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Workflow - it’s all
about productivity!
Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to
Workflow we go…
What do Henry Ford and
software developers of today have in common?
Workflow at its simplest is
the movement of documents and/or tasks through a work process.
More specifically, workflow is the operational aspect of a work
procedure: how tasks are structured, who performs them, what
their relative order is, how they are synchronized, how
information flows to support the tasks and how tasks are being
tracked (Source:
Wikipedia).
So, what does that actually
mean and why should you be remotely interested?
One word – Productivity.
Increasing productivity facilitates many things without adding
more bodies: improved controls, lower costs, enhanced customer
service, and ultimately a more profitable business. It’s that
simple.
Workflow relates to the
logical sequence of steps required to complete a business
function. In distribution businesses, an example would be the
steps to take an order from initial receipt, through processing,
picking, packing, shipping and invoicing.
An automated workflow system
would track where each order is in the process, and could be
used to determine things like:
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"What should I be doing
next?"
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“Are there any orders
behind schedule?”
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“How can we optimize
picking and packing?”
As technology improves, and as
wholesalers and distributors gain more understanding on the
impact of productivity and process in the workplace, some ERP
systems have focused development efforts on delivering this
capability to their customers. And with each new product
version, the capabilities of the software grow in leaps and
bounds, providing the customer with the ability to improve
productivity significantly.
An example from the industrial
revolution was the introduction of the assembly line by Henry
Ford that produced motor cars so many years ago. It was simple
yet efficient – and reflects the basis of workflow thinking
today. Thinking that all good software developers, including
those at Blue Link, have espoused.
How far we have come…. And who
knows where it will end!
The Buzzzz
The WD
Disconnect
Today, an
inventory analysis of a typical wholesale distributor (WD) would
reveal a disconnect. It’s not uncommon for a WD to have 40%
or more of its inventory dollars invested in inventory
generating less than 1% of its gross margin dollars!
In this
age of computer sophistication, why is it that so many WDs
experience this incredible, profit-draining imbalance?
Here are
some leading causes:
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Lack of a ‘Stock Product
List’ by warehouse
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Haphazard addition of new
SKUs…many that arrive Dead on Arrival (DOA!)
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Inaccurate forecasting of
future demand
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Inadequate reordering
parameters
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Lack of a Dead Stock
management plan
Winning
the inventory management game is within the grasp of any WD…just
don’t expect overnight results. Bringing inventory into balance
requires a concerted effort and discipline. You can start by:
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publishing a ‘Stock Product
List’ by warehouse
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replacing ‘SWAG’ buying
(silly ‘wild ass’ guessing) with frequently-updated ‘best
practice’ calculations of demand and reordering parameters.
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reducing excess and dead
stock inventory levels and preventing their recurrence.
Start
today to effectively manage your company’s largest asset;
bringing the 40% : 1% into balance has never been more critical!
(With thanks: Bill Marr, Senior
Management Consultant, F.H. Black & Company
bmarr@fhblack.com)
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