To really achieve lean operation, timing is everything. 

With this front and center in your mind, watch out for these 7 deadly supply chain pitfalls:

• Build first, then wait for the orders to roll in. Do this and you’re liable to end up with a lot of product you can’t use. You know the money meter is ticking away each day product sits on your shelf and gathers dust. Solution: Analyze and monitor your ordering from outside suppliers.
• Too much down time. Staffers should move fluidly from one task to another, and outgoing shipments must be timed for maximum efficiency. For example, say your regular FedEx shipment goes out at 4 p.m. Yet there are almost always a couple of more orders that dribble in afterward. Those orders won’t go out until 4 tomorrow — unless you can adjust the timing of FedEx pickup.
• Efficient, uncluttered delivery routes. When was the last time you took a close look at your delivery patterns? Chances are, there’s been some change in suppliers and needs since then. Study where trucks are going now with an eye toward more efficient delivery, then tighten up those routes.
• No wasted motions. In addition to plotting the most efficient routes around the warehouse for putaway and picking orders, examine the ergonomics of each location. Are workers being asked to pick up too much from the floor? From higher than their head? Spend a few minutes each day observing how workers lift, tote and put down.
• Too much here, too little there. All too often, it’s a normal part of logistics shuffling: Early deliveries are stowed over there, orders going out soon but not yet are stashed here, inventory plopped into a temporary location, until the proper home opens. All of these cost you time and raise the risk of error, which can be even more costly. Clearly designate a place for everything, even temporary stops.
• Space, the final frontier. When you see the same warehouse configuration every day, it’s not unusual to start looking past areas that aren’t quite all that you hoped they could be. Some folks even develop what can be best described as a blind spot. What to watch for: too much open space; too much tight space; too much space on shelves; cartons that aren’t loaded to capacity; even outgoing shipments that aren’t packed to the rafters.
• Errors, plain and simple. Billing errors, incorrect shipments, broken or damaged goods or product, deductions, adjustments, mislabeled product and even simple inventory discrepancies and slip-ups. These all cost you, and will continue to be problems unless aggressively addressed and attacked.

Tags: managers, procurement, purchasing, supply chain