting, shelf and product labelling, and organization makes it easier to stock, pick, and count product thus increasing levels of accuracy.

♦ Know the inventory system. The more staff are informed about how the inventory system works, the more success there will be in optimizing its features and the way it works.

Stock Checks

Good practice in most organizations is to carry out a stock check at least once a year. This is a process where all the stock held by the company is counted and compared to what stock records say should be held. Variances can be investigated and corrections made if necessary. The process should be a simple one, but all too often takes companies far too long because of inadequate preparation and training of staff involved. If too much time is taken, then customer service levels will be affected as no stock can be moved over this period. It is necessary to identify the best time to carry out a stock check. This will almost inevitably be at year end (at least), and could probably be also held after the first half of the year. Care should be taken to conduct the stock check at a time that causes minimum disturbance to the business and any adverse impact on customer service levels. Many companies in the UK count stock between Christmas and New Year, a time when the peak period is over. Mid-term counts are often conducted at weekends. You must ensure that sufficient staff is available to count the stock in a given period, and to enter data on to the computer system. All receipts should have been entered into the computer system before the count takes place, and preferably put away into locations in the warehouse. Any damages must be written off. Staff (and customers and suppliers) should be made aware of the fact that no product will be received nor any stock picked or shipped during the period of the stock check.

3 Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes and Technology, Dave Piasecki.. Ops publishing 2003



A map or list of all locations should be drawn up, and staff nominated to count particular areas. The count itself needs to be drawn-up to suit the operation. Some organisations physically count stock in picking locations and take information from flagged pallets that have not been touched since receipt to reduce the time taken. Some count everything irrespective of location. Counting at height requires safety cages to be used if specialist high-level order pickers are not available, or the stock is not to be brought to floor level to be counted. A two-part stock count ticket is a simple yet efficient way to conduct the count itself. This ticket has a unique identification number printed on it, as well as blank spaces for item number, warehouse location and quantity to be filled in by the counting staff. This is known as a blind count. Tickets can be produced listing what is supposed to be in particular locations, but human nature is such that the easy route is often taken, and the ticket figures taken as being accurate if there is any ambiguity. When the count is actually underway, one part of the ticket should be affixed to the product in the location being counted, and the other handed in to staff to be keyed. This gives a visual indication that stock has been counted. A note should be made of the ticket numbers given to particular counters in a particular area, and all tickets handed back in once completed, even if the tickets have been spoilt. This will enable checks to be properly conducted at a later stage. It is possible to produce just one ticket per location and check these off once returned to ensure that nothing is missed. Once the physical count has been completed, all tickets handed in and checks made to establish no tickets/locations have been missed, the count needs to be keyed onto the computer system being used. This can often take place concurrently with the physical count to minimize the time taken. Once this has been completed, a variance report should be produced comparing what the stock records in the inventory file on the computer system say should be available against the actual count. The variances can be checked either in financial terms or the number counted, again dependant on the operation. It is important not to spend too much time investigating the reasons why there is a large numerical variance in the number of washers with a low financial value, for instance, and not investigate the low numerical difference in more valuable items. The importance of differences may not be immediately apparent, however. The washers may be used in a production process that could grind to a halt if insufficient numbers are available and this could ultimately be very expensive. It is important to establish tolerances for the stock check. Many organisations use a 0.5% marker, and if the total stock difference is within this, either positive or negative, then that is acceptable.



Differences in the physical count and the stock file can be down to any number of reasons, and include: ♦ Inaccurate counting.

♦ Inaccurate keying of stock counts.

♦ Stock incorrectly receipted.

♦ Stock incorrectly shipped.

♦ Shrinkage.

Corrections need to be made to the stock file on completion of the stock check to ensure that the file now reflects reality. Cycle counting (perpetual inventory).

This is a process that can be used to avoid the company having to suspend operations whilst stock is counted. Cycle counting is the regularly scheduled count of products, normally daily, based on some predefined parameters. Inventory can be broken down by ABC classification, and each classification of product assigned a count frequency. The more important class A items may need to be counted 10 times a year, B items 5 times, and C twice for example. A number of SKUs will be counted as part of daily routines by fully trained staff, and any variances investigated. It should be remembered that this system is useful if the inventory is accurate at the outset, but is a system that is checking stock records that exist on the stock file and so is unlikely to turn up anything that has been overlooked, for instance stock that has not been booked on.

Activity 4 How does your organisation count stock? What is an alternative to stock checking, and how does it work?


Answer the questions below to check your understanding of the material covered in this section. 1. Why do companies hold stock?

2. What is the estimated cost of holding stock?

3. Explain the cost of working capital

4. What is the opportunity cost?



5. How can inventory accuracy be assessed?

6. How can staff turnover affect accuracy?

7. How can storage areas affect accuracy?

8. What is a stock check?

9. What are the main reasons for differences between a physical count and the stock file?



Section 4: Knowledge Check – Answers

1. Why do companies hold stock?

Cost of purchasing. Variability of demand. Variability of supply. Speculation. Work in progress. Economies of production Costs of not holding stock.

2. What is the estimated cost of holding stock?

A minimum of 25 percent per annum of the book value of inventory.

3. What is the opportunity cost?

The amount of money that could be made if the money used to purchase stock was invested in something else instead.

5. How can inventory accuracy be assessed?

As a percentage of total transactions.

6. How can staff turnover affect accuracy?

High turnover results in short-staffed operations that are more error prone and new employees make more mistakes.

7. How can storage areas affect accuracy?

It is easy to lose product in crowded, unorganized areas. Crowded areas also cause increased damage to product that is then often disposed of without inventory corrections being made. High-density storage makes it very difficult to count the product accurately.

8. What is a stock check?

A process where all the stock held by the company is counted and compared to what stock records say should be held.

9. What are the main reasons for differences between a physical count and the stock file?

Inaccurate counting. Inaccurate keying of stock counts. Stock incorrectly receipted. Stock incorrectly shipped. Shrinkage.



Section 5: Service and Administration

Service Quality

In an increasingly-competitive business environment, service levels have been continuously improving over time. The level of service provided is normally reflected in the cost of the operation. The better the service provision the higher the costs.

Source – Martin Christopher – Logistics and supply chain management

This steep curve is accounted for largely as a result of the large stocks that would need to be held to ensure there were no stock-outs if demand became unexpectedly high. It is possible to see that costs increase disproportionately the closer service levels approach 100%. Decisions

Section Objectives Having completed this section you should be able to: ♦ Explain what factors affect customer service

♦ Understand the costs of service level provision

♦ Explain the different processes within a warehouse and the associated paper flows

♦ Explain what methods can be used to evaluate performance in a warehouse This section will take approximately 8 hours to complete.



therefore need to be made as to what is acceptable and what is achievable. Customer service should be company-wide. It should have been developed at the strategic level, and then translated into operational efficiencies. Martin Christopher has identified that customer service is determined by the interaction of all those factors that affect the process of making products and services available to the buyer. This includes:

♦ Order cycle time – the time from receiving an order to delivering it.

♦ Consistency and reliability of delivery.

♦ Available stock.

♦ Order size constraints, such as minimum order quantities.

♦ Ordering convenience – how easy it is for the customer to place an order.

♦ Delivery times and flexibility such as speed and booking deliveries.

♦ Invoicing procedures (such as payment terms – 30 days, 60 days etc) and accuracy.

♦ Claims procedure – if stock is missing from a delivery, how the organisation deals with it.

♦ Condition of goods.

♦ Visits by sales people – more visits are better.

♦ Order status information.

It can be seen that although not all of the above is affected by warehouse operations, a significant section is, highlighting the importance of the part that the warehouse has to play.

The Concept of the “Perfect Order”

The aim of any operation has to be to deliver service excellence in a consistent and cost effective way. A way in which this can be measured is with the notion of the “perfect order”. This would be achieved when a customer’s requirements were met in full. A perfect order would be on time, in full (OTIF). This concept can be further developed to include error free. Statistics should be kept over time, and the actual service level can be calculated by multiplying the elements. For example, if 90% of orders were on time, 80% of orders were in full, and 70% were error free, then the percentage perfect order achievement would be: 90% × 80% × 70% = 50.4%

Pareto Law (80:20 rule)

This is a rule (named after a 19th century Italian economist) that has been shown to fit most organisations in a number of different relationships. For example, it has been established that 80 percent of an organisation’s



profits come from 20 percent of its customers or that 80 percent of the costs of any customer service programme will be generated by only 20 percent of its customers. It is therefore important to identify the profitability of all customers, and then take steps to improve it. After some analysis of the organisation’s current profitability position, it may be found that there are opportunities to enable the same level of service to be provided to customers at lower cost. Faster production and faster shipping methods are two examples of this. If improving customer service costs more than the actual sales generated as a result of the improved policy, then there should be questions asked about whether it is worthwhile pursuing.

Source – Martin Christopher – Logistics and supply chain management There is a limit to the impact that any customer service level improvements can have on the volume of orders that customers place before diminishing returns set in – that is, when the increase in sales revenue will be less than the amount spent on the improved service. Pareto can form the basis for developing a service strategy – giving better service to better customers.

Administrative Processes

The main administrative processes within a warehouse are concerned with incoming stock, movements of stock and shipments of stock out of the warehouse.



Flow chart to show administrative processes within a warehouse. A customer may place an order for an item, or a number of items via a number of different possible mechanisms. One of these is EDI (electronic data interchange), where the information is transmitted electronically to a postbox from where it can be retrieved by the organization and then keyed onto the computer system used for sales order processing. It may well be



that this process is fully automated and is linked directly to the organization’s computer system, eliminating the need for keying and minimizing the opportunity for error. Orders can also be sent by more traditional methods such as fax, phone or post. Dependant on the customer’s delivery requirements – the customer may well be placing an order for delivery some time in the future, for instance – the system will check stock availability, to see if there is sufficient stock in the warehouse to satisfy the customer’s order. If there is, then stock will be allocated to this order meaning that it will no longer be available for other orders. This is obviously not a problem if sufficient quantities of stock are held. If there is not enough stock, then either the stock that is available may be allocated, (and backorders held that will allocate against stock when it does become available) or the order held until all stock is available. This policy will usually depend on the customer’s specific requirements. Once stock is allocated, a picking note will be raised. This is an internal document that lists the customer stock requirements in picking sequence – the order in which the items should be picked to minimise travel distance. Each product in the warehouse should be assigned a particular location. This can be either a fixed or random location, but it must be recorded on the computer system to ensure picking is efficient, and staff are not wasting time looking for where stock is held, and even making mistakes in the picking process. The most usual method is to have bin (picking) locations for items held on the inventory file (particularly if computerized warehouse management systems are not used). The physical locations should then be marked on the racking itself. The number of picking notes produced each day need to be sorted by the warehouse management team to ensure that not only are orders processed according to the customer’s delivery expectations, (and also internal standards), but that the workflow is smoothed as much as possible to minimize the resource required. Any additional processing required, such as ticketing for customer orders, needs to be considered at this stage. Whilst the order is being picked, the picker should annotate the picking note to show that the items have been picked in the right quantities, and on completion, it should be signed by the picker and filed in case any query should be raised about it at a later date. Any checking of the order should be conducted at this stage. This can be through using scanning technology or manually checking against the order. Once complete, the order should be confirmed as picked on the system. This will then move the stock from the picking location to the marshalling area. This is the stage when any necessary additional ticketing or packaging can take place. Dependant on the method of picking used, this is also the stage where other items that may have been picked for this particular customer can be consolidated (e.g. zone picking). Once any additional processing has taken place, the order can then be packed ready



for shipment. This will vary according to the method selected for dispatch and the size of the order. Smaller orders may well be boxed and sent out via a parcel carrier such as Parcelforce or TNT, whereas larger orders may be palletised and sent out using a parcel carrier, haulier or in-house transport operation. Whether you use a third-party or in-house transport operation, there will be a requirement to document the dispatch. This will either be by a manual system – writing out a delivery docket (and retaining a copy for records), or, as is increasingly common, using an automated system that links with the carrier’s own system. This will record the delivery address to which the consignment is being dispatched, the weight, number of cartons/pallets, date and service type (next day, three day etc). Labels will also need to be attached to the cartons/pallets, with an internally generated dispatch note if applicable. With systems such as these, providing they are fully integrated with the organization’s own systems, it is possible to send advance notification of dispatch to the customer saying how and when the consignment was shipped. This can include a URL link to the carrier’s own web site along with a tracking number that will allow the customer to track the delivery. Proof of delivery can also be requested using this method. If the system used is manual, then if there is a query on a consignment, it would be necessary to dig out consignment details from the filed dockets, and a request put in to the carrier. It may be necessary to book the delivery with the customer prior to shipping to ensure delivery will be convenient. At the time the consignment is shipped, your organisation’s own system needs to be addressed to record shipment. This in turn will print an invoice that can then be sent to the customer. This could either be sent electronically or by hard copy. It is at this stage that the stock files are updated, and the items shipped removed from stock. At the same time that stock is being shipped out, your warehouse is also dealing with stock coming in from suppliers or your own manufacturing facility. Orders will have been placed according to company inventory policy and will be received dependant on lead time – the time it takes for a supplier from receipt of an order, to manufacture and deliver stock to the customer. Where there are a number of orders outstanding with suppliers at any one time, it is important that attempts are made to smooth the flow of stock into the warehouse to minimise resource requirements (for unloading and put away), but without compromising company targets on order fulfilment. A booking-in system is invaluable to ensure an even work flow. As the stock is unloaded, it should be sorted by SKU, as there will probably be a number of different SKUs on order from one supplier. The stock should then be compiled into the appropriate unit load, and a label attached denoting item number, quantity and date received. This process is known as flagging. Dependant on the warehouse management system being used, this could just be a handwritten label. If the WMS is more



sophisticated, this could involve generating a computerised label as product is scanned. The delivery documentation should be checked to ensure that what has been received is what has been advised by the supplier. Any discrepancies should be noted. The stock received should then be keyed onto the main inventory system to update stock records. This is normally done against a goods received note (GRN) that can then provide an audit trail. This will match-up receipts against purchase orders that have been raised for the stock. Any discrepancies from the delivery documentation should be notified to the supplier, normally via the generation of a debit note that will reflect the difference between the delivery note (invoiced quantity) and actual receipts. It is important to contact the supplier quickly, as companies often have set time limits within their terms and conditions of business after which claims will not be entertained. After being flagged, product can then be put away into pallet or shelf locations within the warehouse. This should be reflected on the WMS, with records made of what is put where. Again, this can be either on a manual or computerised basis. Any movements from location to location within the warehouse should also be recorded to ensure stock records are accurate. Other areas that will need to be accommodated within the administrative processes may include:

♦ Stock checking.

♦ Quarantine/QC – if product is inspected within the warehouse then it needs to be quarantined (made unavailable), and only put into stock once tests have been passed.

♦ Returns – product coming back needs to be evaluated to determine. why. It may be a quality problem, in which case it will need to pass through the QC process or it could even be stock incorrectly delivered which can be returned to stock.

♦ Damaged/broken stock – damages within the warehouse need to be written off.

♦ Stock transfers – this could be moving stock from one warehouse to another, for example.

♦ Frozen stock – stock can be reserved for certain customers by being frozen, and therefore unavailable to others.

♦ Kitting – this is where a number of items are put together to form a set.

♦ Ticketing – processes need to be in place to ensure sufficient tickets are available for customer orders.



Performance Measurement and Control

Competitive pressure in business is ever increasing, and operations need to constantly look for ways to improve efficiency. Many companies do not have immediate access to up-to-date information that is required to make business decisions quickly and avoid problems escalating. Performance measurement is increasingly becoming the mechanism for providing this capability. It is important to resource operations properly, calculating how many staff are required in each area of activity. Once these are in place, it is then a question of measuring their performance in that task in order to establish whether further training is required, more staff need to be recruited or staff numbers reduced. It is possible to look at the activities an operation will be performing in each area to establish staffing requirements. Containers received per week, orders processed per week, lines processed, items processed, pallets stored – all these, and many more, give an indication of staffing levels needed. It is possible to calculate what an individual can accomplish in any area, and then divide this by the work to be done in that area. For example, if the operation will be receiving 20 containers a week, and it takes 3 staff 5 hours on each occasion to unload a container by hand, then it will take a total of 3 × 5 × 20 hours to unload containers – 300 hours a week in total.[If staff work 35 hours per week (excluding rest breaks), then this particular activity will need 8.57 staff]. This will obviously need to be rounded up to 9, but additional work can be found to take up the slack. There is a need to manage the total distribution activity as a complete system, as decisions taken in one cost area will impact on others. Cost reduction measures introduced in one area in isolation could well increase costs in another area. An example of this would be that changes in a company’s policy on minimum order values may influence customer ordering patterns, or changes in production schedules to improve production efficiency may result in fluctuations in finished stock availability and impact on customer service. There are a number of ways of evaluating performance within a warehouse. The 5 main methods are as follows.

Key Performance Indicators [KPI’s]

Critical success factors for each operation in the warehouse need to be identified, along with an appropriate unit of measurement. The results for each factor over a given period can then be compared against a standard to evaluate performance. Reasons for any variation can then be considered and remedial action taken as necessary. It is important not only that the KPIs used within a particular area have relevance for all staff working within that area, but that the data can be



gleaned relatively easily. Computer systems should really be used to avoid unnecessarily high labour input. Examples of KPIs are: ♦ Items picked per man hour.

♦ Number of pallets putaway per man hour, per day, per week, per month.

♦ Number of containers received.

♦ Number of orders dispatched.

Service Levels

Both operational and inventory service levels need to be set in conjunction with customer service requirements, normally in relation to a time period. An example of this would be that all customer orders should be turned round within 5 days from receipt, and the stock should be dispatched using a guaranteed 48-hour delivery service.

Operating Costs

Expense budgets are drawn up by companies at the beginning of a given period, and these should then be broken down into cost centres which should then become the responsibility of the relevant departmental manager. These should include all the elements within that department, such as labour, overheads, and maintenance. A typical budget could be broken down like this:



Unit costing can then be “pulled-out” from the budget and used for control purposes, making comparisons and assessing alternative methods. The budget can be compared with actual costs and unit costs calculated, for example, a budget of x would allow for a certain number of pallets being stored. If the actual costs show more than x, then this may well be because more pallets are being stored than budgeted for. Unit costing could relate to the number of pallets stored, the number of trucks received and unloaded, the number of truckloads dispatched, the number of orders processed, or units picked for example. Whatever measure is used, it must be understood by those working within the group and be shown to be accurate.

Productivity Measurement

This is similar to unit costing, but is considered at two levels, the macro and the micro. The so called “helicopter view” of the macro level would generate information such as: ♦ Total operating expenses as a percentage of the total sales value of

orders processed.

♦ Total operating expenses as a percentage of the total sales value of goods dispatched.

These measures are very useful for indicating trends.

At the lower micro level, the information would be more detailed, and could include: ♦ the number of pallets put away per hour.

♦ the number of units picked and packed per hour.

♦ the number of invoices processed per hour.

♦ the cost per delivery made etc.

The results would need to be compared with the standard, and any variations analysed.

Benchmarking

This is the process of comparing one operation with another in order to establish whether the organization is performing well or not in a number of areas. Operations being compared (partners) should be carefully chosen, as no two organizations are completely alike, and this could lead to some confusing analysis. One method sometimes used is to compare an organisations processes and performance with industry best-practice to see whether improvements could be made.



Activity 5 Identify where customer service improvements could be made in your organization without disproportionately increasing costs. What is the 80:20 rule, and how do you think it could be used to improve customer service? What performance measures do you use in your organization, and why? Can you think of any potential partners for benchmarking with your own operation, and why would they be suitable?



1. What is the limit to the level of customer service that a company should provide?

2. What are the factors that affect customer service as viewed by the customer?

3. How is the perfect order defined?

4. How can customers place orders?

5. What system should be implemented for smoothing inbound deliveries?

6. What should the process be on receiving goods?

7. What tools are available to measure performance?

8. Why should performance be measured?

9. Give some examples of : a – KPIs

b – Unit costs

c – Productivity




1. What is the limit to the level of customer service that a company should provide?

When the cost of increasing customer service exceeds to revenue that it generates.

2. What are the factors that affect customer service as viewed by the customer?

Order cycle time. Consistency and reliability of delivery. Available stock. Order size constraints, such as minimum order quantities. Ordering convenience. Delivery times and flexibility. Invoicing procedures and accuracy. Claims procedure. Condition of goods. Visits by sales people. Order status information.

3. How is the perfect order defined?

A perfect order would be on time, in full (OTIF).

4. How can customers place orders?

Fax, phone, post or EDI.

5. What system should be implemented for smoothing inbound deliveries?

Deliveries from suppliers need to be telephoned, faxed or e-mailed to a responsible individual or specialist booking-in office in advance so that a mutually convenient delivery time can be arranged.

6. What should the process be on receiving goods?

Check delivery documentation against goods received; sort by SKU; compile into the appropriate unit load; label with item number, quantity and date received; key onto the main inventory system to update stock records; put away and update WMS.

7. What tools are available to measure performance?

KPIs; service levels; operating costs; productivity measurement; benchmarking.

8. Why should performance be measured?

To establish staffing levels and training needs.

9. Give some examples of: a – KPIs b – unit costs c – productivity

KPIs Items picked per man hour; number of pallets put away per man hour, per day, per week, per month; number of containers received; number of orders dispatched.

Unit costs Number of pallets stored; number of trucks received and unloaded; number of truckloads dispatched; number of orders processed or units picked.

Productivity Number of pallets put away per hour; number of units picked and packed per hour; number of invoices processed per hour; cost per delivery made.



Section 6: Waste Management

Different laws relating to waste management will apply in different countries. This section deals with the law as it relates in the UK, but the principles of waste management to improve efficiency can be applied universally.

Packaging and Legislation

Product packaging is used for a number of reasons:

♦ It enables products to be stored and stacked together.

♦ It provides protection from damage.

♦ It provides protection from pilferage.

♦ It can be used to advertise the product.

♦ It can be used to display product information.

The majority of packaging is used solely whilst a product is being moved from the point of manufacture until it reaches the final consumer. At this point it is thrown away. Environmental legislation has been passed in the UK in order to control packaging waste – forcing manufacturers to review their packaging needs and where they do produce packaging above certain thresholds they will have an obligation to recover and recycle against set targets. This legislation applies to all companies whose turnover is greater than £5 million and who handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 implement an EC directive (94/62/EC) that requires, by 2001, that each member state should recover between 50 and 65% of packaging waste, and recycle between 25 and 45% of it. The responsibility for achieving these targets is shared by all elements of the packaging chain known as producers, and these companies need to register with the Environment Agency, arrange for the recovery and recycling of waste

Section Objectives Having completed this section you should be able to: ♦ Understand why packaging is used

♦ Know what legislation requires producers to do with waste

♦ Appreciate the business benefits of minimising waste

♦ Explain some methods for reducing waste




packaging and supply a certificate of compliance. Producers can either carry out these obligations themselves or they can register with compliance schemes who take on the obligations. Valpak is one such organization in the UK. The Environment Agency has been given powers that enable them to audit an organisations compliance, which needs to be fully documented. Companies that do not comply can be prosecuted. Besides being an altruistic goal, it is now very sensible to attempt to reduce not only the amount of packaging waste that is produced in an operation, but waste generally. Government statistics state that 400 million tones of waste are produced every year in the UK, and 75 million tones are created by businesses alone.4 Despite the introduction of legislation, the amount of waste discarded is continuing to grow. Although up to a third of business waste is recycled, over half is still disposed of in landfill sites. This is resulting not only in environmental damage through the generation of methane, but it is wasting valuable resources that could be recycled. The government is therefore planning to increase the costs faced by companies with regard to waste disposal at landfill sites. In April 2003, landfill tax was £14 per tonne, and this is likely to rise by £3 per year until the cost reaches £35 per tonne. The European Union has also introduced new Directives to deal with the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment and restricting hazardous substances used in the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment. These directives are designed to encourage manufacturers to reuse and recycle rather than throwing away. Manufacturers will be required to foot the cost of collecting and recycling products they make or sell. The government’s waste strategy document (2000) for England and Wales aims to reduce landfill waste to 85% of 1998 levels by 2005. Some products are now banned from landfill sites, and everything except inert waste will need to be treated in some way before it can be sent to landfill. This may be a physical, thermal, chemical or biological treatment to reduce not only the volume of material, but also reduce the hazardous nature of the waste. This will apply to all hazardous waste from July 2004 and all other waste from July 2009. These tighter controls should have the effect of motivating companies to reduce their waste production.

Minimising Waste

Companies need to embrace methods for minimising waste in order to control costs. Companies should evaluate all work processes and activities to identify types and volumes of waste being created. Types of waste can be anything from used lubricants to waste paper. Most typical warehouse

4 Source: Storage, handling and distribution magazine, July 2003 page 22



operations will find that the bulk of waste will be in the form of cardboard boxes, stretch wrap polythene, polythene tape, plastic strapping, plastic bags and polystyrene or paper-based void fill material. Good practice to prevent or reduce waste should include the following: ♦ Proper maintenance programmes to ensure equipment is working

efficiently.

♦ Turning off machinery, water, lights, heat etc when it is not required.

♦ Using low-energy light bulbs and targeted lighting at workstations.

♦ Installing drip trays to prevent spillages.

♦ Using mechanical methods for cleaning instead of solvents.

♦ Eliminating unnecessary packaging.

Your organisation could include the following recycling waste measures: ♦ Segregating and re-using waste paper. Quite often old performance

reports printed on A4 paper could be used for pallet labels or shredded to produce void fill packaging material. Specialist waste processing companies will collect properly segregated paper waste.

♦ Selecting easily recyclable material.

♦ Reusing and recycling waste solvents.

♦ Using plastic liners with drums carrying waste materials to permit their reuse.

♦ Reducing packaging weight to a minimum. This can be achieved by looking at what packaging is actually required on a product to ensure that it can be easily transported and safely.

♦ Use multi-trip packaging – for instance plastic totes or pallets that can be used many times. There needs to be some mechanism put in place to ensure that these items are recovered from the delivery point, so tend to be restricted to “closed loop” systems, where the sender has complete control over the transport system used.

Waste cardboard and stretch wrap material can be baled (to reduce the space it takes up), and passed to specialist recycling operators. In this situation, documentation will be provided by the collector that can then be used to offset some recycling obligations.



Pictures courtesy of Orwak

As well as being environmentally desirable, well thought-out and managed waste management programmes can enable companies to save money and improve efficiency.

Activity 6 What laws apply in your own country with regard to waste? How does a company that you know of dispose of waste materials and what does it recycle?



1. What is packaging used for?

2. What methods are available for reducing packaging waste?

3. How can packaging waste be recycled?

4. Why would it be sensible to recycle and reduce waste even without legal enforcement?




1. What is packaging used for?

It enables products to be stored and stacked together. It provides protection from damage. It provides protection from pilferage . It can be used to advertise the product. It can be used to display product information.

2. What methods are available for reducing packaging waste?

Proper maintenance programmes to ensure equipment is working efficiently. Turning off machinery, water, lights, heat etc when it is not required. Using low energy light bulbs and targeted lighting at workstations. Installing drip trays to prevent spillages. Using mechanical methods for cleaning instead of solvents. Eliminating unnecessary packaging.

3. How can packaging waste be recycled?

Segregating and reusing waste paper. Selecting easily recyclable material. Reusing and recycling waste solvents Using plastic liners with drums carrying waste materials to permit their reuse. Reducing packaging weight to a minimum. Use multi trip packaging.

4. Why would it be sensible to recycle and reduce waste even without legal enforcement?

To reduce costs.



Section 7: Safety and Training

Equipment Use and Maintenance

Proper training must be given to any employee who is using equipment and all such equipment must be properly maintained and certified at regular intervals.

Fork Trucks

Modern materials handling equipment (MHE) is manufactured to safety standards laid down by European Directives covering design and function. Ultimately, however, safety is down to the individual using the equipment. Training is of critical importance. According to the Health and Safety Executive in the UK (HSE), “the handling of loads accounts for more than one third of all industrial accidents. Of these, an estimated 90% are caused by operator error”.5 Training enables an operator, to acquire the skills and knowledge that foster an environment for safe and efficient working practices along with a better understanding of his/her responsibilities to the company their colleagues and the environment. Your company should have a strong self interest in safety as the economic impacts of accidents can be considerable, such as: ♦ Damage to equipment.

♦ Damage to stock.

♦ Damage to premises.

♦ Delays in productivity.

♦ Heavy fines.

♦ Adverse publicity.

5 “Looking Forward to a Safer Future” Fork Lift Truck Association Safety Conference 2003 SHD supplement

Section Objectives Having completed this section you should be able to: ♦ Understand the legal framework relating to safety

♦ Explain why Health and Safety is important to an organisation

♦ Understand that training can improve safety and reduce costs

♦ Understand the different components of a comprehensive safety policy This section will take approximately 8 hours to complete.



♦ Expensive litigation.

♦ Personal injury to staff Health and Safety training reduces incidents involving injury and damage and associated costs. The result is improvement in efficiency and productivity. Suitable Health and Safety training is required under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and should be conducted on recruitment, when individuals change jobs, when systems of work change or when new equipment or technology is introduced.

The statutory requirements for operators and training personnel come under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), which are made under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. PUWER contains 39 regulations, one of which (number 9) relates specifically to training, and includes operator and associated personnel training and supervision. Training staff in the use of fork lift trucks should be related to specific vehicle types. A member of your staff who is fully trained in the use of a counterbalance truck would not be able to drive a man-up turret truck without the necessary training. Training should also relate to the environment in which the trucks will be used. Special attention should be paid to fork trucks working near the loading docks, as this is a particularly dangerous area. Operators working in a VNA environment should be trained in that environment. Once staff has passed a competency test, they can be certificated and should then be authorised to drive that particular piece of MHE in that environment. This authorisation should be displayed on the safety notice board. A regime should be set up where users check trucks before they use them – completing a vehicle check sheet. The vehicles themselves should be properly maintained, and records kept of each service or remedial work carried out. A “report of thorough examination” needs to be completed every 12 months – the equivalent of an MOT certificate. This reduces to 6 months if the fork truck is used with a working platform or cage, if the truck has attachments other than a sideshift or is used for more than 40 hours per week. Again, records should be kept.

Racking

The racking used within the warehouse also needs to be examined regularly – at least once a year – to ensure that the structure is sound. Racking can support huge weights, but if it is damaged, for instance by a fork truck, and the structure is weakened then a collapse could be catastrophic. Reports from inspections should be kept. Any accidents should be reported and investigated internally straight away.



Racking is designed to cope with specific loads – heavy duty racking being required for heavy loads. It is important that fork truck operators know what the load-carrying capabilities of the racking are, and load accordingly. Maximum load indicators should be prominently displayed. Pallet scales are useful to establish weights of pallets that are to be stored.

Other Regulations

There are many other regulations covering health and safety provisions by employers. The main items are summarised here.

First Aiders

Dependant on size, your company should ensure that a number of staff are qualified as First Aiders, i.e. to give immediate simple healthcare and who should then be re-assessed every three years to keep abreast of developments in first aid care. The names and work locations of these individuals should be displayed on notice boards. Accidents should be recorded in an accident book, and a first aid cabinet should be kept on site.

COSHH Regulations

COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations UK, 1999 stipulate that a register should be kept of all hazardous materials used or kept on site. This could include substances such as bleach, cleaning materials, even Tippex. Safety data sheets for the products should be sourced from the manufacturers and a note made of the harmful properties of the substances, and what action should be taken in the event of a spillage or inhalation. It may be necessary to provide eye wash stations at strategic locations around the premises.

Manual Handling

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations UK, 1992 – require employers to avoid manual handling activities that could injure employees. Where this is not possible, an assessment of these activities should be carried out with a view to reducing the risk of injury.

Portable Appliance Testing

Legislation has been passed in the U K requiring the electrical installation in premises to be tested every 5 years to establish whether it is safe. In addition, portable appliances also need to be tested periodically. The frequency of the testing will depend on the appliance, the environment and how much it is used.



Personal Protective Equipment

If staff is working in an area where there are risks, then they should be issued with clothing that can help to reduce the risk. In a warehouse, for example, there is a risk of product falling on to someone’s feet. The risk of someone’s foot being injured can be reduced through the provision of steel-toed footware. Hard hats can also be provided.

Risk Assessment and Prevention

Employers are required to make a “suitable and sufficient assessment of risks”, including those associated with fire, to the health and safety of their employees whilst at work. The risk assessment should identify both hazards – the potential to cause harm – and the risk – the likelihood of that harm occurring. Assessment must identify any significant risk that is reasonably foreseeable. It should enable the assessor to decide what action needs to be taken and what the priorities should be. It should also be appropriate for the type of activity, remain valid for a reasonable time and reflect what employers should know about the risks associated with their activities. Assessments should be regularly reviewed. Where there are more than 5 employees, the assessment must be recorded and should include those hazards that pose a significant risk, the control measures in place and those exposed to risk.

Principles of Risk Prevention

♦ Avoid the risks.

♦ Evaluate those risks that cannot be avoided.

♦ Combat the risks at source.

♦ Adapt the work to the individual – consider workplace design and the selection of equipment and work systems.

♦ Adapt to technical progress.

♦ Substitute the dangerous for less dangerous.

♦ Develop cohesive risk prevention policy for the whole business.

♦ Provide instructions for employees.

Health and Safety Policy

This is a document that brings together all the strands of health and safety in an organization and should be displayed on a notice board for all employees to read. This statement should list the person with overall responsibility for health and Safety – normally the managing director. It will then list those responsible as deputies, the appointed health and safety representative



(who will have undergone specialist training) and those responsible in specific areas.

The policy should also document: ♦ Employee’s responsibilities.

♦ Consultation mechanism between management and staff.

♦ Who conducts safety training?

♦ Who is responsible for risk assessments?

♦ What risk assessments should be carried out (e.g. manual handling, fire safety, general risks).

♦ First Aiders – this should include who and where.

♦ Who provides health and safety advice and consultancy?

♦ Who is responsible for training?

♦ The processes for dealing with visitors to the site and contractors.

♦ The hazards in the business and the location of the risk assessment and COSHH register.

Besides training fork truck operators to ensure safe working, other employees also need to be trained – not only to ensure safety, but also to maximize efficiency and productivity. If staff is properly trained, then there will be fewer errors, less accidents and less time wasted. When staff is new to the business, then induction training should be conducted. This would comprise an introduction to the business itself, followed by an explanation of safety factors. The notice board should be included as this is the main method for displaying information to employees. This will show the employees details about fire drills, health and safety policy (including all the factors listed above), and what both the employer’s and the employees’ responsibilities are. Training should be given relating to the tasks the employee will be undertaking. Ideally, this will involve spending time working alongside an appropriately trained member of staff – on-the-job training. This, however, should be accompanied by a detailed explanation of the written procedures that will need to be adhered to. Attention should be paid to manual handling instruction, particularly relating to the area in which the employee will be working. Other employees must have training needs identified, and training plans drawn up to tackle skills shortfalls. This can be for employees remaining in a particular activity who are not performing properly, or for any staff moved to different activities.



Activity 7 What are the principles of risk assessment? What specific risks are linked with your companies productivity? How many First Aiders are trained in your company?



1. What are the economic impacts of a poor safety record?

2. What should be included in a health and safety policy statement?

3. How can racking be made safer?

4. What is COSHH ?


1. What are the economic impacts of a poor safety record?

Damage to equipment. Damage to stock. Damage to premises. Delays in productivity. Heavy fines. Adverse publicity. Expensive litigation.

2. What should be included in a health and safety policy statement?

Employee’s responsibilities. Consultation mechanism between management and staff. Who conducts safety training. Who is responsible for risk assessments. What risk assessments should be carried out. First aiders. Who provides health and safety advice and consultancy. Who is responsible for training. The processes for dealing with visitors to the site and contractors. The hazards in the business and the location of the risk assessment and COSHH register.

How can racking be made safer?

Regular examination



Observing safe loading limits

What is COSHH?

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health



Section 8: Case Study A company manufactures and sells 100 different electrical products that are stored in a warehouse next to the production plant. Customer orders are picked and dispatched from this building throughout the UK. This company has identified an opportunity in the market and can significantly increase the company’s turnover, but they do not have the manufacturing capacity to enable them to take advantage of this opportunity. A consultant pointed out to them that they could source a further 200 different electrical products from a third-party manufacturer in the Far East, and this they have decided to do. The current warehouse setup is as follows: ♦ The warehouse currently operates a block stacking system for pallet

storage, and each 1.25 metre high pallet can be stacked 4 high to a height 6 metres.

♦ The warehouse roof is 10 metres high.

♦ A separate section is laid out with single pallets from where product can be picked for customer orders.

♦ Staff picks single orders at a time using hand pallet trucks.

♦ A counterbalance fork truck is used to move product around the warehouse

Current warehouse plan



Bearing in mind the increased lead times from third-party suppliers, particularly the distance product needs to be transported from the Far East to the UK, and the fact that a huge increase in stock will need to be stored anyway, explain (using diagrams if necessary) how the company can, without altering the building dimensions: ♦ Achieve greater storage density.

♦ Improve order turnround and efficiency by improving picking practices and equipment.

♦ Ensure a safe new operation.

♦ Minimise the packaging waste that would increase with greater volumes of more robustly packaged product being brought in.

Useful books Key Text Book: Hand Book of Logistics and Distribution Management, Alan Rushton, John Oxley, and Phil Croucher, 2006, Kogan Page Others Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management, Gattorna, Gower Walters D, 2003, Global Logistics and Distribution Planning – Strategies for Management, Kogan Page

Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Christopher, Pitman Publishing 1998 Inventory Record Accuracy: Unleashing the Power of Cycle Counting, R Brooks, L Wilson, John Wiley and Sons

Best Practice in Inventory Management – John Wiley and Sons – T Wild

Warehouse Management Handbook - Tompkins Press - James A. Tompkins, Jerry D. Smith

Basics of Inventory Management: From Warehouse to Distribution Center (Fifty Minute Series) - Crisp Pubns - J. David Viale, David J. Viale, Christopher Carrigan

Logistics and Transport Focus Journal

Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes and Technology, D Piasecki, Ops Publishing

2003 http://opsandfulfillment.com/ www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Tech_Rpts/Willistown/Mfg.doc www.turret-rai.co.uk/

http://opsandfulfillment.com/

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Tech_Rpts/Willistown/Mfg.doc

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Tech_Rpts/Willistown/Mfg.doc

http://www.turret-rai.co.uk/



www.ciltuk.org.uk www.linde-mh.co.uk www.imhx2004.co.uk/page.cfm/action=Exhib/ExhibID=00145 www.tclmagazine.com/ www.packagingmagazine.co.uk www.hse.gov.uk/ www.elogistics101.com/Mag-Articles/Magazine-Articles.htm

http://www.ciltuk.org.uk/

http://www.linde-mh.co.uk/

http://www.imhx2004.co.uk/page.cfm/action=Exhib/ExhibID=00145

http://www.tclmagazine.com/

http://www.packagingmagazine.co.uk/

http://www.hse.gov.uk/

http://www.elogistics101.com/Mag-Articles/Magazine-Articles.htm

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