In my first post I told you to audit your slotting quarterly. I was wrong. Wrong, WrOnG, WRONG! Let me explain why, and what you should actually be doing instead. If you are not paying attention to your slotting weekly, then you will quickly get behind.
Senior management should be reviewing the slotting weekly. That review should be a report from their team on certain metrics and top 10 item list reviews, and shouldn’t take longer than 10 or 15 minutes. At the senior leadership level, that’s how important it is, and that’s how little time it takes.
Why does the big boss need to pay attention to slotting? Because improving slotting will reduce workplace injuries, increase efficiencies, and reduce expenses. Better slotting means a better bottom line. That’s why companies invest in the position of a slotting coordinator. The responsibility for watching the warehouse and making those improvements now falls on you, the slotting coordinator. No pressure!
What could happen in the space of a week that requires such constant attention?
My average week typically consisted of 150 new items needing slotting, at least that many being discontinued. Inbound special order/non-stock items could number in the thousands each week. There was at least one major holiday nearly every month, sometimes two. Those holidays usually have special items that customers need. That’s just regular work, that’s not doing any improvement moves.
Why can’t you just slot the item when you first receive it and forget it? Below is a list of some of the reasons to move items after their initial placement:
- Seasonal Moves
- New items for the season (ex: holiday pies or cookie trays)
- Increased demand for a season (ex: sports stadium hot dogs)
- Increased demand due to increased sales.
- Decreased demand / discontinued items
- Optimize pick path
- Decrease travel time
- Re-arrange heavy/light items
- Segregate customers (each customer’s items in their own dedicated pick area )
- Maximize space in pick and reserve locations.
- Less replenishments/putaways
As you can see from this list, there are many different reasons for moves to be made. But how do you determine what to move? For now, we can start with those same reports we discussed you reviewing with your senior leadership weekly. Look at those top 10 lists, the top 10 items sold, top 10 items by replenishments, top 10 items shorted by selectors.
Those top 10 lists are your starting point. Once you have identified the items that need attention, the next step is prioritizing those moves to achieve the biggest impact. Not all moves are equal. Moving a high replenishment item to a larger slot could save your selectors dozens of steps. With hundreds of picks daily, that can add up fast. This is when slotting starts to get strategic and interesting. You’re not just moving product around, you are directly influencing the daily operations and efficiency of your warehouse.
After those top 10 lists, how do you know which moves to make? That is exactly what we will dig into in an upcoming post.
As we have discussed here, slotting needs to be reviewed every single week. As a slotting coordinator, you have the information to improve your workplace. Your improvements will directly impact the lives of your co-workers, making the workplace safer and a little easier for the selectors and forklift operators. And your boss will see the difference on the bottom line.