Harnessed data drives performance

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash 

IMAGINE A fashion fulfilment business that has two sites and operates them both in the same way. Yet while one performs well, the other commonly experiences bottlenecks and full chutes in certain areas, causing inevitable recirculation and reducing capacity. What could be causing this and what can this logistics business do about it?

With today’s complex logistics, facilities are under great pressure to optimise their processes for higher efficiency and uninterrupted performance. And all while dealing with the complexities of omnichannel sales, seasonal demand fluctuations, returns, overstocking, and the labour-intensive processes of unloading, picking and packing. 

{EMBED(1233849)}

Most facilities collect enormous amounts of data from their equipment and operators – but are they making the most of this mine of information? Understanding and working with this data can transform it from an inert repository into an extremely valuable tool that can be used to help make better-informed decisions and improve the performance of a fulfilment centre. It can deliver invaluable insights into operations at the facility – what is happening, why it’s happening and how to respond.

The two most important subjects that concern fulfilment facilities in their daily operations are equipment and operations. In other words, how well the system is operating and how efficiently orders are processed. Data analytics can provide help in both these areas.

For equipment, it can provide insights into component failures or the threat of failures, breakdowns and replacements. For operations, data analytics assists with stock and resources monitoring and overall operational capacity. Data analytics gives fulfilment facilities information on how to improve operational efficiency without having to make drastic changes to their systems: performance can be enhanced simply by basing operations and maintenance on data. Data analytics can be tailored to each site, to answer specific inquiries so as to meet each individual facility’s requirements. 

Data analytics can deliver useful information on aspects of operations and mechanics throughout a facility. For example, a common issue impacting automated sortation systems is the quality of item induction. Here, data analytics can help identify if operators need further training on how to better interact with the automated systems. Further, differences in loading rates at manual induction workstations can be detected and investigated to determine whether it is caused by a technical issue or unequal load sharing between workstations. Data analytics can also help determine whether workstations need to be added to handle larger orders, smaller orders, etc.

Data analytics can also give information about IT systems and the warehouse control system, such as if a disk is about to become full, the system is overheating, or response rates are slow due to, for example, heavy data traffic. 

In summary, these tools can provide an easy and intuitive overview of current operations, upcoming events and maintenance status. They are critical components for any facility looking for insight into its everyday operations and seeking to improve performance and efficiency by optimising the use of existing equipment.

For more information, visit www.beumergroup.com