Operational Excellence

• Published in: Electrical Wholesaling Vol. 91; no. 2; p. 39
• Main Author: Coleman, Howard
• Format: Magazine Article Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nashville Endeavor Business Media 01.02.2010
• Subjects: Accounts payable; Accuracy; Automation; Business metrics; Costs; Customer service; Customer services; Distributors; Electrical equipment; Information systems; Inventory; Problem solving; Strategic management; Succession planning; Supply chain management; United States > US
• ISSN: 0013-4430

Distributors that want to excel need to take a fresh look at their key business processes and identify bottlenecks and redundant activities. They should employ "lean thinking" concepts and methods and target these initiatives to eliminating all non-value-added activities and inventory. Lean thinking can help them re-engineer all key work-flow processes, internal controls and management information systems related to sales and the entire fulfillment process, from the creation of customer orders to the shipment of goods. The objective is to maximize the productivity of all processes, eliminate bottlenecks, improve inventory management capabilities and improve overall systems utilization. To learn more about lean thinking, check out my articles on the subject at www.ewweb.com. Just type "lean thinking" into the search engine in the right column. Automated picking. Effective utilization of radio frequency (RF) and bar-code scanning technology allows for truly "paperless" warehousing and distribution capabilities. RF allows the computer system to send picking instructions directly to designated pickers through their hand-held devices. The system directs what orders to pick, the sequence in which to pick them and the storage locations to pick the product from. It also ensures correct picking by verifying that the bar code identification specified matches the actual item picked. Companies that have successfully integrated this capability have reported dramatic improvements in overall order accuracy, elimination of shipments not billed, the ability to hire less skilled and less expensive picking labor, dramatic improvements in the time necessary to pick orders and the elimination of the order checking functions. The author is the principal of MCA Associates, Derby, Conn., a management consulting firm founded in 1986. MCA implements continuous improvement solutions focused on business process re-engineering, inventory and supply chain management, sales development and revenue generation, information systems and technology, organizational assessment and development, and succession planning. You can contact him by phone at (203) 732-0603 or by e-mail at hcoleman@mcaassociates.com . Visit his company's website at www.mcaassociates.com . If you are interested in learning more about Lean Thinking, contact the author and ask for his free "Four-Phase Process to A Successful Lean Thinking Initiative" and "Four-Step Problem Solving Process."