I was recently reminded how team sports truly applies to the realm of dock scheduling. In speaking with clients and prospects, we see time and again how scheduling trucks and containers without a rigorous plan is deemed to fail. So why do sports teams invest so much time in making game plans and how can we relate this to dock scheduling?
The key objective of a dock scheduling system is to build a plan (strategy) to ensure that the warehouse runs smoothly. A proper dock plan will ensure that we maximize the productivity of our work force while properly receiving the merchandise that is the most important to the business. The proper dock plan is to the operation as the game plan is to the winning team. For instance, whether to limit the number of floor loaded trailers during a certain shift is the equivalent of man-to-man coverage rather than zone for a football team. How you manage the various constraints that effect your operation is the equivalent of how a coach will manage his player’s utilization. Like a sports team, your business relies on many players to achieve success and each player needs to be guided by a disciplined and uniform plan. In the world of inbound logistics, you have vendors, carriers/suppliers, dock personnel, buyers and managers to name just a few. Each has specific roles to play. Vendors need to prepare the order within your guidelines, carriers need to be on time, unloaders need to prioritize and optimize their time, etc. Does everyone know and understand their role before they show up to play? How much of your day is improvised?
There are many different types of dock scheduling applications on the market. Some are tied to a TMS and therefore plan around the needs of the TMS – usually restricted to collect freight. Others are offshoots to a WMS – they prioritize which inventory is coming into the building. We also see appointment scheduling applications which simply book a time slot – without discriminating the different load types or any other constraint. If you’re not going to use the right dock scheduling application which allows you to execute a winning strategy, then you might as well revert back to manual scheduling – at least you’ll be able to rely on the schedulers’ experience as they pencil in the proper appointment times (or key into a shared calendar).
If you’re serious about winning the game – maximizing product flow through and minimize labor and resource costs, then you need to start with a planning tool which will manage all your operations constraints; easily and effectively. A well thought out receiving plan is the first step in ensuring that your dock and warehouse are part of a winning supply chain operation.
Plan your plays if you want to win!
We invite you to watch our 2 minutes video on Solving your Scheduling Madness!
