3 Strategies for Improving Workforce Productivity - The "Ins and Outs" of Distribution Center Staffing

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3 Strategies for Improving Workforce Productivity - The "Ins and Outs" of Distribution Center Staffing
3 Strategies for
      Improving
      Workforce
    Productivity
   The “Ins and Outs”
of Distribution Center
               Staffing

TZA Workforce Performance Series
Strategies for Improving Workforce Productivity

The demand for additional distribution labor is increasing as companies react
to increased activity levels resulting from the recovering economy, which is
likely to increase exponentially in the next five years, The short supply of
semi-skilled labor and a steady growth in US labor rates has caused
significant concern for senior executives in the logistics industry. The recent
                                                                                         The short supply
recession forced companies to scale back and now that the economy is
improving, the decision to add labor back into the distribution center is a tricky       of semi-skilled
one.
                                                                                         labor and a
In an effort to control labor costs and react to fluctuating market conditions,          steady growth in
many firms are employing staffing agencies or “temporary labor” as a means
to increase their workforce. Other companies have followed the advice of                 US labor rates
management consultant Peter Drucker, “Do what you do best, outsource the
                                                                                         has caused
rest.”
                                                                                         significant
Assessing Your Workforce Staffing Strategy
                                                                                         concern for
So what alternative is best for your company? Should you do your own
                                                                                         senior executives
recruiting, use a staffing firm, or outsource all or part of your distribution
business to a third party logistics firm? Should you invest in workforce                 in the logistics
optimization programs as a way to improve productivity and utilization? Is
there a way to get a tangible return from that investment and can it be
                                                                                         industry.
measured?

To answer these questions, you must first assess your own workforce staffing
strategy. Over the past 27 years of implementing performance solutions, TZA
has observed and worked with hundreds of companies that face this staffing
dilemma. The table in Figure 1 summarizes various strategies or levels of
maturity with regard to staffing and workforce productivity strategies.

                                                                                     1
Workforce Productivity Maturity Matrix

                                          No defined process for managing labor

                       Basic              No labor planning
                       Performance        Few, if any, metrics or performance reporting
                                          Generally rely upon short-term staffing
You must first
  assess your                             Some processes for forecasting labor requirements

    workforce                               have been defined and documented

                                          Some throughput reporting at a facility or work cell
  productivity         Managed
                                            level – typically ad hoc spreadsheets not integrated to
                       Performance
maturity level                              other systems

                                          Some historical metrics for measuring productivity
 to decide the                              (units per hour) by work function

  best staffing
     strategy.                            Engineered and documented process and information
                                            flows for work functions

                                          Common measurement across work functions for
                       Engineered           labor resource allocation and planning
                       Performance        Historical performance standards at an individual level

                                          Service levels defined, documented and tracked using
                                            units per hour improvements and total delivered cost.

                                          Some defined training programs

                                          Well defined, continuous improvement programs

                                          Dynamic, engineered work standards

                                          Labor management technology and executive dash-
                                            board reporting
                       High               In-sourcing, out-sourcing or collaboration decisions
                       Performance          based on detailed requirements analysis and total cost
                                            of ownership

                                          Workforce incentive and discipline programs well
                                            defined

                                          Formal training programs at all levels of the operation

                  2   Figure 1
The reality is that only a small percentage of companies have reached the
pinnacle of a High Performance Workforce, even though there are significant
cost and performance advantages for those companies that advance along
this maturity matrix. The chart in Figure 2 shows the relative distribution of
companies in terms of their workforce strategy maturity levels.

Company Distribution by Workforce Productivity

                                                                                        There are
           60%               25%                10%               5%                    significant cost
                                             Engineered           High
                          Managed           Performance       Performance               and performance
                         Performance
         Basic                                                                          advantages for
      Performance
                                                                                        those companies
                                                                                        that advance
  Maturity Level                                                                        along this
Figure 2                                                                                maturity matrix.

Moving Up on the Workforce Maturity Matrix

Typically, moving up each level along the workforce maturity matrix results in
significant gains in productivity and utilization as well as cost reductions.
Companies moving from a basic level of maturity to a high performance level
have experienced productivity and utilization gains of 10% to 20%. Some
have realized even greater savings in specific functional areas of their
distribution operations. In addition to these productivity gains, cost reductions
in cost/unit can be significant as well.

How do companies progress along the workforce maturity model to capture
savings in what is becoming a challenging labor market? How can they get
there quickly in order to realize these kinds of benefits?

                                                                                    3
Distribution Center Staffing Strategies
                       Determining what is best for your company boils down to three components:
                       Risk, Cost, and Benefit.

                       On one end of the spectrum, the use of staffing firms is a popular approach in
                       which certain components of distribution operations are staffed. Companies
   Determining         can save money by utilizing the recruiting, administration and benefit costs of
                       a staffing firm. Depending on the size of a distribution center, the benefits that
what is best for       staffing provides include reducing the need for a significant HR staff to deal
 your company          with personnel issues and a cost savings resulting from a potentially less
                       robust benefit structure.
    boils down
                       The risks of this approach include the likelihood of creating an under-
        to three       performing workforce in a fully part time environment or creating a co-
  components:          employment situation that would negate any benefits savings originally
                       realized. Training effort and costs, quality and productivity are often cited as
Risk, Cost, and        being difficult issues to deal with in short-term staffing solutions. It is often
        Benefit.       very difficult to create and maintain a high
                       performance work environment with the constant
                       workforce churn typically associated with short term
                       staffing.

                       On the other extreme, many companies choose to
                       use third party logistics companies to handle their
                       entire distribution operations for them. This is a
                       significant decision and much has been written about
                       the success and failure of many 3PL arrangements
                       over the years. Some major 3PL organizations have
                       achieved high performance status for their clients. As such, they can bring
                       tremendous value to companies.

                       One way to jump to the high performance end of the workforce maturity
                       matrix is to outsource your distribution center to one of these 3PLs. Their
                       level of sophistication in supply chain operations, technology and integrated
                       service offerings can make them very attractive.

                       These companies are looking for a way to balance the costs and risks
                       associated with strategic workforce options. Just as important, the solution
                       needs to move companies along the workforce maturity matrix to achieve a
                       High Performance Workforce rapidly to drive operational and financial
                       benefits.

                   4
With regard to these possible workforce strategies, there is a significant
difference in the range of services available, from simple staffing solutions to
full blown outsourcing agreements. As such, service providers at both ends of
the spectrum are attempting to scale their offerings into contract labor
solutions in an effort to expand their market presence. Some staffing firms
are attempting to take on some operational responsibility by providing on-site
supervision or providing a staff engineer to time study a specific work function       Many companies
to offer a piece rate commercial structure.
                                                                                       seek a staffing
At the same time, some 3PLs are trying to scale back their service levels to           solution that is
field a labor-only solution. At the same time, larger 3PLs who have achieved
the high performance maturity level are looking for opportunities to bring a           “lighter” and
full, comprehensive warehousing solution to their customers. This would
                                                                                       more flexible than
include not only the labor and operational management, but also systems,
material handling equipment and a real estate solution.                                the expensive,
Utilizing the Managed Services Model
                                                                                       full outsourcing
                                                                                       of a 3PL.
Within this wide spectrum of possible solutions, many companies are seeking
a performance solution that is “lighter” and more flexible than the expensive,
full outsourcing of a 3PL, but carries significantly more sophistication than a
staffing firm model. Companies are searching for a way to gain the process
knowledge and execution expertise that the major 3PLs have to offer, but
want to do this in a more cost-effective manner.

This is where managed services offerings, often called “in-sourcing”, from
software and consulting companies, bring a different approach. Managed
services providers can offer a high performance workforce solution and
implementation methodology built on top of their experience in engineering
and process improvement, performance management consulting, productivity
software as well as training and organizational development programs. These
offerings are designed to provide most of the value of a sophisticated 3PL at
the cost and risk profile of a staffing firm.

                                                                                   5
The managed service approach provides the workforce in much the same
                           manner as a staffing firm, but the workforce is “pre-enabled” with the core
                           process and technology experience of the managed services solution provider.
                           In most cases, managed services, or “in-sourcing” solutions include:

                            Engineering expertise for process improvement and best practices
          Managed           Cost-based performance improvement plans
      Services can          Employees trained in best practices and methods
                            On-site performance managers and supervisors
  provide most of
                            Dynamic engineered labor standards
     the value of a
                            Operational accountability to productivity, quality and safety
sophisticated 3PL           Sophisticated Labor Management software
   at the cost and          Well-designed training and organizational development programs designed
        risk profile           to develop managers and supervisors into more effective leaders
                            Guaranteed cost performance through fixed piece rates and/or gain share-
 of a staffing firm.           based management fees

                           The managed service approach is also scalable from a single work cell to an
                           entire facility. The implementation methodology can call for taking over an
                           existing workforce and/or management team. This eliminates the large, risky
                           and expensive hurdle of successful knowledge transfer in larger
                           implementations. The result is the managed service will out-perform a staffing
                           firm by 30% or more. Essentially, the market demands have created a way to
                           deliver the value of hiring a 3PL to run your operation at the expense of a
                           staffing-only solution.

                           Comparing Staffing Alternatives

                           The chart in Figure 3 compares the difference in capabilities and value brought
                           by the different approaches.

                           As this comparison illustrates, for companies who are looking for new ways to
                           progress along the workforce maturity model, but have not become vested in an
                           outsourcing solution or where staffing does not provide the desired operational
                           benefits, there is an alternative workforce strategy for implementing a high
                           performance workforce.

                       6
A Comparison of Workforce Strategies

                                                             Managed
                                    Staffing      3PL
                                                             Services

Human Resources

Recruiting                            Yes         Yes           Yes

Benefits Administration               Yes         Yes           Yes           Every company
Safety Programs                       No          Yes           Yes           needs to compare
On-site Management                    No          Yes           Yes
                                                                              the difference
                                                                              in capabilities
Organizational Development            No         Limited        Yes

Performance Operations

Best Practices                        No          Yes           Yes
                                                                              and value of
Engineered Processes                  No         Limited        Yes           the different
Dynamic Performance Standards         No         Limited        Yes           approaches.
Labor Management System Software      No           No           Yes

Performance Dashboard                 No           No           Yes

Incentive and Discipline Programs     No         Limited        Yes

Operational Accountability            No          Yes           Yes

Guaranteed Piece Rates                No         Limited        Yes

Guaranteed Service Levels             No          Yes           Yes

Continuous Improvement

Workforce Training                    No          Yes           Yes

Strategic Planning                    No          Yes           Yes

Network Design                        No          Yes           Yes

Facility Design and Layout            No          Yes           Yes

Slotting                              No         Limited        Yes

Asset Management

Warehouse Own / Lease                 No          Yes           No

Equipment Purchase                    No          Yes           No
Value

Savings Potential vs. DIY            -25%      -15% to 10%   15% to 30%
                                                              2 to 4
Timeline to Savings                   N/A      18+ months
                                                              months
Figure 3                                                                  7
The Changing Face of Staffing

                        When faced with increased labor demands in a changing, competitive business
                        environment, being able to intelligently deploy your workforce to maximize
                        productivity is imperative to success. Knowing the “ins and outs” of staffing can
                        help you determine the right strategy for your distribution center.
Managed service
                        Managed service offerings can provide a compelling financial and operational
   offerings can        alternative to short-term staffing and full 3PL outsourcing choices. Although you
       provide a        must assess your company’s position on the performance matrix and determine
                        the specific capabilities required by your operations, for many companies
     compelling         managed services can bring significant intellectual capital and experience in
   financial and        developing a high performance workforce.

     operational
     alternative.

                    8
TZA, founded in 1984, is a leading supply chain consulting firm delivering management
consulting, engineering, technology, managed services and human capital solutions to
assist companies to achieve world-class customer service and a least-cost operating
position. TZA’s expertise helps develop a high performance culture across supply chains.
It has served the supply chain performance improvement goals of some of the world’s
leading companies.

3880 Salem Lake Drive, Long Grove, IL 60047
847.540.6543 | www.tza.com
©2011 TZA. All rights reserved. D1062011
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