The Lean Logistics Blog

When most of us think of the cost of freight claims, we think of the cost of a damaged product from an unresolved claim. Or maybe the cost of not being reimbursed for your full loss. But there are many other hidden costs of freight claims… #1 Freight Claim Cost: Labor It typically takes 2 […]

March 21-22, 2013 | Florence, KY Keeping with the true spirit of PDCA, we have improved this workshop to include additional gemba time – both in the Operations Center and now at a Lean Fulfillment Center warehouse! Modeled after the Shingo- award winning workbook Building a Lean Fulfillment Stream, this dynamic and highly interactive workshop teaches […]

We just received the October Logistics Market Snapshot from our friends at the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics.  Below are some encouraging statistics from the report: EMPLOYMENT & LABOR: Transportation employment increased 2.4% year-over-year in September, adding 17,100 jobs from the previous month.  This equals 15% of ALL jobs addedin the U.S., including: 9,200 […]

We make decisions in the workplace every day.  As we all know, choices drive end results.  How can one be confident in choices in the workplace where the end result is reflective (good or bad) on the decision maker?   The XY Matrix, as discussed in Lean Six Sigma Logistics: Strategic Development to Operational Success, […]

The recent past has been challenging for many of us in industry. The bold truth is regardless of our age or experience level, most of us have never been down this road before.  Economists now feel we have at last hit bottom, whatever that means, and what logic are they are using to reach this […]

    In order to create operational and financial stability, we must manage our transportation by lean principles: Focus on Total Logistics Costs defined as total cost associated with logistics, including purchasing, transportation, warehousing, ordering and inventory carrying costs. Operate by the Guiding Principles of Lean Transportation Management:   1. Develop and Execute Transportation Strategy. […]

As typical of a material planner, one’s day is dealt with various challenges and obstacles.  Aware of these challenges, I typically meet weekly with the planners via conference call to reflect and identify actions/steps to improve upon the challenges and obstacles faced through the inbound supply chain. This time however, we conducted our weekly reflection […]

Here’s some easy supply chain math to get us started today.  How many dock doors do you need to support an inbound operation that averages 100 deliveries a day, if each door can handle 20 per day?  The easy answer is 5.  The real answer is much more complicated than that.  The real answer is: […]

Q: My company is growing and one of the things my logistics team is spending a lot of time on is building route plans. Any ideas for how to improve this process? A: During the early part of life for many companies, most routing is done ad-hoc – not only because it seems intuitive, but […]

“The Lean series at Georgia Tech has given me the tools needed to apply lean principals at my organization.” “I am only half way through the series and I am already able to apply the principals and tools I have learned back at my company.” There’s no doubt the Lean Supply Chain Certificate Program is […]