March 11, 2022

Imagine What 25% Labor Savings Could Do for Your Bottom Line

This article first appeared in Logistics Viewpoints, in February 2022. Author: Jason Milbrandt

“Why not take all the detail you gain from your WMS and overlay that data onto a labor management system to gain a richer perspective on what’s really happening in your warehouse? What you find could be enough to return 10% to 25% labor savings to your bottom line.”

Understanding the True Value of LMS

“Top brass can better align labor goals to corporate strategies, giving the organization a clear sense of purpose and direction. Supervisors can manage to fixed targets, adding measurable value to the business within a meaningful context. Leading employees can be recognized by merit; lagging employees can be identified for further coaching. Everyone benefits by understanding the rally points and recognition can be based on demonstrable results.”

It’s Not Brain Surgery

“Adding an LMS to your WMS is a straightforward operation…The process begins by mapping your warehouse, location by location, horizontally and vertically, so that distances and hot spots can be identified, measured, and tracked. Take note of the time it takes to complete a task or travel from one location to the next. Work with your integrator to review and, if necessary, re-engineer various tasks prior to system configuration…Once the software is configured, test your original inputs and observations, and make any further adjustments.”

Getting the Most Out of the Data

“As long as everything is conducted according to the labor goals set in the system, everything holds steady. If a task runs off course, corrections can be made immediately. No more waiting until end-of-day or end-of-week to modify a plan. Lines can be balanced on the fly. Bottlenecks can be cleared. And building output can be tweaked, instantly, all on the wings of real-time feedback.”