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FEATURE HIGHLIGHT: Inventory Location Management with ViewPoint Logistics™

Accurate, yet flexible and labor efficient Inventory Location Management is key to the successful operation of a multi-client 3PL facility and a fundamental requirement of the warehouse management system (WMS) that is chosen to manage the facility. By definition, all clients will not have the same location management requirements and all clients will not make the same product attribute information available to the local 3PL for care and feeding of the WMS Inventory Location Management function. For this reason, ViewPoint Logistics™ (VL) provides the flexibility of three different approaches and does not require the exclusive use of one of the three.

Inventory Location Management Options

Inventory Location Management focuses on the processes of

  • putting inventory away to
  • relocating inventory from / to, and
  • picking from

appropriate or correct locations and how the VL WMS can be used to support these processes. The three options that ViewPoint Logistics™ provides are different from each other in the amount of system support that is involved.

1. Operator Directed

Operator Directed Floor Process is the simplest of the three options and requires the least set up in VL. It also provides the least system support. For put away and relocation, the system leaves the choice to the floor operator regarding the correct or appropriate location for the inventory in question. VL will validate that the location is defined and exists, but will provide no additional decision support. The profile of 3PL clients/inventory and floor operations where this approach is most suitable or effective is:

  • Relatively large units of inventory (e.g. Cartons, Pallets, Totes, Rolls, Drums, etc.)
  • Highly experienced staff
  • Low inventory segregation requirements
  • Highly variable mixes of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) with minimal or inconsistent attribute information (i.e. product weights and dimensions)
  • Paper-based operations
  • Very high occupancy

2. Verified Operator Directed

The Verified Operator Directed Floor Process brings more system support to floor operations and, therefore requires more configuration than Operator Directed. As is the case with Operator Directed, the system largely leaves the choice to the floor operator regarding the correct or appropriate location for the inventory in question. Once the operator has made the choice, however, VL compares that choice to a table consisting of acceptable locations for the particular client/product being handled. If the operator has chosen a location that is not configured as acceptable for that client/product, they are prevented from completing the task and have to make another choice. If there is no other choice available, based perhaps on low available space, they can override the task completion block with a password (usually provided by a Supervisor) and the task can then be completed. As this product is now improperly located, it will remain on an error log until appropriate space can be emptied and the improperly located product is moved to a suitable location. This approach does not require precise information on product attributes (i.e. product weights and dimensions). It does require mapping the warehouse into zones or locations of suitability by client and product.

The profile of 3PL clients/inventory and floor operations where this approach is most suitable or effective is:

  • Relatively large units of inventory (e.g. Cartons, Pallets, Totes, Rolls, Drums, etc.)
  • Moderate to highly experienced staff
  • Moderate inventory segregation requirements
  • Relatively stable mixes of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) with minimal attribute information (i.e. product weights and dimensions)
  • Radio Frequency (RF) based operations is preferable but paper based operations is supported
  • High occupancy

3. System Directed

System Directed Floor Operations is based on all location instructions being provided to the operator by the system. VL expects detailed client/product configuration of:

  • weights,
  • dimensions,
  • segregation requirements (e.g. zones, storage types, separation codes),
  • co-storage rules,
  • SKU turnover rates

and then similar attributes to be assigned to the floor locations that are going to be available to the process. This information provides VL with a decision table to support the floor operator’s requirement to know which location is the target for the put away or move function (for example). There are also configurations that allow the system to determine the next ‘best location’, if the first choice is not available. With the above detailed configurations in place, an operator receives instructions from the system on the from/to locations for the work instruction they have to perform. The profile of 3PL clients/inventory and floor operations where this approach is most suitable or effective is:

  • Small units of inventory (e.g. Eaches, Units, Cartons, Pallets, Totes, Rolls, Drums, etc.)
  • Low to moderately experienced staff
  • High inventory segregation requirements
  • Very stable mixes of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) with accurate attribute information (i.e. product weights and dimensions)
  • Radio Frequency (RF) based operations is required
  • Moderate to high occupancy
Picking

Generally, the picking process in VL is always System Directed due to the requirement to pick and ship according to a recognized strategy, such as First In, First Out (FIFO). Infrequently, a 3PL facility will have a client where Operator Directed picking is required and VL does have strategies to support this.

Flexibility

Given that multi-client 3PL facilities rarely have mixes of clients and/or facilities that exactly match one and only one of the above preferred profiles, it is seldom possible to implement one Inventory Location Management strategy across the entire operation and achieve desired efficiencies. ViewPoint Logistics™ allows the flexibility to choose the strategy from warehouse to warehouse and, even, from Client/Product profile to Client/Profile within the same warehouse. Based on the desired outcome, the choice is yours!

If your Inventory Location Management options seem limited or not flexible enough to meet your efficiency and control objectives, ask your MAVES representative to show you how ViewPoint Logistics™ can help or email us at sales@maves.com for further details.