Are You Tracking the Right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Your Warehouse?
Guest blog from MHI Member Company Made4net
Warehouses play a crucial role in supply chains, serving as a mid-point in the movement of goods. With the rapid growth of e-commerce and omnichannel sales, warehouses have become essential for fulfilling orders efficiently and integrating digital technologies. In order to manage costs and add value to customer services, businesses need to improve their warehouse management and operational efficiency. This requires accurate data and the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and benchmark warehouse performance.
KPIs may vary depending on the specific operation, but there are some common metrics that should be tracked regardless of warehouse size. These include order fulfillment, inventory accuracy, overall throughput, replenishment, shipping/picking accuracy, inventory turns, dead stock, supplier KPIs, and customer satisfaction.
Inbound Metrics
The inbound stage of warehouse operations involves receiving goods and incorporating them into stock. This stage is critical for inventory management and sets the foundation for outbound orders. Metrics for inbound operations include measuring receipts per hour, line items per hour, and loads per hour. Additionally, tracking customer returns is important for assessing product quality and customer satisfaction. The dock-to-stock metric measures the efficiency of the inbound team and technology used in the process.
Outbound Metrics
The outbound stage begins with order placement and ends with dispatching goods to customers. The pick/pack operation is a key process in outbound operations and should be measured effectively and regularly. Metrics for outbound activities include order fill rate, order fulfillment timeliness, picks per hour, and on-time, in-full deliveries. These metrics reflect the efficiency and effectiveness of the picking team and overall performance.
Inventory Management and Timeliness
Effective inventory management is crucial for the success of any warehouse operation. Inaccurate inventory can lead to increased costs, lost productivity, and customer dissatisfaction. Inventory accuracy, measured as the variance between system stock and physical stock, is essential for managing turns and forecasting customer demand. Timeliness metrics focus on the efficiency of order processing and movement within the warehouse, such as order turnaround time and dock-to-stock time.
Replenishment and Order Accuracy
Replenishment metrics monitor the pace at which stock is replenished within the warehouse. Efficient replenishment techniques help avoid overstock, shortages, and delays in deliveries, while ensuring proper product rotation and maintaining safety stock. Order accuracy is a critical metric for ensuring customer satisfaction, and tracking returns can provide insights into process adjustments.
Demand Forecasting and Stock Turnover
Demand forecasting plays a significant role in inventory and stock management. By analyzing and understanding customer demand, warehouses can maintain adequate inventory levels and ensure lean operations. The stock turnover ratio measures how quickly items are received, ordered, processed, and delivered, providing insights into inventory health and order processes.
Storage Utilization, Dead Stock, Supplier KPIs and Customer Satisfaction
Storage utilization metrics evaluate the average space occupied compared to the storage capacity used, helping optimize storage efficiency. Dead stock metrics are important for identifying inventory that is not moving and occupying valuable space, leading to avoidable costs. Supplier KPIs, such as reliability, performance, compliance, and customer service, are crucial for effective collaboration. Finally, customer satisfaction metrics encompass various aspects of warehouse operations and focus on factors like on-time delivery, shipping accuracy, stock accuracy, inventory turns, and activity reporting.
Summary
In summary, efficient warehouse management relies on accurate data and tracking relevant KPIs. By monitoring and improving performance in areas such as order fulfillment, inventory management, timeliness, replenishment, order accuracy, demand forecasting, storage utilization, dead stock, supplier performance, and customer satisfaction, warehouses can enhance their operational efficiency and deliver high-quality services to customers.
If you want a deeper dive into Warehouse KPIs and how your operation compares to industry standards, you can download a copy of this white paper: “What are you Measuring in Your Warehouse?”
About Made4net
Made4net is a global provider of cloud-based supply chain execution and warehouse management solutions for organizations of all sizes to improve the speed and efficiency of their supply chain. The company’s end-to-end SCExpert™ platform offers a robust WMS solution that enables real-time inventory visibility, labor management, and equipment productivity with performance analytics that drive faster, more accurate order fulfillment and improved supply chain efficiency.
In addition, the platform offers integrated yard management, dynamic route management, proof of delivery and warehouse automation solutions that deliver a true supply chain convergence. Made4net is proud to be recognized by analysts and industry experts as one of the global leaders in warehouse management software, including the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems. Visit www.made4net.com to learn more.
