9th September 2010 16:39

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	Technology Watch Knowledge Base

Knowledge Storage Logistics at File and Data Storage, Gloucs. UK

Problem Statement
Having grown rapidly during the last three years, FDS needed to address aggressive new competition by reducing costs in their key areas of operation

Improvement Approach
A benchmarking of the entire operation was conducted and followed up with an analysis of the three operations identified for operational and cost improvement.

Benefits
A minimum of 10% savings on operational costs was identified.

Company Contact Information
The Print Warehouse
Business to Business, The Print Warehouse, 10-14 St George's Place, Cheltenham, GL50 3JZ UK
Tel. +44 (0)1242 269166, Fax. +44 (0)1242 227474
E-mail iain@theprintwarehouse.biz
www.theprintwarehouse.biz

Bar-coded files ready for instant retrieval at FDS.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Following a period of sustained growth FDS sought to identify areas for improvement in its current business processes and lay down a solid platform to consolidate its operations and build on its reputation for quality and customer service whilst managing future growth.

Future plans include new premises, the introduction of shift working, extending geographical reach, 24-hour call-out availability and additional new services.

FDS want to introduce remote access for their customers so they can browse their inventory of stored files and order call-offs on line. This could be developed to provide on-line invoicing where monthly invoices can be as much as 50 pages for a single customer, currently all printed out and mailed. This is the area where some new software would speed up their operations and increase efficiency.

A clear forward plan is required to maintain margins and manage change during the move tot the new site. The plan needs to be discussed and communicated to staff and their input obtained, as it develops to ensure that the transfer is smooth and customer service is not disrupted.

The business has three opportunities to either improve its cost base or offer innovative on line services. Part of the forward plan needs to review and prioritise these.

With good strength in sales growth, more information on customers’ requirements needs to be formally collected and used to innovatively take forward the service offering. This will be increasingly important as the business grows beyond the information that can be remembered or maintained by its staff.

IMPROVEMENT APPROACH

Following the benchmark a ‘want list’ which was developed in the early meetings during which the potential of the ADMAN project, to improve business process efficiency and competitiveness at FDS was assessed, these ‘wants were largely confirmed. In addition the benchmark provided a deeper insight into the issues and challenges facing the company.

Processing Work Orders.
File request verification, often a faxed, emailed or telephoned order, which has to be typed at FDS. Remote access by clients who could select and write their own orders would save time and increase accuracy. An electronic order form used by the client was discussed.

Cost of Data Entry.
Direct entry from client files using a pre-formatted electronic template.
Increase accuracy and save money.

Layout of Warehouse.
ABC usage / access rates for different files/boxes
Allow for expansion while containing staff labour costs
Plan for new warehouse
To achieve this the database was analysed in order to come up with summary information regarding the location of Items and their frequency of pick. This was done by looking at the whole of the data for 2004 to date and performing a number of database lookups + queries to consolidate the data. It was clear that a reasonable degree of optimisation (10% is achievable) could be performed on the organisation and operation. Perhaps the biggest single contributing factor would be to re-assess the type of bar code used to most quickly and accurately locate items within the warehouse.

BENEFITS

The database was analysed in order to come up with summary information regarding the location of Items and their frequency of pick. This was done by looking at the whole of the data for 2004 to date and performing a number of database lookups + queries to consolidate the data. It was clear that a reasonable degree of optimisation (10% is achievable) could be performed on the organisation and operation of the warehouse.

Perhaps the biggest single contributing factor would be to re-assess the type of bar code used to most quickly and accurately locate items within the warehouse. An upgrade on the barcode technology in line with an improved layout of the warehouse will consolidate the savings described.

The use of a validated user data sheet for e-mail communication and the use of a web front end to allow users to place and raise work orders, combined with an intranet portal to allow account data to be easily reviewed should be undertaken both as an efficiency measure, but also as part of a customer marketing exercise.

The key to successful future market penetration and continued profits lies in automation and the reduction of unit costs in each of the three operations areas studied. The timing is perfect for this company, coming as it does, as they plan to move to larger, purpose-built promises.


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