Focus on Warehousing
inHARMONY 3 MARCH 2012
Today’s global economy is dependent on efficient supply chains that ensure the timely flow of
products. The flow occurs through a network of facilities and transportation systems that
carry product to their final destination, the consumer. Warehouse facilities are complex
operations requiring the integration of people, systems and technology to work effectively and
achieve optimum performance.
An important tool to evaluate
warehouse performance, and indeed
organisational performance, is
business process mapping.
Process mapping is a visual depiction
of the accumulated activities that
take place in each business process.
These activities ultimately determine
the company’s value proposition to
customers and its overall success. So
processes must be analyzed to
ensure they’re streamlined, meet
operating standards and cost
structures and, support key business
objectives. Process analysis is
particularly useful in identifying any
disconnection between business
activities and business objectives
relating to customer service,
efficiency, effectiveness, and
profitability.
Typical process mapping steps
include:
Process identification, meaning
document and map existing
processes, (AS IS Stage);
Benchmark performance and
establish business KPIs. Measure
performance to identify
performance gaps, business risks
and key controls in a process;
Discuss with personnel their
involvement in the process to
obtain each individual’s point of
view;
Determine required performance,
identifying areas of improvement
Document required processes,
including flow charts.
Is continuous improvement part of your
company culture? Is it a struggle to improve
your warehouse processes?
Do your employees wrestle with processes that fall short of best
practice?
How many non-value activities are you currently
performing?
Focus on Warehousing
inHARMONY 4 MARCH 2012
SWIM LANE
DIAGRAM The primary advantage of a swim lane diagram is the ability to clearly illustrate which department, function or person is responsible for performing the activity or making the decision. This approach is very useful for cross-functional mapping such as in the case of sales order fulfillment.
TIP—As a general rule, high level process maps
should contain no more than 7 steps. The
objective is to over simplify the process so it can be
easily understood.
SIPOC MAPPING SIPOC Mapping - SIPOC is an
abbreviation of – Suppliers, Inputs,
Process, Outputs & Customers
The purpose of a SIPOC Map:
Good process management or
continuous improvement activities
should commence with a high level
understanding of the scope of the
process first. A SIPOC Map or Chart
should define the boundary of the
process, and provide a structured
way to discuss the process, and
reach consensus before a detailed
mapping exercise begins.
Focus on Warehousing
inHARMONY 5 MARCH 2012
services from order intake to final delivery, identifying waste within and between processes. The objective is to visually present all the material and information flows across and throughout all the processes. Practitioners can drill down to discover bottlenecks and identify all value-adding and non-value-adding processes. Key metrics captured are cycle times, defect rates, wait times, headcount, inventory levels, changeover times, etc.
VALUE STREAM MAPPING Value stream mapping is a method of creating a “one page picture” or a high level look at a company’s flow of goods or
DETAILED PROCESS
MAPPING
Detailed process mapping provides a more thorough
picture of a process, capturing the inputs and outputs of
each step in a process and allowing you to classify them
as critical, noise, standard operating procedure or
controllable.
By controlling inputs and measuring outputs you can improve performance and
process efficiency. Detailed process mapping also helps
document decision points within a process.