Reporting metrics are essential in the realm of 3PL (third-party logistics) warehousing to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and client satisfaction. Here are some key metrics used by Lansdale Warehouse:

• Inventory Accuracy: This metric measures the precision of inventory records compared to physical inventory counts. It helps identify discrepancies, such as overstocking or stockouts, which can affect order fulfillment and customer satisfaction.
• Order Accuracy: This metric assesses the percentage of orders picked, packed, and shipped correctly without errors. It includes measuring the accuracy of item selection, packaging, and shipping labels.
• On-time Shipping: This metric evaluates the percentage of orders shipped on or before the promised delivery date. It reflects the efficiency of order processing and shipping operations.
• Cycle Time: Cycle time measures the duration it takes to complete a specific process or task, such as receiving, storing, picking, or shipping an order. Monitoring cycle times helps identify bottlenecks and optimize workflows for faster order fulfillment.
• Inventory Turnover: This metric calculates how many times inventory is sold and replaced within a specific period, typically a year. A high inventory turnover indicates efficient inventory management and healthy sales.
• Space Utilization: Space utilization evaluates the efficiency of warehouse layout and storage configurations. It measures the percentage of available warehouse space effectively utilized for storing inventory.
• Labor Productivity: Labor productivity measures the efficiency of warehouse staff in completing tasks, such as picking, packing, and shipping orders. It considers factors like the number of orders processed per hour or per employee.

By tracking and analyzing these metrics, Lansdale Warehouse can identify areas for improvement, optimize operations, and enhance overall performance to meet client requirements effectively.

Improving warehouse worker productivity involves various strategies aimed at optimizing workflows, enhancing efficiency, and fostering a positive work environment. 

Here are some effective methods used by Lansdale Warehouse to improve operations:

• Training and Skill Development: Provide comprehensive training to warehouse workers on the use of equipment, safety protocols, and efficient work practices. Regularly update their skills to adapt to new technologies and processes.

• Optimized Layout and Organization: Design the warehouse layout to minimize travel time and streamline the flow of goods. Implement efficient shelving systems, clear labeling, and designated storage areas to reduce time spent searching for items.

• Utilize Technology: Implement warehouse management systems (WMS), barcode scanners, RFID tracking, and other technology solutions to automate tasks, track inventory in real-time, and improve accuracy.

• Set Clear Goals and Expectations: Clearly define productivity targets and communicate them to warehouse workers. Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure performance and provide regular feedback to employees.

• Incentive Programs: Implement incentive programs such as performance bonuses, recognition awards, or productivity contests to motivate workers and reward high achievers.

• Streamlined Processes: Continuously evaluate and refine warehouse processes to eliminate bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Encourage workers to suggest improvements and implement their ideas where feasible.

• Safety First: Prioritize worker safety by providing proper training, maintaining equipment, and enforcing safety protocols. A safe work environment reduces accidents and downtime, contributing to higher productivity.

• Team Collaboration: Foster a collaborative culture where teamwork is encouraged. Encourage communication between different departments to coordinate tasks and resolve issues efficiently.

• Regular Maintenance: Schedule regular maintenance for equipment to prevent breakdowns and ensure optimal performance. Downtime due to equipment failure can significantly impact productivity.

• Employee Well-being: Consider factors such as workload, shift schedules, and ergonomic conditions to support employee well-being. A healthy and satisfied workforce is more productive and engaged.
• Continuous Improvement: Embrace a culture of continuous improvement by regularly reviewing processes, soliciting feedback from workers, and implementing changes to enhance efficiency.

By implementing these strategies, Lansdale Warehouse has improved warehouse worker productivity and created a more efficient and effective operation.

Using a third-party logistics provider (3PL) like Lansdale Warehouse can offer numerous benefits over storing your own materials. Here are some of the key advantages:

1. Cost savings: A 3PL can help you save money on warehousing, transportation, and labor costs. By outsourcing these functions, you can eliminate the need to invest in expensive infrastructure, equipment, and staff. Additionally, a 3PL can leverage economies of scale to negotiate better rates on your behalf.
2. Flexibility and scalability: With a 3PL, you can easily adjust your warehousing and transportation needs to match your business’s changing requirements. This means you can expand or reduce your operations without worrying about the logistics of managing your own warehouse.
3. Improved efficiency: A 3PL can provide you with specialized expertise and technology that can help you streamline your supply chain processes. This includes everything from inventory management and order fulfillment to shipping and tracking.
4. Reduced risk: With a 3PL, you can benefit from their experience and knowledge of the industry. This means you can avoid costly mistakes and minimize the risk of damage or loss of your materials.
5. Focus on core competencies: By outsourcing your logistics functions to a 3PL, you can free up your time and resources to focus on your core competencies. This can help you improve your product or service offerings, customer service, and overall business growth.

Using a 3PL like Lansdale Warehouse can help you reduce costs, increase efficiency, and minimize risk. It can also provide you with flexibility and scalability, allowing you to focus on your core competencies and grow your business. If you’re looking to streamline your logistics functions and improve your bottom line, partnering with Lansdale Warehouse may be the right choice for you.

Shipping goods by rail is an efficient and eco-friendly way to transport large quantities of goods over long distances. Unlike trucks, trains can carry a huge volume of cargo, often with less fuel consumption per unit of weight, and with fewer CO2 emissions.

By choosing to ship goods by rail instead of trucks, we can significantly reduce the number of trucks on the road. This not only reduces traffic congestion and the risk of accidents but also cuts down on the wear and tear of road infrastructure.

Moreover, trains can be a more cost-effective solution, especially for long-distance shipping. By leveraging the economies of scale, trains can move more goods at a lower cost per unit. This allows businesses to save money on shipping and pass those savings on to their customers.

Shipping goods by rail is also a more sustainable alternative. With fewer trucks on the road, we can reduce the carbon footprint of transportation, which is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Trains also emit less air pollution and noise pollution than trucks, making them a more environmentally friendly option.

At Lansdale Warehouse, we firmly believe that shipping goods by rail offers a host of benefits, including reducing traffic congestion, lowering transportation costs, and promoting environmental sustainability. Our rail-served facilities play a part in moving towards this more efficient and sustainable future.

Lansdale Warehouse is committed to doing whatever we can to help protect our employees, customers, and neighbors from coronavirus infection. If you have any COVID or cold symptoms, please be respectful of others and wear a mask. While masks are no longer mandatory indoors, you may of course still wear a mask if you choose to. It is a good idea to always have masks on hand in case you may need one. Keep in mind that this policy may change at any time, depending on risk factors.

The CDC currently recommends the following based on your community level. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. Take precautions to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 based on the COVID-19 Community Level in your area.

LWC COVID-19 Prevention and Response Policy

Community level by county can be found on the CDC’s COVID-19 by County page.

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Pennsylvania E-ZPass users: Now that the signal lights are gone on the PA Turnpike and there’s no indication that your transponders are working correctly, be sure to monitor your account for “V-Tolls.” A V-Toll means the transponder was not read and an image of the vehicle license plate was taken upon exiting (but not on entry). Lansdale Warehouse learned the hard way in 2018 to monitor our account on a daily rather than monthly basis and had to dispute over 200 V-Tolls to the tune of $16,000+ in overcharges. As the statements only showed where the truck exited, we had to go back through GPS logs to determine where the vehicle entered the toll road which required hours of research.

For example, a Class 7 5-axle truck’s normal toll between Bensalem and Fort Washington is $10.35. Our V-Toll charge for the trip (shown above) was $179.44, a difference of $169.09. In the image, “TpkCharge” is what we were charged, “Toll” is what the actual toll amount should be for the trip. 40% of the 200+ overcharges were over $100 more than the actual toll.

A PA Turnpike spokesperson is on record as stating: “Customers will have to trust the technology that’s in their transponder. Just continue moving through the lane, assuming that if your transponder has been working, there’s really no reason for you to suspect that it won’t continue to work.”1

We suggest you do not simply trust that the transponder is working and monitor your account regularly, especially if you’re managing a fleet making daily trips using E-ZPass like us. While the PA Turnpike is fair in fixing the overcharges and adjusted our charges on a trip by trip basis, catch transponder failures early and save yourself from a research and reporting nightmare. Waiting for a monthly statement rather than checking your account regularly could allow these charges to build up, as happened in our case. There is no automated alert/warning email when you generate a V-Toll so you’ll have to do a manual check on their site of your recent transactions.

We’re looking at services like BestPass that provide “Mis-read Identification” where they monitor for V-Tolls and other misreads, suggest what they believe is the correct toll, and submit credit requests to the appropriate tolling authorities. BestPass claims that 3% of all tolls are misreads that lead to 60% higher bills (if they aren’t noticed and disputed).

Our hope for the future is that the current transponder technology is replaced by photo tolls where the license plate is captured during entry and exit. This technology is in use in other states and countries (and even at certain toll plazas on the PA Turnpike). We’d even be happy if we just got an automated alert any time a V-Toll is generated so we’d know to immediately check our account. Whatever happens in the future, we’ll be sure to keep a close eye on our account.

1. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/05/17/e-zpass-feedback-signals-disappearing-from-pa-turnpike-exchanges/?fbclid=IwAR2LS0fdEs1onQPDUbBjXN2zbKrKTbgQARbpnuu-jwa4j-j16r2qK3DJp5Q

Lansdale Warehouse is a proud sponsor of Penn State’s 2018 Supply Chain Pitch Contest which supports an entrepreneurial learning experience offered to over 63,000 Penn State undergraduate students, all majors across all Commonwealth campuses.

Our November 2017 newsletter is available here.