11 Ideas of cost savings for your company
Feb 7, 2010 Inventory Management software
Many companies are asked to reduce costs and save money on their current operations. And in today's global market is even more important than ever to find ways to improve business results, many are asked to reduce costs or better yet, increase productivity and efficiency and lower cost, at the same time. Here are 11 ideas to save costs to consider.
INVENTORY
Backorders
One of the top customer inquiries and complaints is "Where is my order yet?" The pending order not only the costs of customer service time to respond to the research, also the costs to ship the product once it reaches the distribution center. With the cost of a pending order ranging from $ 7 to $ 12 per unit backordered merchandise, does not take much time to join and the costs to come to the right of the baseline. Analyze current orders and improve the accuracy of forecasts of inventory. The return on investment is a more advanced forecasting system in 12 to 18 months based on the reduction of backorders and improved turnover. Customer fill rate to be revised and improved without being out of stock or excessive. Sample costs of pre-ordering: A typical catalog with a rate of 20% backorder average of two items per order process 200,000 orders for a total of 400,000 units of merchandise. Calculated at 20%, 40,000 customer orders had backorders. The cost estimate pre-order on the lower end at $ 7.37 per order, the catalog will have to absorb $ 294,800 to offset the outstanding orders.
CONTACT CENTER
Product training and company policy
The formation of products is becoming a complex task, as traders are constantly looking for new products. With multiple degree, multi-channel and a wide range of SKU's available, the agents keep abreast of latest product is a challenge. Contact centers that provide regular product training through a benefit established a formal training program, when the customer places an order. The officers are not well trained in the product will have to ask for help so you can lengthen the time of call. Larger centers have a full time coach. Sample public information that Cabela's, the world's largest supplier, has been online 235,000 SKU's. Along with product training, and product information, communicating important messages to the agents is a necessity. Provide pop-up to the agents at the time of entry provides an effective communication tool to convey information about the products problem and important business meetings. Using the online features for the policies of the client company provides a quick and easy access for agents.
Scheduling Agent
Scheduling agents in the contact center customers can be a very complex task. Contact centers do a good job with a schedule based on expected call volume and fill the calendar with the available agents, but what happens next? This is where there is a gap between the calendar and what really happened. Take time to revise the original schedule with the actual volume of calls and agents working. This simple task will provide insight into the effectiveness of programming. The return on investment in software programming shows that those who have to see their lower costs.
Call Monitoring
Agents monitoring and reporting on a regular basis is essential to maintaining optimum performance in the contact center. It also provides an opportunity for supervisors to listen to what the client is saying and how the staff interacts with customers. The use of monitoring is helpful in identifying staff strengths, weaknesses and overall efficiency. Tracking votes by the supervisor can be used for evaluation of performance to increase productivity. Call Control monthly by management and traders is a good way to stay in tune with the customer.
Universal Agents
Universal agents, which can respond to the calls end, answering emails and handle customer service functions are an asset to your organization.These agents are able to change tasks as the workload requires maximizing productivity. The use of universal agents, especially during peak hours, reducing the need for dedicated agents. A mixture of universal and specific agents within the contact center provides a balanced workforce that reduces costs and increases efficiency. The use of universal agents makes it difficult to track the actual work performed and costs associated with each task for benchmarking purposes.
DISTRIBUTION
Slotting
An ongoing program to determine the correct slot location of collection is a must. Consideration should be given to the speed of the product (sales) and size (cube) placement in the selection line. Aiming storing at least a week moving average unit in the slot selection in addition to providing a variety of sizes of the slot must be a key element.
Picking
There are many methods of collection to choose batch collection, picking the area, collect and transmit, collect the cart and select the box just to name a few. When analyzing the type of product and type of orders (multiple front), the most efficient route selection processing can create the reduction of travel time. The separation of fast movement of the engines slow and establishing a "Hot Pick" of the engine area should be considered extremely fast. Picking the rates range from 115 to as high as 180 units per hour.
Packaging
If you are not making the selection box is your system has the ability to determine the size of the box to the packer? Container station is clean, hygienic and ergonomic installation? Dunnage is properly inserted in each box? Where is the package to check out? These are just some of the questions to see when looking at the loading area. Remember, the client presentation is as important as getting the shipment out the door quickly. Packaging rates average 35 to 40 per hour.
Entry of goods
Entry of goods is one of the highest areas of significant cost reductions in many companies. Multichannel Companies often spend 2% to 4% of gross sales of goods of entry. Most successful companies that have paid attention to the management of light load of incoming goods into and control of inventory in transit. Since inventory is, in many cases, their biggest asset, that asset management is critical to business success. There is a growing tendency to use instead freight collect freight prepaid. Freight transport input should be competitively tendered often. Freight bills of entry and program monitoring free yards and offers the opportunity for staff hours when necessary.
Output of goods
One of the main items of expenditure which is always a prime target for cost reduction is freight output. By sending the company increases in the range of 3% to 5% annually, this is the first area for questioning, "What can we do to reduce our shipping costs?" In the catalog of a typical enterprise, the freight rate varies from 8% to 12% of net sales. Competitive bidding for outbound freight often to ensure the best prices. The combination of freight inbound and outbound, with a carrier can produce savings. Many multi-channel companies, use shipping costs to offset the cost of outbound freight and handling of packages. Some have grown dangerously close to 20% of net sales.
Benchmarking – KPI's
Benchmark, benchmark, benchmark. The best indication of how their operations are being conducted through benchmarking. By developing a coherent and measurable key performance indicators (KPI's), can measure its cost, productivity and efficiency. Once you have completed and reviewed their existing operation, will be compared with the parameters accepted by the industry. You want to avoid using industry averages in general and those that are not specific to your business in the product type, size and clients. Many companies are using online information management for the critical KPI for contact centers and fulfillment.You can not improve the activities that have not been measured.
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Avoid a stock out of inventory – an industrial challenge
Feb 5, 2010 Inventory Management software
"A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse," said King Richard III in Shakespeare's well known drama – and may well wonder what relevance does manufacturing for the world! A closer examination of this event allows us to draw a series analogies with an out of stock situation of manufacture.
- There is a desperate need for an element that appears to be now available
- the value of the item has dramatically increased the party wishing to
- the location of a replacement item becomes fundamental
- and any delay in obtaining the item may be fatal
Analogies hard, but maybe there have been many cases where a manufacturing operation has sunk because of the purchasing policies of the poor and the lack of inventory control. One thing to have the ability to manufacture and assemble the desired order. It is quite another matter to ensure that all components and materials are available in hand and can be easily located when needed. This brings us to the realms of the purchasing process and inventory management, both of which are key components in the manufacturing process.
In a previous article in this series, entitled "Estimate – A parameter key benefit for manufacturers, it was noted that proper assessment and costing of a job is crucial to a profitable result. However, no matter how accurate is the cost estimate is of limited value once construction begins, if the material and supplies needed for the job are not available when needed. The lack of a component or the inability to locate his whereabouts often substantially the impact of workflow through the shop. Usually this can result in one or all of the following scenarios
- urgent request and deliver the item
- deflect or delay human resources to locate the item
- delays in a workstation with a full partially finished
- reconfiguration of machines to take on another task
- rescheduling of other activities in the workshop to accommodate the delay
- the reallocation of labor
Inevitable delays and accidents sometimes occur, but these must be the exception not the rule. If there is a high incidence of emergency order or production plant seems to be in a frequent state of confusion, looking for components or consumption, then it is almost certain that there are some serious problems that must be addressed.
Urgent request is a classic symptom of a system of procurement under stress. Whenever a properly managed inventory must be very few urgent orders placed. Inventory management requires interfaces well with the estimation process so that the requirements for a specific job are known before an appointment becomes a firm order. Once the production order is confirmed and timely component ordering supplies should continue in a measure.
Appropriate inventory management also should include
- maintaining proper stock levels and components based on well-developed max / min figures
- timely marketing orders to avoid stock outs
- relevant receipts so that items recorded delivery
- a well-defined storage location numbering system
- and a reserve capacity of quarantines values for specific stock items
In the past, many of these requirements are difficult to manage and track, particularly for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. With limited human resources available in a small organization of the manual systems are prone to error and the opportunity is often suspected that the staff tried to keep up with the paper trail and workflow.But today, with the ubiquitous and cost-efficient desktop computer smaller organizations can now compete on an equal footing with large, complex organizations, always select the right software.
Tags: Analogies, Cost Estimate, Desperate Need, ERP, Inevitable Delays, inventory, Inventory Control, Inventory Management, King Richard Iii, manufacturing, Manufacturing Process, MYOB, Proper Assessment, Reallocation, Reconfiguration, Relevance, Rescheduling, Scenarios, Shakespeare, stock location.software., Stock Situation, There Have Been Many Cases, urgent demand, Urgent Request, Workflow, Workstation
