An integrated transport planning strategy can help businesses analyse efficiency and save costs across the whole supply chain. In this article we give an overview of all the processes involved and the savings businesses stand to make when taking a systematic approach to planning.

If you wish to optimise your transport planning and logistics strategy you should look at the following 8 main points and determine if any of them have room for improvement. Those main points are:

Warehouse processes have a habit of growing over time. New procedures, layouts and technologies are implemented to handle particular processes or in response to specific problems and tend to remain in place – often long after they have served their purpose. The long-term effect of this is a gradual loss of productivity as duplication and physical warehouse processes take up a growing proportion of your team’s time. When this happens, a new way of measuring and analysing your warehouse performance is called for.

Your warehouse is the hub of your supply chain and arguably it’s most important part, but it does not exist in isolation. No strategy to improve your warehouse will succeed without simultaneously looking at how it fits in with other elements of your logistics operation.

A typical warehouse includes dozens of individual processes, each of which is associated with a cost. Planning for warehouse improvement involves exploring the fine details and quantifying each process, then linking it with a KPI. Monitoring the following KPIs gives you accurate insight into your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for change, allowing you to implement an effective improvement strategy.

There are several reasons why you might seek to improve your warehouse operation. Changes may be triggered by external factors, such as new legislation, different products or evolving business objectives. Or they may be prompted by a review of your warehouse and logistics processes, whether in order to diversify your services, accommodate new customers or reduce your operating costs.

Faced with the prospect of continual change, due to external factors or strategic decisions within your business, there are a couple of approaches you can adopt:

A warehouse management system (WMS) is a software application used to monitor and control warehouse operations and materials right from the point they are received into the warehouse, when they are stored, and finally to when they reach the end-customer.

To get the best results from a WMS, successful implementation is vital. Failure to plan effectively for implementation can lead to data loss, reduced efficiency and even system failure. At LPC we help customers adapt and apply WMS solutions to the unique needs of their business. Taking a careful approach to change management reduces the risk of problems occurring, and ultimately increases the ROI you can expect from your new system.

In this week's article, in the series from members of the Automated Material Handling Systems Association (AMHSA), David Hayward-Browne, Director of Logistics Planning Consultants International (LPC), considers one of the key requirements when procuring an automated system: the use of Requirement Specifications within the project process and their benefits. LPC is a consultancy that has extensive experience in helping companies automate and run their operations.