Now, before you get caught up in end-of-the-year counts and number-crunching, might be the best time to re-examine your procurement and picking patterns with an eye on 2009.

Chances are, there’ve been changes in demand, inventory flow and even finanical needs. By taking a close look now at your situation, you’ll already have the answers when the paper-pushers come knocking.

Here’s a plan:

• Start with a layout of your inventory/stock area. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you should be able to identify aisles and areas.
• Over the course of two or three days, track the trips made. Could be for picking, stocking, or even returning items to stock.
• Analyze the results. Are your highest-traffic needs in your most-accessible areas? Are there high-hit destinations that are beyond lower-interest spots?
• Finally, get feedback from the people on the floor. Share the floorplan/map and results. Ask for suggestions about moving inventory from the slow lane to the fast lane, and vice versa.

Are items slotted where the should be, in light of changing business demands? Do you need a staging area for picked inventory? Should you relocate your staging area, to be closer to high-traffic areas?

And on a more practical note, are there now-popular items that workers have to lean over or climb a ladder to pick? You can reduce the incidence of ergonomic injuries and save the time of always having to find a ladder by shifting these items into more-reachable spots.

By examining your materials flow, it’s much easier to identify inefficient trips and repetitive actions. Asking the people who “walk the walk” every day for suggestions will increase efficiency and boost buy-in.

Tags: inventory, materials, picking, stocking