With 30 years of expertise in providing services and technology-driven solutions to clients in industries like manufacturing, service providers, and municipalities, Talan's performance team is well-positioned to improve their clients' warehouse management. That’s why they offer a solution based on counseling and the implementation of a 3D model of your distribution center. You can discover the details in this article.
The benefits of optimizing your warehouse picking operations
Talan's experts often identified five major malfunctions during their visits to their clients' storage facilities:
- Picking modules unsuited to products
- Too much time spent searching for products in storage areas
- Unnecessary or inefficient movement
- Insufficient or unsuitable storage space
- A lack of automation as a direct consequence of a lack of investment in technology
Improving picking operations within storage facilities is a strategic solution to address these challenges. It offers several advantages, the foremost being cost reduction in inventory management. It's not uncommon for unnecessary items with low demand to occupy space that could be used for more critical products. Optimization enables precise identification of such items, facilitating the adjustment of inventory levels.
Additionally, this optimization effort leads to heightened productivity. The intuitive and visually intuitive interface of the optimization tool streamlines operations, eliminating the time previously wasted by operators searching for items or engaging in unnecessary trips.
Furthermore, optimization plays a crucial role in minimizing errors during order preparation. By implementing performance metrics and enhancing the overall visibility of the management process, tracking tools help to enhance accuracy. The end result is improved service quality, ultimately enhancing the company's reputation.
The choice of Slot3D
The tool used by Talan’s experts for this optimization is Slot3D software coupled with Autocad. The primary mission of this management software is to minimize warehousing costs by optimizing:
- Picking operations
- Spaces used
- Number of replenishments
“By combining our approach and the use of the software, we can easily target the 20% that generate 80% of the customer’s traffic”, explains Mathieu Bernatchez-Verville, Consultant, Operational Performance Improvement at Talan.
This versatile tool offers a wide array of features that allow for a rapid assessment of the current situation and a seamless comparison with the desired outcome, facilitating necessary adjustments.
Slot3D, as the name implies, provides a three-dimensional perspective of your environment, simplifying decision-making. The software's model is grounded in volumetric and velocity data, which are pivotal factors when embarking on a storage optimization project. Utilizing a sophisticated algorithm, users can strategically position their products and determine the ideal storage type and placement based on the varying demands for each product.
Furthermore, Slot3D includes a feature for modeling business rules. The experts from Talan, in collaboration with the client company, will collectively establish and implement these rules.
“Some products should be frozen in order to be stored. So, we’re going to create a group of products for the freezer. For others that are flammable or subject to explosion risks, we will create a group of products to be isolated and stored in a suitable location”, gives us as an example Mathieu Bernatchez-Verville.
The tool is capable of generating about 30 reports, from movement to classification.
Easy tool implementation thanks to Talan expert support
Implementation of the Slot3D solution takes between 8 and 10 weeks and is based on 4 main stages:
- Data import, collection and conversion.
- Warehouse parameterization based on current state and choice of business rules to be implemented.
- The future state is used to generate scenarios, perform the iterative selection loop, and create the ideal scenario.
- The action phase operationalizes the system, identifies the KPIs to be tracked and builds a plan to carry out the various stages.
The experts in the performance department also rely on 3 lines to make the optimization project functional.
The first line is what Talan can bring to the table, i.e., its expertise, methodology and ability to adapt.
The second line is the customer: you. You know your business, your process. You know what your goals are, and you have the in-house resources to help us achieve them.
“The most successful projects are those with a collaborative approach, where we work in symbiosis with the customer”, says Mathieu Bernatchez-Verville.
The last line concerns technological tools that will help customers achieve their objectives more quickly. Our experts train and support our customers in the installation and use of these solutions.
We don’t limit ourselves to product positioning and warehouse optimization, we can also offer you a wide range of additional solutions to add to your projects, such as:
- Dynamic simulation for expensive equipment
- Re-engineering of packaging, reception, shipping processes, etc.
- Cost/benefit analysis
- Inventory management analysis
- Warehouse design workshops
- Etc.
Interested in learning more about this innovative solution that has the potential to greatly reduce your overall operating expenses?
Discover our previous webinar, held on May 18th, 2023, where you'll gain insights from two of our foremost experts: Christian Dubuc, Principal specializing in Operational Performance Improvement, and Mathieu Bernatchez-Verville, Consultant with a focus on Operational Performance Improvement.
