Warehouse and Distribution

LOCATION: Ontario and British Columbia

PRIORITY OBJECTIVES:

To increase sales and profits substantially over a five year period. The collaboration with PVA provided a means to better achieving these results through changing people’s behaviors, improving Management Operating Systems, and optimizing business processes and procedures.

To meet and exceed the targets, the project focused on:

• Reducing costs
• Increasing throughput
• Improving safety, quality and service indicators
• Improving associate communication, morale and job security

Particular emphasis was placed on standardizing the approach taken across 2 Distribution Centers in 2 geographically unique locations.

PVA’S RESPONSE:

The PVA Approach included the following:

• Developing a Model to predict the expected volumes
• Conducting an observation blitz so Supervisors could set better expectations, and planners could make tighter crew size plans
• Installing a Daily Review focused on attainment and productivity
• Conducting Process Brown Paper critiques, Shift Start Meetings, and two hourly tours quickly focused the Associates on the identification and resolution of issues and roadblocks
• Training and coaching Supervisors to achieve higher levels of active supervision, allowing them to better reduce the gap between ideal and actual in the key performance indicators
• Training and coaching Coordinators to coach, audit and assist management to resolve issues
• Providing the Executive with a structured framework to improve their performance in a disciplined and focused way
  

PROJECT RESULTS:

The projects delivered large scale productivity improvements. Performance records were set for multiple KPIs. Supervisors are meeting their commitments on active supervision and training. Crew size continues to be in line with standard expectations. The corporation is now able to manage dramatic volume swings in an optimal way resulting in no erosion of the bottom line savings.

PERPETUATION OF RESULTS:

Audits carried out over a year after the project show that the system is continually improving. Internal and external audits and corrective actions continue efficiently. The Executive continues to be requiring and supportive of their team.

VERBALS:

“Our last project set out to expand our business five fold and five years later was seen as a total failure. PVA in a few weeks has changed the foundation of our company and attained what seemed impossible a few months ago.” - Vice President Logistics

“We had all the theory but you (PVA) stood by us in the trenches and made this happen.”  - Distribution Center Manager

“The Shift Start Meeting is a great tool. It allows us to know how well we performed and to find out how we can continually make ourselves more effective.”  - Associate