Quick Wins in Process Improvement

I have shared how overworked SMEs can improve their internal operations by incentivizing ordering from customers and changing ordering quantity, frequency and consolidating deliveries suppliers earlier.

We all know ideal, technology driven solutions for companies, but it is the quick wins for companies that helps them get buy in for longer term supply chain performance improvements. Below are some common quick wins:

In terms of internal operations, many improvements can be gotten from imposing cut off times or ordering so that picking can be done in a consolidated manner.

Cost of picking if the cut-off time is not adhered to is additional time the picker goes to pick. Company can measure the additional cost of picking with the profits they are making so make sure that it makes business sense. Of impose additional charge of late orders.

Related improvement with cut-off time would be to reduce many points of contact with just one or two. In this way, there will be less need for communication between many parties over the same processes. Communication between too many parties wastes time and increase opportunities for misunderstanding.

Multiple entries of the same data is also another quick win. Setting up email ordering template and most often ordered items (with empty rows below for ad-hoc items) reduces multiple entries by encouraging right information from the source itself. It can also be sent to suppliers for their reference and record.

Another quick win would be to try to have quality control at source instead of at the end. We all know costs are high for low quality product to end customer. Quality control at source encourages staff in line to check and be responsible for their work. Very often, getting staff to sign on their work or sheet for a product helps improve quality. Any complaints later on can be traced to the staff in the related process for improvement instead of the end QV staff who probably do not know better what to improve.

Lastly, information flows can usually be streamlined. Whether it is duplicate forms to make it clearer for operations, writing or attaching needless information, time saved from quick wins can usually be gotten.