Page 55 - DMGT553_RETAIL_STORE_MANAGEMENT

Retail Store Management

Notes It’s important that both carriers and receivers be flexible. “Arrival times can’t always be
controlled,” McKnight explains. “It’s not uncommon for the daily schedule to start slipping.”
Without scheduling inbound receipts, however, “you’ll randomly receive product as it
arrives, and may have some carriers sitting in your yard for hours,” McKnight warns.
“And you won’t be able to prioritize your receipts.” Knowing in advance what product
will be received and when, combined with system-directed put away, makes it easier to
treat incoming shipments appropriately. This could mean cross docking directly to shipping,
or using the product to replenish a pick location that’s below minimum. Or the system
may direct you to put the product into a reserve slot, for example, consolidating a less-
than-unit load put away in a location that already contains the same product. Of course,
this assumes that you’re not violating lot number integrity or first in, first out rotation
requirements.
2. Implement a vendor compliance program. “A vendor compliance program goes hand in
hand with advanced shipping notification,” McKnight says. “You want notification ahead
of time, and you also want to communicate with vendors exactly how their product
should arrive.” This may include specific labelling requirements, and standard case
quantities for each individual item. Best practice distribution centres integrate operations
with their suppliers.
“This way, suppliers help them achieve maximum throughput and maximum efficiency,
in a minimum amount of time,” Derewecki says. Working with suppliers so they provide
product configured for easy handling within your facility is key. ”A vendor compliance
program needs to be a collaborative effort that involves procurement as well as DC
operations,” says McKnight. Companies often hire a permanent vendor compliance
manager responsible for monitoring and measuring vendor performance, looking at
what percentage of the vendor’s purchase orders comply with requirements, and where
they’re complying. ”The goal is to get to 100-percent compliance, and to increase the
supplier base that participates in your compliance program,” McKnight explains. While
direct communication with the supplier typically occurs through merchandising or
procurement, the DC identifies issues and provides feedback to the merchandising or
procurement representative who communicates with the vendor.
3. Use automatic data collection technology. “People writing numbers on pads of paper or
keying strings of numbers into a keyboard is a bad sign,” McKnight says. The benefits of
automatic data collection—via bar code and radio frequency identification—are well-
established, including increased productivity and accuracy and lower labour costs. But
plenty of companies still haven’t implemented automatic data collection. “Some
organizations with 30,000 or 40,000 item numbers and multiple facilities are still convinced
they’re better off without technology,” McKnight says.
4. Preplan picking waves. “Picks should be pre-planned, so companies have the right number
of properly equipped pickers,” Derewecki suggests. A facility may have separate zones
for full pallet, case, and individual item picking. “Balancing those various zones with the
proper equipment is a lot of science and a little bit of art,” he says. Continually monitor
the picking operation throughout each shift to make adjustments as needed, such as shifting
pickers from full pallet to case picking to handle a surge.
5. Record every product movement as a transaction. “Any time you move product in the
warehouse, the move needs to be reflected by a transaction,” McKnight says. Loosely run
facilities may scan product when it’s received and put away, but not scan further moves
within a transaction, affecting the integrity of inventory data.

6. Use a hands-free order selection process. “Having operators hold a piece of paper, read its
contents, then go to a picking location is inefficient,” McKnight says. “Even using a handheld

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