Many new phrases have become part of our everyday lingo as a result of the recession. One of my favorites is "Shovel Ready" It’s not nearly as cryptic or technical as "TARP" aka, Toxic Asset Relief Program, but it’s catchy! It’s a term that was used by President Obama in a Dec 7th airing of Meet the Press when he talked about the kinds of projects that the stimulus bill would help most. It wasn’t long after that when we began to hear every local politician use the term on the nightly news! Congress made the term quasi official when it incorporated the spirit of the phrase in legislation that provided stimulus money to construction projects that could be started within 90 days of receiving the funds. Meaning only those projects that had already completed the necessary preparatory tasks before the project could actually begin. Being an system implementation project manager, I’ve developed affection for the term!
Not all projects require a ‘shovel’ in the toolbox of things needed to get the job done, but all projects do indeed require a period of preparation before executing them. So, I ask… is your WMS - Warehouse Management System implementation project "shovel ready"? Perhaps you’ve just purchased a new WMS system to replace a technologically outdated one or to replace a paper based system. Either way, there are many things you can/should do to prepare for this life changing event! One of the more fruitful yet least desirable tasks in preparing a warehouse for a new system is general housekeeping!
- Got inventory that is aged or obsolete still gathering dust on your shelves? Write it off, toss it, donate it, recycle it, return it to the vendor, but by all means get rid of it! Got the same item located in seven different locations around the warehouse? Consolidate it to as few locations as practical.
- How about inventory sitting at the ends of the aisles, or on the office supply racks, or sitting on the floor of someone’s office? (really, I’ve seen this). Move it to where it should be - even if that means out the back door!
- How about old torn and faded shelf/bin labels that are now unused residue of a re-slotting project? Get the goof-off out and remove them, as it’s likely you’ll be doing some bin re-labeling as part of your WMS Management System implementation.
- Got any racking, shelving, material handling equipment like wobbly carts in need of repair? Do yourself a favor and include repairs as part of your ‘shovel ready’ preparations - it’ll be a visible demonstration of management’s commitment to change.
- Then there’s the data scrubbing task. Everybody has ‘junk’ in their item files – discontinued or obsolete items, duplicate items, and even non-existent items! Have your IT folks clean the data ‘house’ before you convert.
I could go on, but you get the idea. A ‘shovel ready’ WMS implementation will go a long way in smoothing the often bumpy road to a successful transition.
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