Dutch Warehousing Expert, in New Book, Calls for a "Radical Approach" to Warehouse Management
The emerging conventional wisdom about good supply-chain management techniques doesn't necessarily apply within the four walls of a warehouse--not, at least, without some modifications. That's the conclusion of Dutch warehousing expert Jeroen van den Berg. In a new book entitled "Integral Warehouse Management: The Next General in Transparency, Collaboration and Warehouse Management Systems," he says that managers must look beyond the obvious goals in order to optimize distribution methods. "A whole generation of logisticians have made us believe that reducing inventories, shortening response times and eliminating activities were the ultimate goals in supply-chain optimization," van den Berg says. And while those efforts have indeed lowered inventory expense and boosted service levels, they have also increased the cost of transportation and warehousing. His book argues that supply-chain managers aren't making adequate use of logistics data generated by modern information systems. "In practice," he says, "little is done with these data." Van den Berg sets out to show how the effective use of information can lead to more streamlined and transparent processes, boost the intelligence of warehouse-management systems and generate advanced analytics for fostering collaboration in the supply chain. Van den Berg, who runs a consulting firm that bears his name, has in the past advocated the strict measurement of order accuracy, urging managers to focus on correct products, packaging and documentation. They should perform random checks prior to shipping while monitoring customer complaints, he says. A formal stock-taking procedure can identify the main causes of inventory discrepancies, with further attention paid to the biggest problem areas. Complete documentation of administrative and physical processes, from order intake to delivery, can help to reduce cycle times. Among the factors to be tracked include how much time an order spends on each of those processes, van den Berg says.
http://www.jvdbconsulting.com

Flowers Foods Pursues "Lean Inventory" Strategy With Warehouse and Transportation Management from HighJump
Flowers Foods is a major supplier of fresh and frozen bakery goods, including such brands as Nature's Own, Cobblestone Mill, Sunbeam, Blue Bird and Mrs. Freshley's. Based in Thomasville, Ga., the company operates 36 bakeries with sales across the southeastern, southwestern and mid-Atlantic states. It manages a direct store-delivery network in that region, while relying on other delivery methods to achieve a nationwide reach. Sales in 2006 reached $1.9bn. Recently Flowers Foods implemented warehouse, transportation and yard-management systems from HighJump software. The move was intended to support a lean-inventory model, deploying HighJump's warehouse-management system (WMS) at its facility in Crossville, Tenn. to perform such functions as cross-docking and high-speed replenishment. According to HighJump, the technology allows Flowers Foods to distribute highly perishable goods with greater efficiency. At the same time, the company achieves a clearer view of inventory outside the warehouse. The HighJump yard-management system (YMS) helps it to streamline yard operations with automated work direction, appointment scheduling and complete visibility of trucks, trailers, drivers and goods. Flowers Foods uses intuitive transportation-planning applications, including load and route optimization. They allow the company to analyze transportation costs alongside sales data, resulting in an accurate figure for the cost of serving each customer. In the process, Flowers Foods is able to maintain high levels of customer service, while keeping tabs on inevitable fluctuations in cost allocations. The HighJump suite is helping the company to reach its goal of "minimal inventory," says Vyto Razminas, vice president and chief information officer. In another company development, HighJump said its WMS is now supporting inventory management for Lion Apparel, a maker of uniforms and equipment for U.S. military personnel. Lion has implemented the software at 17 distribution centers worldwide, allowing for the creation of an interlocking network of facilities. The result, according to HighJump, has been a 30-percent increase in productivity along with greater visibility and accuracy in inventory management. Lion also makes uniforms and equipment for firefighters, police, and emergency medical personnel.
Flowers Foods: http://www.highjumpsoftware.com
Lion Apparel: http://www.highjumpsoftware.com

Saddle Creek Takes Over Warehousing and Distribution for Nichiha USA Inc., Maker of Specialty Cement Products
Nichiha USA Inc., a producer of fiber cement products for the construction industry, has turned over the logistics management of a new manufacturing facility to Saddle Creek Corp., a logistics service provider. The $78m site is still under construction in Macon, Ga. It represents the first manufacturing venture in the U.S. of parent company Nichiha Corp., which is based in Japan and also operates 11 manufacturing sites in that country as well as two in China. Nichiha USA sells patterned fiber cement panels which are used in commercial, residential and multi-family buildings. Occupying 60 acres, the Macon facility will have a workforce of around 100. The manufacturing plant covers 300,000 square feet and is expected to turn out more than 100m square feet of fiber cement products. Production is scheduled to begin early in the fourth quarter of this year. The products will be stored in a 100,000-square-foot warehouse, to be managed by Saddle Creek. The vendor will also support Nichiha's distribution and transportation requirements from that facility. Construction of the plant marks a new corporate strategy by Nichiha to begin domestic manufacturing of its products. The Macon site fit best with the company's logistical and production requirements, according to Katsunori Takamitsu, president of Nichiha USA. The company has been importing fiber cement products into the U.S. since 1998.
http://www.saddlecrk.com

Kehe Food Distributors Acquires RedPrairie Supply Chain Suite, With Goal of Boosting Warehouse Efficiency
Kehe Food Distributors has picked up the E2e Supply Chain Suite of software vendor RedPrairie Corp., a specialist in applications for warehousing, transportation and labor management. Kehe is a distributor of specialty foods to more than 9,000 grocery stores in 47 states. According to RedPrairie, the new software replaces Kehe's custom legacy systems. The company plans to implement the tools at its main distribution center in Illinois, as well as in a series of forward distribution centers. The goal is to maintain complete visibility over product at all locations, both in storage and in transit. Kehe is seeking improvements in lot and date control, truck loading, productivity and freight costs. "Even though we have a high degree of automation in our distribution centers, we want improved product visibility and accountability in order to stay at the forefront of our industry," said Scott Cousins, Kehe's chief information officer. E2e will allow for real-time monitoring and feedback on operating efficiency. The software includes variable aging of inventory based on location or zone (frozen, refrigerated or ambient), country-of-origin tracking, customer-specified packaging, labeling and handling, and temperature-based zone loading and monitoring. Founded in 1952, Kehe sells a wide variety of organic, natural, ethnic and other specialty food products. In another company announcement, RedPrairie said its WMS and Workforce Management applications now include features and billing options to support third-party logistics providers. The tools support all of the functions required to optimize a multi-client distribution center. User-defined billing options cover such tasks as receipt check-in, putaway, picking, loading, storage and value-added services. Among the users of the software is Interstate Warehousing, a provider of public refrigerated warehouse services in North America.
Kehe Food Distributors: http://www.redprairie.com
3PL Applications: http://www.redprairie.com

Intermec Develops Handheld Cordless Scanner; Links It to Imaging Technology for Barcode Reading
Intermec has come up with a handheld cordless scanner that incorporates the vendor's near-far area imaging technology. The new scanner, model SR61ex, can read any barcode, in close-up mode or at a distance. Working in tandem with a vehicle-mount computer such as the Intermec CV30 or CV60, the scanner can read 1D, 2D, composite and postal codes, in any orientation, from six inches to 50 feet away. Integrated Bluetooth wireless communications eliminate the cables that would otherwise be required to transmit data to the host computer. According to the vendor, users can seamlessly shift from scanning an object in their hands to scanning a pallet high up on a rack. The unit's laser-aiming dot and higher fidelity reading capabilities permit distance scanning from the seat of a forklift. Earlier this year, Intermec introduced another EX25-enabled mobile computer, the CK31ex. Other features of the SR61ex include omni-directional scanning, readability in low-light conditions, and the ability to read damaged or obscured codes, including barcodes covered in plastic wrap. It is built to withstand extreme temperatures and multiple drops to concrete. A lithium battery provides more than 10 hours of use on a charge. Intermec's near/far imaging technology is known as Intellibeam.
http://www.intermec.com

WERC Brings the "Wiki" Approach to New Glossary of Warehouse and Supply-Chain Terminology
The Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) has applied "wiki" technology--the ability of users to contribute their own input to an on-line resource--to the supply chain. WERCipedia is the name of the council's new interactive glossary for supply-chain professionals. It contains an extensive searchable collection of terminology, acronyms, abbreviations and other information. At the same time, users can add new terms and modify the definitions of existing ones. In the process, the resource becomes open to peer review and approval by the warehousing and logistics community. WERCipedia is located at WERC Online, and is free to use. The current edition contains 3,755 entries and is expanding as a result of professional contributions, WERC said. WERCipedia is being offered in partnership with Industrial Data and Information, Inc. WERC's members hail from all sectors of the distribution industry. IDII is an independent research and consulting firm focusing on warehouse-management, transportation-management and enterprise resource planning software.
http://www.werc.org

Calendar: Upcoming Events of Interest

Benchmark Now!
Chicago, IL
Oct. 3-4, 2007
http://www.werc.org

APICS 2007 International Conference and Exhibition
Denver, CO
Oct. 21-23, 2007
http://apicsconference.org

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals 2007 Annual Conference
Philadelphia, PA
Oct. 21-24, 2007
http://cscmp.org

Achieving Warehouse Success: A Guide to Managing an Effective Operation
Austin, TX
Nov. 7-9, 2007
http://www.werc.org

Lean Warehousing Essentials
Austin, TX
Nov. 8-9. 2007
http://www.werc.org

5th Annual Supply Chain & Logistics Summit North America
St. Augustine, FL
Dec. 6-7, 2007
http://www.supplychain.us.com


Past Warehouse Logistics Report Issues:
July,2007