Are you ready for the perfect storm?

Without physical stores, ecommerce habits of above 20% are set to remain and go higher. Now throw in escalating industrial action at Sydney's already gridlocked port, supply chains will have extra delays and disruptions.

Time for a tune-up? 

Now is the perfect time to get ready for the sprint.  While volumes might be down due to the circumstances right now, it is the time to plan, identify the bottlenecks and do something about them.  

Automation to the rescue?

Reliance on automation is not necessarily the answer. Often a well-run DC will outperform an automated one. Plus, dropping automation into a current manual operation is like performing ‘open heart surgery’. The organ will be ‘rejected’ if the integration is not properly planned and managed. All this takes time, so it may be too late for now – something to consider at a later date.

Back to Basics

By necessity, this is really the case. So what should you focus on?

• Walk the floor. A forgotten art. Define and improve the processes that matter to maximising your throughput to your customers. Small improvements count. Remember the saying - don’t let ‘perfect’ get in the road of ‘good’. Test; learn, adapt, repeat.
• Your most valuable asset – your people. Engage and get everyone to understand their role and what value they provide in the processes they perform. Don’t deluge the DC with untrained casuals to deal with the peak load.  Invest in good people and good supervision. Train them so they understand the processes and how they add value. Coach and reward good performance.
• Equip the man. Don’t just ‘man the equipment’, ‘equip the man (or woman)’.  Use technology and equipment wisely to support key processes and reduce bottlenecks.
• Take control. Don’t set and forget. Plan, manage and schedule through the day to maximise   throughput. Set up command and control to have visibility and connection to adapt and anticipate.

So are you ready for the perfect storm?

About Savills Supply Chain

Bob Quirk is the Director - Supply Chain at Savills Australia. With over 40 years’ supply chain experience, he can help you to tune-up your supply chain and provide tailor made solutions that work for your business.