Fourteen solutions for a warehouse that can do better
Everything DVD Intelligence offers, as concrete solutions: from process analysis and forecasting to a tidy workplace, boards, dashboards and AI. Each solution starts from a problem a warehouse manager recognises, and explains what it is and what it delivers.
Know where you lose time and money, in figures. It always starts on the floor.
Walking the floor
"On paper everything runs fine, but on the floor it's different."
Walking a full shift with the people who do the work, nights included: seeing where people wait, search or do work twice, and asking why. This is always the first step, and the basis for the analyses below. The result: a list of what annoys the team, in their own words, with how often each point occurs.
Read the full explanation →Walking route: how far do your people walk?
"My people walk all day, but I don't know where the time goes."
A floor plan of the warehouse showing the route an order picker actually walks for one order. The more the lines go back and forth, the more unnecessary walking there is. After the improvement, the new route is drawn. The result: the walking distance per order, before and after, in metres.
Read the full explanation →Order flow: where does your order build up delay?
"An order is picked quickly, yet it takes days before it leaves."
A map that follows an order from arrival to departure, showing at each step how long is spent working and waiting. The processes that affect it are on it too, such as the release, replenishment and transport planning. That shows where the delay builds up and which other process causes it. The result: the total lead time, the delay that builds up per step, and the links that cost the most time.
Read the full explanation →Time measurement: how long should a handling step take?
"I don't know how many people I really need per hour."
A task is broken down into small handling steps, such as walking, scanning, grabbing and placing, and measured per step. With fixed standard times it is clear how long an order line should take, and which part is waste, such as searching. The result: a fair standard per order line and a staffing level that matches the work.
Read the full explanation →Productivity and KPIs
"We work hard, but I can't say whether we are productive."
A small set of key figures that really say something: order lines per labour hour, cost per order, trips that leave on time and errors per 1,000 lines. Each figure gets a standard based on time measurement, so it is clear what "good" is, per shift and per zone. The result: know how productive the warehouse is, where the difference lies, and whether an improvement really delivers.
Measured per shift, zone or team, not per person. Measuring per employee requires agreements with the team and is subject to strict rules.
Read the full explanation →Forecast and staffing
"At peak times we are always late, and in quiet times people stand waiting."
A forecast of the volume per day and per hour, based on history, linked to how many people are needed per zone. The result: a plan that is right in advance, instead of adjusting afterwards.
Read the full explanation →Trip and transport analysis
"Some trips take much longer than planned, and I don't know why."
An analysis that puts driving time, waiting time and unloading and loading time side by side per route and per customer, so it becomes visible where the delay arises. The result: an overview in Excel or Power BI of the routes and customers that cost the most time, and what can be done about it.
Read the full explanation →Remove the cause, together with the team.
Layout and slotting
"The fastest-moving items are stored at the back."
A map of the warehouse that shows how often each location is picked, and a new layout with the fast movers close to dispatch. The result: shorter walking routes. In practice this delivered +30 % productivity.
Read the full explanation →Dock and loading planning
"Trucks are waiting, and we pay waiting charges."
An overview of when trucks arrive and how long loading takes, turned into fixed time slots and a loading plan per dock. The result: fewer waiting drivers and a calmer dock. In practice, the waiting-time penalties virtually disappeared.
Read the full explanation →A tidy, safe workplace
"We keep searching for materials, and the floor is cluttered."
A method to tidy up the workplace together with the team, give everything a fixed place and keep those agreements with a short audit. Safety in the workplace is part of it too. The result: less searching, fewer accidents, and a workplace a customer can walk through.
Read the full explanation →Training system
"I'm not sure who is allowed to do which task alone."
Work instructions with steps and photos, a training matrix that shows who can do what, and an app the trainer uses to record on the floor. The result: new people who work alone sooner, and proof per person for an audit.
Read the full explanation →Making sure the improvement still works after three months.
Visual boards and daily huddle
"I only hear about problems the next day."
A board per shift that shows every hour what was planned and what was achieved, with a short ten-minute daily huddle at the board. The result: problems that are solved during the shift, by the team itself.
Read the full explanation →Dashboards
"Every morning someone merges Excel lists."
One dashboard with the figures from WMS, ERP and planning, ready every morning at 7 am. The result: one figure for everyone, without merging Excel lists.
Read the full explanation →AI assistant
"I want to know before the customer calls."
An assistant on the company's own figures that warns in time and answers questions in plain language. The calculation is always done on the data first; the AI only explains. The result: the warning at 7 am, not when the customer calls.
Read the full explanation →Tap the dashboard to see it large, or turn your phone to see the dashboard and chat side by side.
Ask a question about the figures in the dashboard, or choose an example: