Amazon Warehousing

The building about a million square feet and employ a thousand associates during the peak holiday seasons. The store millions of units of inventory within the buildings and millions of different types of inventory as well , and ship out tens of thousands of customer orders everyday during peak .
In the busiest time of the year many of employees as possible as they can to get the customers orders out , and they try to get as much inventory so our customers can see the selection that Amazon .

Center how the product throughout the building is they bring the product in from the vendor , typically receive it on large 53 foot trailers , they bring it in either in pallets , or case quality will receive it , so they do a virtual receipt of every item to transfer ownership to Amazon and then they put it into the bin .
It’s important to put it into the bin because they could put the item on sale on the website . so the customer can look at the website see what item they have for sale , they have larger style items and they can order the item then , they will be in charge of picking it out , packing it into a box and then sending that out of the customer on the appropriate shipping method .

They are robotics facility and the robots really serve its an essential function in the fulfillment process for the customer but behind that , it’s very heavy people-drive process , so they still have people at every step of the way with the product , moving , packing and shipping the product .

Kiva platform:

watch out this video on how it work :

The employees are aided by more than 800 Kiva robots in the 8th-generation fulfillment center — a result of Amazon’s $775 million acquisition in 2012 — that do everything from sort packages to lift heavy 3,000-pound pallets 24 feet into the air. Kiva Platform enabled them to store the inventory in much more condensed manner and to stowed to pick of that inventory and a quicker rate.

The technologies obviously helped make the process more efficient but they still need humans . The human being , they are the backbone of the company , they drive all the customer orders and all the customer fulfillment , without them it would be very extremely difficult .
The big challenge they have is ensuring that they bring on the people especially for peak in really controlled and safe manner , they spend a lot of time ensuring that people go through safety school, spent a lot of time ensuring that they know and are trained in the process and that made our process simple enough , that we cannot actually train quickly and efficiently as well .
They also have driver-less car that is automated guided vehicles and this so essentially, they called Tugging function, what it does ?

its eventually move to the other end of the building at “picking” stations where employees can quickly pick items off shelves when a customer order comes in ( it takes pallets that they have located for the replenishment process from one end of the building to the other) .
The amazing things about working at Amazon is that they are always trying to figure out what the new way that they can fulfill their customer orders .

OVERNIGHT SHIPPING

Overnight shipping is an absolute masterpiece of logistic that happens every single night. It may not be cheap , but you can get a package shipped from Florida on Monday night to Alaska by 8:30 am on Tuesday .The speed and efficiency of these worldwide delivery networks is mind blowing , and it all happens while we sleep .

The three major consumer courier companies are FedEx , DHL , and UPS and each is impressive as the last .

FedEx has more planes than Emirates , Etihad and Qatar airways , combined DHL delivers to every country in the world including North Korea , and UPS flies to more than double as many destinations as the largest passenger airlines . Each has a global network that allows for lighting fast shipping at relatively low prices . behind all this speed are enormous air networks that connect that entire world daily .

Each of these three operates hundred of flights nightly , but FedEx is the best example since their operations make them the largest cargo airline in the world . they have 650 planes , flying to 400 destinations , carrying 6 million packages every single day and the vast majority of these flights operate to or from one of their hubs airports .

The process :

Immediately upon the plane arrival , the planes are unloaded and their Packages are put into the hub’s automated sorting system , within only 15 minutes , each package arrives at a staging area for the next flight where its loaded into containers .

Planes therefore can start taking off again at 2 am and continue to until 4 am . which means that everywhere in the world have a FedEx Plane arriving by 6 am , to get small towns fast , FedEx runs flight in small propeller aircraft from the destination of their large jets .

Packages are transferred from planes to smaller planes , to trucks to reach their destination as fast as possible .

FedEx , DHL and UPS meanwhile are continuously focusing on future increasing the efficiency of their networks since in this business more than Time is Money

E-COMMERCE IMPACT ON LOGISTICS

In its simplest form, “e-commerce” is buying and selling of products and services by businesses or consumers over the internet. People use the term of e-commerce to describe the process of searching for and selecting products in online catalogs and then purchasing by using a credit card or encrypted payment processing.
In the age of “World Wide Web”, multi-story shopping centers are dramatically coming to a close with the rise of e-commerce. Over the last decade, technology has inspired an online retail boom that has benefited some retailers, while leaving others helpless. With the younger generations embracing smart phones and tablets, e-commerce’s role has shifted from an untested frontier to a vital pillar of the retail industry. Emerging markets will also play a key role in the future as the demand for smart phones and tablets will grow alongside a burgeoning middle class.

Since e-commerce business has been rapidly growing and expected to grow even more, it also became a major factor on changing the shape of global logistics industry. Decisions such as physical locations of warehousing and whether to fulfill e-commerce orders from separate facilities, in-store, from existing warehouses likes of Amazon, eBay and Newegg.

Logistics is already widely regarded as a crucial piece of a successful retailer’s business plan and its role will be even greater as the e-commerce increase continues to unfold. This is due to the fact that an efficient supply chain will allow a high level of service to be provided across all channels. The acquisition of the right DC that is in close proximity to major populations is also an increasingly difficult task for retailers because of the limited number of supply and the increase of demand. This is why numerous retailers opt to partner with 3-PL firms that can supply fulfillment services required. It will be seen as a competitive advantage as consumers begin to value time over reliability.

Managing the delivery process is also an increasingly difficult task as delivery locations from warehousing/fulfillment centers are no longer confined to physical stores. Now, these facilities are shipping either directly to the customer, a neutral site (such as a lock-box location, FedEx/UPS store or other retailer) or to the physical store for pickup.

As such, IT companies such as High Jump, Red Prairie, Oracle and others have expanded their traditional warehouse management systems (WMS), transportation management systems (TMS) and other IT solutions to meet this need for flexibility, for not only changing transportation needs, but also for order/inventory management and visibility.
Due to e-commerce, an inevitable market shakeout awaits the transportation industry. The number of transportation and logistics e-commerce products proliferates daily.

E-commerce has spurred, not only new concepts and ideas within the supply chain, but also new companies are popping up to address logistical challenges resulting from the rise of e-commerce. It’s no longer about being the fastest one in the e-commerce delivery race. Instead, it is about being able to deliver an order at a time frame and price point that customers want.

What is Supply Chain Planning?

Supply chain planning is one of the best strategies that you have to maintain the balance between the supply and the demand. The truth is that it includes many different factors including the use of specific tools for production, sales, and inventory. Overall, supply chain planning is crucial for every business. This is the way that businesses have to monitor, automate, and control all processes with the use of modern tools. Ultimately, this allows businesses not only to cut the costs but also to work more efficiently.

SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING PROCESS

1. Make Sure That it is Made in Real-Time

While in the old days businesses needed to rely only on historical data, this is no longer enough. The reality is that businesses need to create different scenarios an plan for each one of them. This makes sure that you are able to take control when any disruption occurs.

2. Integrate the Supply Chain Planning With the Company Planning

A business needs to be managed with common goals. So, you need to make sure that all the goals are perfectly aligned. This will ensure that your business is able to synchronize your short-term operation planning with supply, inventory forecasts, among others.

3. Learn More About Your End Customer

In case you sell directly to consumers, the more you know what they want and when, the better you can plan. With the use of different supply chain planning systems, you can discover more about your end consumer and quickly adapt the supply of your product.

4. Use Real-Time Data to Gain An Edge

When you use real-time data, you will be able to reduce the risk of having too much inventory and reduce the risk of stock-outs. Ultimately, you will plan with more accuracy.

5. Keep Adapting

One of the most important steps on using a supply chain planning system is that you need to keep adapting, and fast. This is why it is so important to have the right technology that allows you to know what is happening in real-time and that any disruptions that may occur won’t affect you because you already forecasted this scenario. So, you’ll be able to make all the necessary changes quickly which will not only save you time and money as it will also increase profitability.

 

KEY SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING SYSTEMS

There are two main key systems that we believe are the most important ones in what concerns supply chain planning process:

1- Training and Motivating Employees

Supervisors need to be furnished with the right knowledge and tools to run a successful supply chain planning. This is the only way they can then make sure that the employees have the right tools to succeed. When the supervisor knows what is happening in real time and knows how he should act in case of a disruption, he will be able to pass on the information to his employees, ensuring that the process is still in place.

2-  Understanding the Future Demand

While this is easier said than done, there are different methods that you can use to ensure that you can reduce inventory, minimize waste, and improve the in-shelf availability. One of the best strategies to implement this is by taking advantage of the forecasting methodology.

 

Conclusion
With a good forecast, you will have fewer missed sales, a lower working capital, higher and better customer service levels, less waste and spoilage, more efficient manufacturing, and a reduced effort of everyone involved in the process.

As you can see, supply chain planning is one of the best strategies that you can use to minimize the waste and the costs and to increase the profitability at the same time. While there are multiple tools to implement a supply chain planning that you can use, the truth is that one of the most important things to have in mind is to ensure that you access to real-time data.

Logistic in Lidl

This blog will be my first writing in logistics at MGEPS at UPV , so as we in this course to talk about logistics in our life and i noticed that many of the ones writes about The logistics in Mercadona and Consum , so i decided to write about the Logistics in Lidl .

Lidl is a German chain of discount grocery stores that operates in numerous countries across Europe, in UK alone Lidl have about 568 outlets / supermarket stores. Lidl’s largest market is Germany where it competes with fellow German discounter and arch rival Aldi.

Lidl  now they have over 10,500 stores and in 28 European areas, Lidl is a leading supermarket chain in the food distribution sector delivering fresh, quality produce across the UK with employing some 400,000 people.

i will focus on Lidl warehouse operations , there is a lot of jobs that are behind of product you see in the supermarkets .

watch out this video : Lidl Warehouse Operations

How do they differ from using  pallet networks and what are the advantages of using this  services?

they are one of only a few freight companies offering a truly one-stop-shop logistics solution for suppliers to the supermarket groups they serve, an integrated, timely, cost effective logistics service, If there are delays at point of delivery, they wait until it can be tipped, they do not pull out of the RDC due to delays and do not charge demurrage.

Direct Deliveries & Warehousing Group-age Services

warehouse is an exciting place to work because it sell million of products out each day , everyday they have this following process :

provide full trailer load & part load (group-age, consolidation, LTL) deliveries to Lidl in the UK.  These distribution services are supplemented by differing range of warehousing services:

• Container De-stuffing
• Palletisation
• Pallet Racking
• Reworking of Pallets
• Pick and Pack
• Labelling & Bar Coding
• Printing of Delivery Notes
• Part & Full Load Delivery
• Storage of any rejected Pallets
• Internal Storage of empty Pallets
• Consolidation of rejected loads & pallets for an economic return to the manufacturer/supplier.
• Delivery to food banks

Disadvantages of using Pallet Network system

• Pallet deliveries are expensive
• Haulier will not wait past 30 mins of booking time
• Goods get returned to hub and customer is charged for outward and return journey
• Goods need to be re-booked, customer receives notice of delivery failure
• Charged again for re-delivery

Operational Information –  Lidl Warehousing:

• Deliver to each RDC six days per week
• 9 Loading / Offloading Bays
• 24/6 with Sundays 8-5pm
• Drop Trailer facilities
• Repack, Restack, Invert, Relabel facilities
• Warehouse based in Warrington, Cheshire
• Warehouse 45 minutes from Port of Liverpool
• Proof of Deliveries all have the customers logo on

Rejection of Full Loads at Lidl RDC’s

In the event of direct deliveries in FCL or FTL getting rejected at a Lidl RDC, they provide regional repack, re-stack & re-delivery services near to every Lidl RDC in the UK. This allows Lidl to take off what they are happy to do so and prevents the whole load getting rejected. then work with the shipper/importer etc. to find a local solution to allow fulfillment of the order.

regional warehouses are located strategically throughout the UK & Ireland. partner warehouses provide repack/restack / re-delivery services in locations near to every Lidl RDC in the UK & Ireland.

container & Trailer Services – Suppliers to Lidl

they work together with shipping lines and merchant hauliers to try and avoid quay rent. This is especially important during “specials” where high volumes combine with short lead times.they operate a drop and swap system to ensure maximum efficiencies in terms of shunting to and from the Port of Liverpool , also work with line & merchant haul from other UK Ports.
Services below:

• Customs Clearance
• Duty Deferment
• Inland Haulage
• Full load collections from Europe