How to turn around failing warehouse operations

Speaker Adri McCaskill used an emergency room analogy to show warehousing and logistics professionals how to address operational crises in the warehouse, with an eye toward stopping the pain and putting the operation on the road to recovery. She spoke to attendees on day two of the Warehouse Education and Research Council’s (WERC) 46th Annual Conference, being held this week in Orlando.

McCaskill is general manager at iPlan Global, a supply chain IT services and consulting firm. She explained that turning around a failing warehouse operation requires checking the vitals (quick and efficient movement of inventory; control and ownership of operations; and the interaction between people, process, and technology); stopping the bleeding with triage (prioritizing focus areas, putting controls in place to act as a tourniquet, and implementing stop-gap temporary processes as needed); and stabilizing the situation by designing process improvements, documenting detailed work instructions, and providing extensive training and guidance.

When the emergency is over, the road to recovery requires continued attention to process documentation and work instructions—and time for newly implemented processes to take effect. McCaskill advised attendees to always keep the “big picture” in mind when addressing emergencies in the warehouse, including accounting for how process changes affect the technologies and people involved; give clear, concise, and detailed instructions when implementing new processes (whether short- or long-term); and make sure warehouse associates understand and have access to those work instructions.

WERC 2023 takes place June 4–7 at the Hilton Orlando.