Were You Fit For Peak This Year?

Another year and yet another peak period is coming to an end.

With less than ten days to go, it is time to examine your performance this year.

With this past Monday being the last shopping day to guarantee delivery before Christmas in some places, now is the time to reflect on how your warehouse fared and honestly answer the question: Were you fit for peak?

Being fit for peak starts with a thorough examination of all your processes. From staffing to routes, even the weather. 2014 had it’s fair share of crappy weather. This, in part, led to delayed shipments and disappointed customers. The recent drop in temperatures also led to a quite a few stalled motors and late trunk deliveries in many distribution centres.

Peak planning should have started with the shipping of the last package from last year’s peak.

It’s never too early to start planning. Being proactive rather than reactive is the best way to stay on top of your plan and achieve even better peak performance. There will always be changes in industry practices, new equipment, changes in recruitment laws etc. and all these can affect how you do your business.

Was your peak period characterised by constant customer complaints? The following are steps to take to make sure the next one doesn’t go the same way:

• Start by revisiting your projections and make sure they are still in line with your business projections for the year.

• Sort your staffing levels. While you may be tempted to allow everyone to take the month of December off, are you sure that’s such a good idea. While you can always get temp staff in, is it always an economically viable option?

• Change the way your team works. Proactivity is a better way of fixing issues, but we are wired to be more reactive. Reactive management ‘feels good’, but why wait till things need to be fixed?

• How well did your current processes work for you? Analysing all your processes can allow you spot issues before they degenerate into major problems.

• A travel trend report by ABTA reported 4 million Brits chose to drive to continental Europe over the Christmas period. Imagine your fleet stuck behind all those cars on the motorway. Getting between depots and distribution centres will become a big hassle. Factor this into next year’s peak. Come up with alternative routes for your fleet.

• Ensure your equipment is at it’s best – This may be the right time to upgrade your warehouse equipment. A WMS, new pallet racks, new lift trucks; any items whose absence contributed to failed deliveries and poor performance should be purchased now.

Other points to consider include:

• Set order deadlines earlier to avoid the last minute stress.

• Having a cracking customer care team in place, to help calm down any upset customers.

• Consider using practices like cross docking, transloading and merge-in-transit to reduce travel miles;

• Optimisation of picking, packing and sorting practices.

Peak is always a testing time for distribution centres.

With all the ups and downs of 2014, you may be lucky to have had your processes in place and had an excellent peak. If you didn’t, the points outlined above should put you in a better stead to maximise profits in 2015.

Monarch Shelving supplies warehouse equipment to help keep your centre operating faster and more efficiently. Our pallet racks, new and refurbished, are some of the best in the North West. Give us a call and let’s help you make the next peak a more profitable one.