Things don’t seem ever to get back to normal anymore. In fact, it’s been over 16 years since the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent meltdown. Things have never really returned to ‘normal’. Along came COVID-19, digital transformation and other technology applications knocking at your door. Changes in customer expectations, inflation, “AI”, wars, elections, etc., have all made sure of that.

There is a pattern here; just as we manage one disruption, another crisis comes knocking. Business has never been so volatile. Change is always in the air. That’s true for any of the functions within your company’s value-stream…and especially for warehouse distribution operations and product procurement and replenishment.

“When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange”, because it isn’t about surviving until things stabilize; it’s about learning to thrive when things get chaotic, It requires elements of perspective, the constant hunger to pioneer, and a dogged persistence.

 

Learning Objectives:

1. The basic principles of ‘reinvention’ and the required ‘mind-set’ towards short cycles of reinvention (every 2-3 years! – yes, every 2-3 years!).
2. Some tools to “take-away” to evaluate your company’s and your own attitudes toward reinventing your way through constant change.
3. The key approaches to increasing ‘Speed-of-Flow’ through your warehouse distribution facilities
4. Eliminating the 10+ “wastes”
5. Enhancing warehouse distribution’s contribution to profit – it’s not just a cost center anymore
6. Understanding the difference between “Push vs. Pull” inventory replenishment.
7. Strategies for future warehouse operations ‘cost avoidance’. Yes, distribution is on the cusp of metamorphosis