Every solution explained

What it is

Walking a full shift with the people who do the work, from start to finish. Nights or weekends too, if the work runs differently then. We observe without judging: where do people wait, where do they search, where is work done twice, and why.

When you need it

• The figures say something different from what management feels.
• Nobody really knows what happens during the night.
• The team complains, but it is not clear about what exactly.

How it works

1. A short talk with management: which processes, which shifts, what are the biggest concerns.
2. Walking along per shift, with a fixed list of what is noted: waiting, searching, walking, double work and errors.
3. Short talks with employees and team leaders: what annoys them most, and what would they change?
4. Everything is summarised and counted: which problem, how often, on which shift.

What you get

A list of the bottlenecks in the team's own words, with how often each one occurs and on which shift. Plus the first quick improvements that can be made straight away.

What is needed from you

Access to the floor on all shifts, one point of contact, and permission to talk to employees.

What it is

A floor plan of the warehouse on which the route an order picker actually walks for one order is drawn. By following the lines, everyone immediately sees where people walk back and forth, take detours or have to go back.

When you need it

• Order pickers walk a lot and the output per hour stays low, even though everyone works hard.
• People often have to go back to the same aisle.
• The warehouse layout has grown over the years, without a plan.

How it works

1. The floor plan is collected or measured on site.
2. A few typical orders are followed and the route is drawn. Where possible, the route comes from the scans in the WMS.
3. The walking distance per order is calculated.
4. A better route or layout is designed and drawn again, so the difference is visible.

What you get

The walking distance per order today and after the improvement, in metres, with the places where the biggest detours are.

What is needed from you

A floor plan, or the time to measure one, and a few orders that may be followed.

What it is

A map that follows one order from the moment the goods come in until the moment they leave. Each step shows how long is really spent working on it, and how long the order waits. The processes that affect the order are on it too, such as the release by the office, replenishment and the transport planning. That makes it visible that the problem is usually not in the work itself, but in the waiting in between and in the links with other processes.

When you need it

• An order is picked quickly, yet it takes days before it leaves.
• Pallets stand for a long time in receiving or in the aisles.
• Customers complain about delivery times, while everyone is busy.

How it works

1. All steps from arrival to departure are mapped.
2. For each step we measure how long is spent working and how long is spent waiting, from the WMS and on the floor.
3. The total lead time and the part that truly adds value are calculated.
4. The biggest waiting point is identified, and together we draw what the flow should look like.

What you get

A map of how it runs today and how it should run, with the total lead time, the part that is real work, the delay that builds up per step, and the other processes that cause the delay.

What is needed from you

Timestamps from the WMS (receiving, put-away, picking, shipping) and people who can explain the steps.

What it is

A task is broken down into small handling steps, such as walking, scanning, grabbing and placing, and each step is measured. With fixed standard times per step it becomes clear how long a task should take, and which part is waste, such as searching or waiting.

When you need it

• Nobody can say what a reasonable output per hour is.
• Staffing is decided on gut feeling.
• There is debate about whether a team or zone works 'too slowly'.

How it works

1. The task is broken down into handling steps.
2. Measurements are taken with different employees and at different moments, so they give a fair picture.
3. A standard time is set per handling step, and waste is separated out.
4. The standard per task is converted into the number of people needed per hour.

What you get

A standard per task, the share of time that is lost, and a staffing level per hour that matches the work.

What is needed from you

Employees who are willing to take part, and a clear explanation to the team that it is about the process and not about people.

What it is

A small set of key figures that really say something about the warehouse, such as order lines per labour hour, cost per order, trips that leave on time and errors per 1,000 lines. Each figure gets a clear definition and a standard, so everyone knows what 'good' is.

When you need it

• There are lots of figures, but nobody steers by them.
• Every report shows a different figure for the same thing.
• Management cannot say whether the warehouse is becoming more productive.

How it works

1. Together we choose the four to six figures that matter most to the company.
2. For each figure we record how it is calculated and which source it comes from.
3. A standard is set, based on time measurement or your own history.
4. The figures are followed up every week per shift and per zone, and later put into a dashboard automatically.

What you get

Per figure a sheet with the definition, the source and the standard, plus a first measurement of where the warehouse stands today.

What is needed from you

Data from the WMS, the planning and the hours worked.

What it is

A forecast of how much work comes in per day and per hour, based on history. That forecast is converted into the number of people needed per zone, using the standards from the time measurement.

When you need it

• At peak times everything runs behind, in quiet times people stand waiting.
• Temps are called in at the last minute.
• The planning is adjusted again every day.

How it works

1. The history of orders and volumes is collected, ideally covering at least a year.
2. Patterns are sought per weekday, per season and per customer.
3. The forecast is made and tested on the past: how well would it have done?
4. The volume is converted into people per zone and per hour, and the forecast is updated every week.

What you get

A forecast and a staffing plan in Excel or Power BI, with how accurate the forecast is.

What is needed from you

The history of orders and volumes, and information about promotions or new customers that change the volume.

What it is

An analysis that shows per route and per customer how long is spent driving, waiting, unloading and loading, and compares that with the planning. That shows where a trip loses its time.

When you need it

• Some trips take much longer than planned.
• Drivers complain about certain customers or loading points.
• There is overtime or there are waiting charges, without it being clear where they come from.

How it works

1. The data is collected: the planning, the GPS or trip data and the scans.
2. For each stop we calculate how long was spent driving, waiting and unloading.
3. Every trip is compared with the planning.
4. The routes and customers with the biggest deviation are highlighted, with proposals such as different time windows, a different sequence or a different loading order.

What you get

An overview per route and per customer, with a map of the route, the stops that cost time, and concrete proposals.

What is needed from you

An export of the planning and of the GPS or trip data.

What it is

A map of the warehouse that shows how often each location is picked (a heat map), and a new layout in which the fastest-moving items are close to dispatch.

When you need it

• The fast movers are at the back or high up in the racks.
• In some aisles pickers get in each other's way.
• There is a lot of walking for few order lines.

How it works

1. For each location and each item, the WMS shows how many times it is picked.
2. Items are grouped by how often they move.
3. The heat map shows where it is busy and where it is not.
4. A new layout is calculated, with a relocation plan in phases, so operations do not come to a standstill.

What you get

The heat map, the new layout, the calculated gain in walking distance and time, and a relocation plan.

What is needed from you

An export from the WMS of the locations and the picks, and the floor plan.

What it is

An overview of when trucks arrive, how long they wait and how long loading takes, turned into fixed time slots and a loading plan per dock.

When you need it

• Trucks are waiting, and waiting charges are paid.
• At the dock it is chaos at some hours and empty at others.
• Drivers and carriers complain.

How it works

1. Arrivals, waiting times and loading times are measured.
2. The peak moments per dock are made visible.
3. Fixed time slots are designed, and a loading plan per dock.
4. Agreements are made with the carriers, and the waiting time is followed up further.

What you get

A dock schedule, a time-slot system, and a figure that keeps tracking the waiting time.

What is needed from you

The registration of arrivals and departures, and the list of carriers.

What it is

A six-step method to tidy up the workplace together with the team and keep it that way: sort out what is not needed, give everything a fixed place, clean, standardise, sustain with a short audit, and safety.

When you need it

• A lot of time is spent searching for materials, scanners or packaging.
• The floor and the aisles are cluttered.
• There are accidents or near misses.

How it works

1. We start in one zone, as an example for the rest.
2. The six steps are worked through together with the team, with before and after photos.
3. Fixed locations are marked and agreements are recorded.
4. Every few weeks a short audit with a score follows, and the approach is extended to the other zones.

What you get

A zone that serves as an example, an audit checklist, and a scoreboard that shows progress.

What is needed from you

Time from the team, and some materials such as floor marking and boards.

What it is

One system for training in the warehouse: work instructions with steps and photos, a training matrix that shows who can do what, an app the trainer uses to record on the floor, and AI that helps with creating, translating and checking.

When you need it

• It is not clear who is allowed to do which task alone.
• At peak times, temps don't know how to do the job.
• During an audit, it takes searching to find who learned what.

How it works

1. The existing trainings and documents are mapped.
2. For one department, the work instructions, the matrix and the app are set up and tested with the trainers.
3. Then the rollout to the other departments follows.
4. The company's own people learn to manage the system themselves.

What you get

Work instructions, a training matrix, a registration app and a monthly overview. All in Microsoft 365. The full explanation is on the training system's own page.

What is needed from you

Microsoft 365, and one or two trainers who take part.

What it is

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. Problems are noted with who solves them and by when.

When you need it

• Problems only surface the next day.
• Team leaders are firefighting all day.
• Agreements from meetings are forgotten.

How it works

1. We choose what goes on the board: planned and actual per hour, safety, and the problems of the day.
2. The board is made, on paper or on a screen.
3. The daily huddle is taught together with the team leaders, with a fixed agenda.
4. The actions are followed up, and after a few weeks the board can be filled automatically from a dashboard.

What you get

A board per shift, a fixed agenda for the daily huddle, and an action list that is followed up.

What is needed from you

A place for the board, and ten minutes per shift.

What it is

One dashboard with the figures from WMS, ERP and planning, ready every morning at 7 am. Everyone looks at the same figure, without anyone having to merge Excel lists any more.

When you need it

• Every morning someone merges Excel lists.
• Different departments have different figures.
• Problems are only seen when it is too late.

How it works

1. We record which questions the dashboard must answer every morning.
2. The data from the different systems is linked in one data model.
3. The dashboard is built together with the people who will use it.
4. It refreshes automatically, and the users get an explanation.

What you get

A dashboard in Power BI or Excel, the data model behind it, and a short manual. Examples are live on the Data & dashboards page.

What is needed from you

Access to the data, through an export or a connection, and a Power BI licence if the dashboard goes into Power BI.

What it is

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 what the figures say.

When you need it

• Management wants to know what is going wrong before the customer calls.
• A lot of time goes into reports and answering questions.
• There is already a dashboard, but nobody looks at it at the right moment.

How it works

1. First we check whether the process and the data are in order. Without that, AI is not reliable.
2. We record which warnings the assistant must give and which questions it must be able to answer.
3. The calculations are built on the data, and the AI is placed on top.
4. The answers are tested for accuracy, and the agreements on their use are recorded.

What you get

A working assistant with alerts, a test report, and the documentation according to the rules of the AI Act. A live demo is on the AI assistant page.

What is needed from you

A dashboard or data model as the basis, and an agreement on where the data is stored: in the company's own environment or on a dedicated server.