Logistics processes form the backbone of efficient supply chains and play a crucial role in the seamless supply of goods and services. From procurement to storage and delivery, well thought-out and optimized logistics processes ensure that products reach their destination on time and cost-efficiently.
Value creation is one of the most important goals in every company. Irrespective of the production or sale of goods, it is always a matter of acting particularly economically so that profit or at least the contribution margin increases. Analyzing the internal logistics process, such as warehousing and order picking, production and production supply as well as shipping and identifying the most important cost drivers, is particularly important for companies and is done either abstractly with key figures in the controlling report or concretely on site in the operational process.
As a so-called cross-sectional function, the logistics process extends along the entire value chain and thus also along the physical supply chain. Typical of the supply chain is the linkage between the respective elements and thus interactions between the individual areas. For example, it has a significant impact on warehousing if the quantity ordered in purchasing doubles. The increased order quantity leads to a significant strain on spatial and personnel resources and thus causes additional costs in the warehouse area. Optimizing the logistics process is important at this point in order to be able to react to the newly arising challenges at an early stage.
Analyzing and scrutinizing the logistics process is therefore the focus for many companies. As a first step, it is always advisable to look at the individual work steps in the company and consider the execution in the daily routine without relying solely on the key figures. Ultimately, the key figures merely indicate that, for example, x % additional overtime was worked in the past quarter. The statistical data do not provide a direct trigger. A deeper understanding of the process is required for identification.
The triggers are often individual reasons that primarily relate to the work process, such as insufficient space for storing goods, an insufficient number of suitable aids, e.g. for transporting or loading the goods, this can lead to delays in the time flow. Again and again, this results in supply bottlenecks in the daily work process. Over time, these bottlenecks accumulate. For those involved, these problems ultimately become visible, for example, in the form of the overtime rate.
Even just asking and involving the employees who encounter the grievances on a daily basis can help and optimize the logistics process. Employees usually show a willingness to provide information on what can be improved during the process and what specifically can be improved in the processes that are not functioning ideally. Even short-term measures such as setting up more storage locations with shelves or redesigning production areas to bypass avoidable duplicate handling can often be implemented shortly after the logistics process analysis.
Particularly in work areas where physical transport is required, it makes more sense to transship within the company as rarely as possible. As a consequence, this means tying up personnel capacities with every handling operation and thus ultimately generating costs. Analyzing the logistics process, and doing so regularly, is essential, as it quickly becomes clear whether the company in question needs to optimize the process in terms of warehouse structures. In this way, it can be ensured that these meet the requirements and that it is possible to work as ergonomically and efficiently as possible under the given circumstances. When optimizing the process, work equipment such as forklifts or pallet trucks must also be taken into account - this can reduce travel and handling times and increase internal throughput, among other things.
The required investment in such a technical retrofit can be offset by corresponding savings in operating time, whereby the initially seemingly higher price is put into perspective after the acquisition, commissioning and complete implementation of the other measures developed during the logistics process analysis. In the best case and in practice not so rare case, the costs within the intralogistics can be reduced by targeted investments, and this permanently.
Optimizing the logistics process with the aim of realizing success: in this context, a steady development is recommended rather than a major upheaval, from one moment to the next. This is due to the fact that it is rarely possible to completely redevelop and redesign the entire value and supply chain. It is usually necessary to optimize the process within the existing physical framework and with the existing team, which can be done better in small steps, with the goal of more efficient logistics.With the right measures, not only will efficiency and productivity in the company be increased, but the employees on site will also gain satisfaction through measures that can be derived from the analysis. This is difficult to represent in a numerical value, but it can certainly have a significant impact on the success of a company.
Our Motion Mining® technology can support you in optimizing the process. Based on the collected key figures and the experience of our process managers, you develop concepts together to optimize your logistics process.
To optimize and collect the required data, we need to analyze the logistics process. We analyze the logistics process with mobile sensors (wearables) and micro radio transmitters (beacons) to record the processes as they happen. By equipping employees with wearables and the environment with beacons, process data is determined during the process analysis on the basis of which we optimize the logistics process. In addition, there is the possibility to include vehicles in the observation. Meanwhile, we can distinguish between about 60 different movements. The movements include walking and running as well as overhead handling, unhealthy bending, sitting for long periods, bending from the back, carrying, lifting and holding. From the potentials, which we, while analyzing the logistics process, identify, we develop individual measures together with the customers, with which we optimize the logistics process and thus show ways towards more efficient and ergonomic work processes.
The scope of application of the DSGVO is not opened, while we optimize the logistics process due to a comprehensive anonymization of the data and various organizational measures. Process managers are enabled by our motion mining technology to perform process analyses and more frequently, over a longer period of time and with several employees at the same time.
In addition to the logistics process, we are currently optimizing and analyzing processes in the production sector with our motion mining® technology. In the health care sector, we have also taken the first steps with pilot projects with regard to process optimization. The process analysis is carried out with regard to the recording of internal material flows, care activities and their documentation.
Seamlessly integrate our Motion-Mining® hardware into your work processes to capture activity and motion data from your employees and vehicles. Evaluate them visually with our AI-powered MPI software.
Record the movements of your employees and vehicles anonymously with our convenient wearables.
Visualize the measured data with our MotionMiners PROCESS INTELLIGENCE software (MPI for short).
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