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Warehouse Analyst

The quality of the performances of a warehouse cannot be judged subjectively; instead, it must be based on objective and unquestionable data: for this reason, measuring becomes necessary. Furthermore, the experience gained in almost thirty years of logistics consulting has shown us that each time a detection process of the performances has been initiated, long-lasting operating advantages are achieved. For this reason we have committed ourselves to realizing WAREHOUSE ANALYST: a solution to keep under control the profile and the productivity of warehouse activities.

The main drivers of the operational quality of a warehouse are productivity, lead times and accuracy of the work carried out; it is necessary to keep them under control quickly and reliably, in order to intervene if critical situations arise; it is equally important to know how to relate the level of performances to specific operating aspects (like overall flow of requests, size of orders, specific supplier and so on) and to handling resources (human and equipment) in the best possible way, to tackle emergencies quickly, to address specific commercial policies and to activate on-going improvement activities.

WAREHOUSE ANALYST collects raw data from other systems (WMS, ERP, CRM etc.), calculates and checks productivities, lead times and many other useful parameters to manage the warehouse systematically; this tool based on Business Intelligence techniques uses a suitably structured Data Warehouse fed primarily by data from the WMS (software that manages warehouse operation); moreover, if specific cost components are entered it is possible to relate financial and operating factors; for example to calculate the withdrawal line cost (may be articulated by type of order), housing cost and so on.

WAREHOUSE ANALYST monitors key operating factors daily and highlights, giving suitable notification (generally special characters), situations that are not in the norm. It is a tool of fundamental importance for the warehouse manager to manage the resources available to him in the best possible way and for the business management unit (management, commercial, logistics, procurement) to develop improvement policies of competitiveness and profitability.

WAREHOUSE ANALYST avails of over 50 reports to detect flows and performances, to trace them over time and make comparisons, to relate the phenomena. The installation is fast and Simco specialists help to identify how best to perform data migration and to interpret the results that emerge, offering an approach which, combining expertise in logistics and information technology, maximizes the use of the collects and analysis tool.

the method

Macroanalysis
Macroanalysis consists of two phases: confrontation with the I.T. area to verify congruence of the data acquisition graph (ETL) of Warehouse Analyst; confrontation with the Logistics area to verify the reports (and the methods of calculation of the single metrics) included in Warehouse Analyst satisfy needs. Macroanalysis will be the reference point for subsequent phases, illustrating the final structure of Warehouse Analyst (procedures and methods of ETL, metrics and constructible reports) and the assessment of any customisations that may be necessary/required.

Start-up
The procedures to load the data (the so called ETL Extraction, Transformation and Loading) that power Warehouse Analyst will be realized in close collaboration with the customer, having the knowledge of the structure of the source sw and - more generally - the hardware infrastructure. In particular, the data extraction phase will be handled by the customer (data collection format will be provided by Simco), while the operations of any transformation and loading into the Data Warehouse will be the task of Simco. In this phase, tests will be carried out on the strength of the importation procedures.

Release
Once Warehouse Analyst has been installed and configured, a series of tests will be performed to verify the correct operation of the system. In particular the following must be verified: efficiency of the production of information, correctness of the data provided, correct application of the security policies on the data. Once the implementation phase of the project has been completed, Warehouse Analyst will be made available to the entire group of users to verify its functionality. During this phase a short technical training course will take place for users of the System.

Improvement and training assistance
Followingthirty years of experience in logistics consulting, Simco can work side-by-side with the company in interpreting the “logistics instrument panel” and suggesting the optimisation and improvements in the processes to increase competitiveness. Training courses can also be organised and held during this phase to analyse and interpret the data.