Hello again,

it has been some time, but today I feel an urge to share my thoughts on how companies often focus on trying to fix negative effects late in the supply chain instead of going to the root of the problems.

As a product manager, I speak regularly to customers in order to understand what they need, both in their current operations and as part of future plans. The discussions about current operations  are usually problem-oriented, which is natural, and I will stay there in this article.

So I often listen to various operational problems. It may be congestion in shipping areas when the picking operation overwhelms the ability to load and ship the goods away. Or it might be picking problems because goods are inefficiently located, thus demanding additional time and effort to get it out.

My surprise is that companies tend to accept the symptoms and find solutions to mitigate them, such as advanced planning tools or over-complicated work flows. It certainly creates awareness and possibly a kind of a solution, but it also creates extra cost and an even more permanent problem. I would rather suggest going back to the root problems and resolve those instead. Using these two examples, I believe the right cure, to start with the congestion problem, would be to improve the pick wave and transportation processes. Or, worst case, expand the shipping area space. The right medicine for the picking problem is probably a better put-away process. Or, once again worst case, to redesign parts the warehouse layout.

If I am not clear, here’s a third example with a quiz. When the pick face is empty, would you A) encourage the process of running around the warehouse to find some good stock, or would you B) spend your effort on improving the replenishment and stock check processes?

As you might guess, I strongly believe in working actively with improving processes in combination with an event management solution which would alert the appropriate people when something goes wrong. Because it does, even with the best of processes in place. Though not as often.

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