When most of us in the supply chain industry hear about Labor Management System software (LMS), the first thought is probably performance percentage. Folks that spend much time utilizing LMS software like JDA Warehouse Labor Management (referred to as JDA WLM and formerly known as RedPrairie Workforce Labor Management) within their operations often wake up and fall asleep asking, “What’s my score?” For those of you that may not work with JDA WLM or another kind of LMS as frequently, let’s take a step back and start with describing JDA WLM and Performance scores.
The best way we’ve found to introduce JDA WLM is this; JDA WLM tells you what your operation is doing and how well you’re doing it. It’s a means of applying a standard or goal time to the work that is performed in a warehouse. This allows operations to provide performance scores to their employees, shifts, and buildings. And unfortunately, in too many operations, this is where the use of JDA WLM ends. This series will highlight just seven of the many opportunities there are to use your JDA WLM for more than just performance scores.
Quality Management
A very impactful piece of any operation is to be sure your customers receive the products they ordered in the condition they’re expecting. Operations with only speed in mind are doomed to have errors. Further, tracking performance while only measuring against a timed standard is not going to give your operation the desired end result of a 100% effective supply chain. To do this effectively, you have to be able to identify errors and root causes and then quickly correct them.
JDA WLM allows for the recording of quality errors right within the software:
- These can be logged at the ‘assignment’ level.
- Your quality management employees can record reason codes, along with notes specific to the logged errors, and can log to any assignment whether it is inbound or outbound.
- Quality rates can also be incorporated into your current performance reporting. Imagine being able to post reports at the user level showing not only a performance score but also a quality score. This functionality easily allows an operation to identify challenges with associates, locations, and items with the base level reporting available in the JDA WLM system today.
Travel Distances
Most of us are aware of the costs associated with excessive travel distances in operations and the importance of tracking travel distances for tasks like picking and putaway. Did you also know that extremely accurate travel distances can be calculated by JDA WLM? When utilizing JDA WLM’s map, each assignment’s travel is tracked based on the mapping of locations, travel areas, and intersections. With some basic custom reporting, you can utilize these measurements to analyze travel distances specific to tasks in your operations.
Any JDA WLM user or future user needs to take advantage of travel distance reporting. Although users and operations may be reporting 100% performance, your throughput could be suffering due to:
- Dock door assignments
- Slotting opportunities
- PND placement, etc.
A common reference is travel feet per pallet for tasks like putaway which allows for quickly checking that optimal dock doors are being used for inbound tasks. How many operations have done extensive slotting projects and not been able to quickly identify travel path reductions? When utilizing travel distance reporting, you can quickly see travel per stop/line metrics. How many operations have considered interleaving but aren’t aware of the full savings that can be realized? With simple custom reporting, you could not only be analyzing travel but in most cases, empty fork travel. This is crucial for squeezing every drop out of your JDA WLM reporting.
Click here for Part 2 of JDA WLM – Opportunities Beyond Performance Scores.
Click here for Part 3 of JDA WLM – Opportunities Beyond Performance Scores.
Interested in JDA WLM and what it can do for your operations? Or, do you already have JDA WLM and have never installed or taken it beyond just performance scores? Contact Open Sky today and learn how we can help you achieve new heights of supply chain efficiency with JDA WLM.