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 The Fulfillment Doctor On: Scripted Demos and the OMS
By: By Curt Barry
Question: We have been investigating replacing our order management system, and we have had vendors in to demonstrate their systems. While we have spent a lot of time, we don’t ever seem to see the whole system or the particular features that are critical to our business.
Answer: Two words: scripted demos.
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The Skinny on Order Completion Analysis
By: By Sam Flanders
"Data analysis" is a name given to the process of evaluating and interpreting historical electronic data. In distribution environments, we most commonly look at historical product and order data, to look for patterns and opportunities that are not apparent from observation alone. This month I look at a specific type of analysis which can be done for operations that have a small number of SKUs common to many orders....
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Tackling Shipping Costs – Strategies to Save 10%
By: By Rob Martinez
Best-in-class operations use shipping as a strategic competitive weapon to attract new customers, improve sales conversion ratios and increase profitability. You can typically reduce shipping costs by 10% or more through carrier contract negotiations and other strategies....
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Calculating the Cost of Contact Center Turnover
By: By Kathryn Jackson, Ph.D
What does it cost you every time you lose a valued employee? Have you considered all the factors (hard dollars, soft dollars, direct costs, indirect costs) you should include? If you haven't, it will be difficult to assess which retention strategies will be profitable for you. The following is a list of costs you may want to include in your calculation. ...
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Fulfillment Doctor: The Art of Data Conversion
By: By Curt Barry
Question: We are in the process of planning our file conversion as we implement our new order management system. Our vendor is telling us that they normally don’t write a file conversion program for most files. What’s your recommendation?...
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Common Errors in Measuring System Performance
By: By Don Savage
When a warehouse manager suspects poor system performance, the first step is typically to check the real data. Unfortunately, more than 50% of the time, system performance is measured incorrectly. Data is only as good as the methods used to calculate it; if something is measured the wrong way, the results will be wrong. This may lead to the justification of system changes, or even an entirely new system, based on imprecise data....
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Vendor Troubles? Request a Sit-Down
No matter the amount of planning or communication upfront, there's always going to be a problematic vendor who either ships you damaged goods or consistently ships you the wrong amount. ...
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Getting Ready for Holiday, Part II
By: By Curt Barry
In the first part of our series on preparing for the holiday, we listed the information that should be gathered for taking your operational pulse. This week, we'll show you how to apply it....
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I Can Integrate This System Myself….Or Can I?
By: By Steve Lankford
Let’s say, you're starting to plan a material-handling project, which looks as if it will have some conveyor, scanners, a pick-to-light area, a couple of label printers and other miscellaneous equipment. The system also must interface with your existing warehouse management system, enterprise resource planning, or host system....
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Getting Ready for Holiday 2007
By: By Curt Barry
Now is the best time to start planning holiday 2007 because your people will remember vividly the good and bad anecdotal incidents from last year and you will also have the operational and benchmark data available. ...
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Crossing Into New Territory: The Multibay Vertical Lift Module
By: By Paul Roy
The vertical lift module (VLM) was introduced into the material handling industry more than 20 years ago. In that time, we’ve seen a variety of improvements, ranging from larger tray sizes to heavier capacities. All of these enhancements have been small changes to existing features, but this machine has now evolved into its next generation - the multibay VLM. ...
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The Day of the Dashboard
By: By Lynn Grogan
Customer service representatives account for roughly two-thirds of a contact center’s operating costs. In addition to the considerable boost in revenue generated by improved up-sell and cross-sell efforts, well-trained agents provide organizations with a valuable opportunity to enhance the customer experience and improve loyalty. But training is an expensive, ongoing process that represents a significant investment – one that must be well protected. Agent attrition is a huge problem, and organizations are recognizing the importance of implementing tools that not only train agents, but also keep them happy and motivated. ...
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Having His Say: A Different Take on Supply Purchase Agreements
I have to disagree with Bill Monk on his comments about supply purchase agreements in the June 6 issue of the O+F Advisor. Ostensibly, Monk reasoned that when evaluating the need to make a capital investment on void-fill machines, one should not blindly go for the promise of a free machine in exchange for buying a supplier's products exclusively. ...
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Quick Tip: Think Twice About Supply Purchase Agreements
When evaluating the need to make a capital investment on void-fill machines, don't blindly go for the promise of a free machine in exchange for buying a supplier's products exclusively. According to Bill Monk, director of operations/transportation for basket merchant The Longaberger Co., in the long run you end up spending more money than if you'd purchased a machine independently and contracted for a better deal on the void-fill supplies. Shop around and do the math before you sign, he cautions, and if you do select this option, always have an end date for when the machines will be "paid for" and when you can subsequently shop around for another supplier....
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The Fulfillment Doctor on Teamwork….
By: By Gary Conrad
Q: We want to achieve world-class results in our operation, but our efforts seem to fall short of our expectations. How can I improve the level of teamwork in the operation?...
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Making Screen Pops Pop
By: By Kathryn Jackson
Screen pops are basically any technology, including interactive voice response (IVR), automatic number identification (ANI), or computer telephony integration (CTI), that presents corresponding data ...
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A New Twist on Automated Storage and Retrieval
By: By Sam Flanders
There's a new twist out there on the automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). Mini-AGV (automatic guided vehicle) systems are an alternative to mini-load AS/RS ...
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Filling the Void, Part Two
By: By Sam Flanders
This is the second in a series on how to pack and fill parcels before shipping them. ...
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Don't Forget Yourself
By: By Jim Tompkins
When you are thinking about treating others as they would like to be treated, you should not forget about yourself. You also need to treat yourself the way you'd like to be treated. Here are some tips for making sure that you treat yourself well:...
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Four Tips for Cutting Your Inbound Freight Costs
By: By George Mollo
Inbound freight costs are generally hidden in your cost of goods but average between 2% and 4% of revenue. To reduce the bite to the bottom line, consider these suggestions...
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A Few Thoughts About Storage
By: By Sam Flanders
Are you thinking about adding to your existing pallet storage? If you have large numbers of pallets for a single SKU, there are a number of alternatives to traditional selective pallet rack that you may want to consider...
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9 Questions for Choosing the Right Home-Agent Provider, Part One
By: By Jeff Schmitt
In evaluating providers of home-based agents, many organizations make the mistake of focusing on tangibles such as skill-based routing, digital recording, real-time reporting, e-mail and chat capabilities, and redundant system configurations. ...
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