Improving Materials Handling & Automation System Performance and ROI by Doing Homework
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Posted On :
Jul-29-2013
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Article Word Count :
587
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Improvements to material handling processes can provide greater value to customers through lower costs, higher quality products and improved customer service levels. Choosing the right system through proper groundwork can make system selection easier.The resulting improvements in the throughput, productivity and accuracy of any material handling and storage and retrieval operation have a direct effect on the bottom line and market share.
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Making materials handling processes more efficient is one of the fastest ways to provide greater value to customers through lower costs, higher quality products and improved customer service levels. The resulting improvements in the throughput, productivity and accuracy of any material handling and storage and retrieval operation have a direct effect on the bottom line, and market share as well.
Choosing the right system might seem to be a difficult task, but with the proper groundwork, system selection becomes clearer.
How to Begin?
Do some homework. Learn more about how your company functions in its market by doing research to understand your competitors, your customers and the marketplace in which you operate.
It’s important to know the strengths of your company and also areas where it may need to improve. Is your company known for innovative product design, just-in-time manufacturing, on-time delivery, fast order turnaround? In what areas in material handling would the company like to improve? Better throughput, more efficient operation, faster deliveries, fewer returns?
Who is your competition and how are they different from you? Is the market open to more competition? What is the marketplace challenges facing your company? What is your company’s market share?
The next step is to define your customer base. Who are your customers and what types of businesses are they involved in? Who are your potential customers? What makes them prospects? What are your customers’ expectations? How do they expect to receive products, and in what time frame?
The way to gather this information is to interview your own management, particularly marketing and sales executives. Their input, along with input from executive management, will help you build a model of your company’s relationship with its customers. Visit your customers’ web sites to get a sense of how they position themselves to their customers. Also visit the web sites of trade publications that cover your markets to learn about market trends. From all of this information, you can create a mission statement that answers the question, “Is there a better way to deliver my product to meet my company’s business objectives?”
Create the Ideal System
If you think that a materials handling process improvement plan can help your company meet its business objectives, create the ideal system by first creating a matrix that lists criteria such as scalability, system flexibility, improved productivity, increased throughput, improved accuracy, fast installation, floor space savings, ergonomics, and meeting green and/or lean initiatives. Chart the criteria vs. qualitative factors such as not important, important, very important, and must have.
Next, examine and evaluate a variety of materials handling and logistics management systems to determine if they meet system criteria. Use a scale from 0 to 10 as the vertical axis and the selection criteria as the horizontal axis. Plot each system based on how well it meets the company's criteria. This graphic approach illustrates which systems can best meet your organization’s storage and retrieval needs.
The goals of streamlining manpower requirements, minimizing inventory, increasing throughput and improving productivity can be reached with the integration of automated storage and retrieval systems such as picking and putting systems, flow racks, horizontal and vertical carousels and Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs), and warehouse management and control software. Depending on the scale of operations, systems such as sorters, trailer unloading and loading conveyors can also have a positive impact on efficiency, productivity and throughput. Finding the right system starts with knowing how your company functions in its market.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Improving Materials Handling & Automation System Performance and ROI by Doing Homework_273950.aspx
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Author Resource :
Integrated Systems Design- ISD is a leading manufacturer, systems consultant, designer and integrator for warehouse, manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, life sciences, institutions and retail organizations in North America. Systems are designed using technologies from the leading material handling manufacturers of the world. visit the ISD web site at www.ISDDD.com
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Keywords :
Automated Material Handling, material handling storage and retrieval, customer service, ASRS, Integrated Systems Design, inve,
Category :
Business
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Business
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