Stephen's
Logistics
Letter
Tips, Advice And News To
Improve Your Logistics
UNITISATION - UGLY WORD, USEFUL
CONCEPT
Let me tell you, I wouldn't use a
word like "unitisation" if there
were any other. But unitisation is
such a useful concept that I can't
avoid it! And I'm sure you'll start
using it too, once you learn how
much time and money it can save you.
So what's it all about? Well, let
me take you back to the fundamentals
of supply chain operations. If
you're trying to improve your supply
chain operations, you've got to look
at activities which have the most
effect. And that's got to include
handling.
Why is handling so crucial? Simply
put, every time you handle
something, you give yourself the
opportunity to do something wrong,
or to cause damage - and on top of
that, you incur a cost. So, if you
cut down the amount you handle your
goods, then you're going to have
happier customers (because not so
much will go wrong) and a happier
Finance Director (because you've cut
your costs).
This is where unitisation comes in.
Obviously, you can't get rid of
handling - after all, having a
supply chain is all about moving
things from one place to another.
What we're talking about is making
sure the way you handle your
products suits what you have to do
with them. And in particular, I'm
thinking about the units of handling
you choose.
I guess the best way to explain to
September 2013
you what I mean is to give you a few
examples - good and bad.
I'm sure you must have seen the way
milk is stored in your local
supermarket. A few years ago, it
would always have been on a shelf in
a chiller cabinet. Think about what
that means - someone's spent time
taking each carton off a pallet and
putting it on the shelf. And while
they're doing that, there's a chance
they'll drop it, or put it in the
wrong place, or make all sorts of
other mistakes.
These days, the chiller's designed
to take a roll cage. So all the
shelf stacker has to do is roll the
cage into position - and the job's
done. No wasted time, no damage, no
mispicking.
And you've probably seen the same
kind of thing with other fast-moving
products - drinks at Christmastime,
for instance.
On the other hand, it's not long ago
I visited a warehouse where the
pickers had to spend time - a lot of
time - breaking the top layer of
cases off their pallets and manually
making up new pallets with the leftovers. All because their major
customer wouldn't accept pallets of
the size their production processes
created.
And I'm sure you can imagine the
results of having to do that. Extra
labour cost, of course - but also
delayed shipments, poorly presented
(and sometimes damaged) product.
And occasionally mixed products on a
pallet, if there had been a shift
change in the middle of the
repacking!
So how can you make sure your
unitisation suits your business?
Well, first of all you've got to
look at your whole supply chain.
You can have a fantastically fast
and efficient packaging line - but
that doesn't help you, if two stages
down your supply chain you've got to
spend more time and money undoing
everything it's done!
Secondly, when you're doing this,
it's really important to work back
down the supply chain from your
customers to production - and not
the other way round. Find out what
your customers want - and then
design your units of handling back
up from there. How many times have
you found that your customers order
in dozens, but everything's produced
in tens - or the other way round!
We all know that focussing on our
customers is important - and here's
a really good example of how you
need that customer focus in all
areas of your business.
So, in a nutshell, what's the key
message for you this month? Let's
do something practical - have a look
at how your orders are going out
through your door, then have a look
at how they're coming in. Now, how
many times are you having to change
their configuration on the way?
If the answer's none, then that's
great - and move on to something
else! Otherwise, you've got
something with great potential to go
at!