Ian
Delivering on time is a major challenge that volume shippers have. Imagine the plight of an e-commerce site that does not deliver within the said time.
Customers would be unhappy at first. And then, very soon, there would be no customers. Before looking into how businesses shrink package delivery cycles without a huge dent in their budgets, let’s look at the common obstacles in the course of a package delivery cycle:
1. The company can’t meet delivery dates however much of a lead time they are given.
2. Operators always have a backlog, however, the production schedule is.
3. A rush order plays havoc with the whole week’s production schedule.
4. The warehouse is overstocked and also has obsolete products.
5. The sum of these issues plays with package delivery cycles.
Cycle Time Reduction Measures:
There are management tools that help with the problem at hand. The idea is to speed up the company’s order-to-delivery time to get the product into the customer’s hands expeditiously, at the lowest possible cost. It analyses every process from the order entry to scheduling to inventory management and shipping to find scope for improvement and making the chain more efficient. CTR generally looks to reduce lead time, manufacturing floor space, total quality cost, setup times and lot sizes etc.
Simplify paperwork:
It is interesting to know that several delays between order and delivery happen because of non-value-added activities like filling up paperwork!! Complicated paperwork and long waits during the work process can add time to the cycle, but no value to the product. So, it’s prudent to go digital, have auto form filling capabilities and most importantly, to not keep duplicating the same information repeatedly.
Are you looking at the right parameters?
Many companies measure the wrong parameters against criteria such as equipment utilization, productivity, or order completion date and think they are on the right track. But the bottom line is still puzzling! Competition, employee performance and other such parameters matter more than the parameters mentioned above. Employee satisfaction matters: a consultant once figured that employees never empty their bins because they were insecure about having their jobs the next day if their bins were empty. Have a comprehensive view of all parameters.
Capacity management
Peak seasons test you. So do lull periods. Promise only what you can. And deliver the promise! When you see a peak rush order coming in, don’t slacken with the other orders. They matter just as much as the rush order does!
