Hot Topics

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Overall

• What are the steps to go through to negotiate your contracts with your carriers to reduce inbound and outbound freight costs? 
• How are companies getting more productivity out of your employees as labor rates climb? 
• How does your reverse logistics strategy work for returning product in a multichannel business? 
• What initiatives have you implemented in your business to reduce costs without sacrificing service levels? 
• How do you develop and implement a strong multichannel logistics strategy that incorporates multiple warehouses? 
• How can a logistics strategy be used to increase customer service and sales for your multichannel business? 
• How does multichannel logistics need to be considered in your warehouse(s) when dealing with layout and design of the material handling equipment and flow of product? 
• What are some initiatives that have helped to regaining control over the retail supply chain from vendors? 
• What are the IT strategies that companies are employing to automate the supply chain (e.g. inbound container and receipt tracking, ASNs, cross docking to stores, etc.)?
• How does being a multi-channel company impact and effect the replenishment of your retail locations % business by channel? 
• Do you have separate facilities for direct to customer versus retail replenishment?  What is your management’s philosophy? 
• If direct fulfillment is in the same distribution center how is the facility laid out?
• Are you considering multiple DCs?  What is the product strategy? 
• Is your DC a flow through DC or do you maintain back stock of products for stores?  What percent of products have back stocks?

Store Replenishment Systems and Methods

• Do you have a push, pull or direct from vendor replenishment approach? 
• What software do you use to manage the replenishment of your Retail locations? 
• Does you company utilize Plan-o-gram concept at Retail? How does it relate to the warehouse replenishment of stores? 
• What strategies and pick methods do you have in place for store replenishment? Is it based on 80-20, selected products, or replenish all products on all deliveries? 
• Describe level of distribution into stores:
• Product?
• Category?
• Aisle or zone within store?
• Area?
• Min-max concept?
• Frequency by velocity, one to one replenishment?
• Other? 
• How do you measure cycle time for:
• Replenishment
• New season product 
• Do you break inner packs or ship full packs to store; i.e. round up qty to the inner packs? 
• What is your slotting philosophy: is it dynamic or fixed locations? 
• What process do you utilize for new store openings? How far in advance do you start pulling merchandise and staging before shipping? 
• What processes to you utilize for seasonal merchandise change over or total floor change outs? 
• At end of season does the store liquidate or send back to the DC?

DC Automation

• Describe use of technology in operation:
• Specifically RF, pick / put to light, voice, WMS. 
• What level of scanning is used in your Distribution Center? Where is it used in your operations? 
• Do you use any type of packaging or bagging equipment? If so, which vendor do you use? 
• What type of automation are you looking at for the future? 
• What level of automation/sortation for retail replenishment does your center have?

Store Systems

• What systems/software is driving the POS system?   
• How is this system talking to the other channels for replenishment?

Store Backroom Operation

• What is the size of backroom size as a % of your selling floor? 
• What are the trends in using retail backrooms (i.e. expand them, push items to the selling floor, pull items back to DC and use an approach of just in time replenishment)?

Inter-Store Transfers

• Do transfers between stores affect processes in the DC? 
• Are inter-store transfers sent back to the DC for consolidation or sent directly between stores?

Multi-Channel Operations

• What is your % of business by quarter for Retail? 
• What are your future growth plans for your retail channel? 
• What kind of data integration is there across the channels?  How are the SKUs maintained in each channel?  
• What is your experience with different policies affecting delivery or product to customers in the retail and the other channels? How is this effecting distribution of those goods?
• What percent of stock is store-only versus catalog stock, if any? Or is the entire inventory represented in the catalog? 
• Where are your returns processed?

Purchase Order Systems

• What new things are happening in this functional system?  EDI of POs?  Approval against open to buy?

Receiving and Quality Assurance

• What is your receiving process at Distribution Center? 
• What is your receiving process at the retail location? 
• Do you have a QA department for retail shipments? Functions? 
• At what point in the receiving process does your inventory bar code system start?  Receiving system start? 
• How are trouble shipments or discrepancies reported to management?  How quickly do the merchants resolve these problems?

Vendor Compliance Process

• Do you have a vendor compliance program and if so how effective is it? 
• Can we exchange vendor compliance manuals? 
• What are your vendor requirements and compliance rates for:
• Vendor packaging?
• Shelf ready inner packs?
• Ticketing?
• Advanced Shipping Notices? 
• Electronic purchase orders?

In Bound Transportation

• Do you schedule freight in bound? 
• What percent of net sales are your in bound freight costs? 
• Are you predominantly pre-paid freight or collect? 
• Do you use freight consolidators?  How cost effective?  Who is it? 
• What freight systems do you use to track in bound international deliveries and the contents of containerized shipments? 
• How much of your merchandise is imported?  What systems are successfully in use with import vendors to meet requirements?

Cross Docking

• Types of cross dock strategies used? 
• Have you implemented a cross docking strategy? 
• What are the principles and standards of a good cross docking strategy? 
• How did you start?  Number of vendors, program, test program, rollout, etc. 
• What percent of your receipts are cross docked?

Vendor Direct to Store Shipments

• Do you do any direct to store shipments (imports and / or domestics)?
• Carrier used?
• Systems requirements?

Inventory

• Sets and Kits: 
• Do you have inter-packs / pre-packs / kitting?
• How is information communicated to vendor (what system - PO, other)?
• What systems are successfully in use with import vendors to meet requirements?
• In your multi-channel company, what is your management philosophy about reserving or holding a quantity for direct or wholesale?  How is the inventory reservation  accomplished? 
• Do you have product that is in a “never out” program (management philosophy)? 
  Are all products in all stores or is the DC used to store and ship direct to the customer fringe colors and sizes or large products?  How are orders taken and processed? 
• Identify product types handled and describe different handling / processes / equipment required in operation.
  • Goods On Hanger (GOH)?
• High value?
• Oversize?
• Ship alones?
• Store fixtures?
• Do you cycle count or shutdown for physical inventory?

Storing Other Stuff

• Do you store / handle any store fixtures and / or visuals for stores?
• What?
• How?
• Supplies? 
• Carryover seasonal merchandise?

Price Ticketing

• Is your company single price in philosophy?  
• Different channel pricing (direct vs. retail, etc.)?
• Or are there regional prices (competitive pricing)? 
• Is your price tagging strategy to have the vendor do the tagging, is it done in your warehouse, at your retail locations, or not done at all? 
• What systems are you using?  How are you dealing with price changes in stores (DC re-ticketing)?

Value Added Services

• What VAS does your operation provide for the stores? 
• Product prep merchandise?  Repackaging? 
• Refurbishment of product?

Outbound Shipping to Stores

• Shipping options to stores:
• For expedited product
• For replenishment
• For new season
• Carriers and shipment plans used? 
• What type of manifesting system used? 
• Schedules to stores?  How often replenishment?

Building Relationships and Communication

• What works in your communication / relationship with Inventory Management and Planning Group, with Sourcing and Product development group? 
• How do you communicate DC requirements to others in your organization?

Productivity Measurement

• What do you use to collect production data? 
• How do you communicate productivity to employees and management?  
• Do you have department standards?   
• Individual employee production goals? 
• Do you have engineered productivity standards? 
• How do “increase the productivity bar” annually in a fair way?

Personnel

• What is the ratio of hourly production staff to supervisors?  Ratio of hourly production staff to team leaders? 
• Do you have seasonal spikes that require additional associates for periods of time?
  • Do you hire / train to meet need?
• If not, how are spikes handled?
• What recruiting methods work for you? 
• What retention methods work for you? 
• Do you use any incentive programs? 
• What competition do you have for personnel? 
• How do you train production associates? 
• Do you have any management training for DC management?  Types of training? 
• Are you attempting to hire experienced managers?  Or promote and train from within?

Return To Vendor

• How well do your buyers stay on top of this?   Does management monitor this?

Third Party Services

• Do you use any 3PL warehouse facilities? 
• Any deconsolidation of containers?  
• Personalization? 
• Refurb? 
• Other functions?

Share Your Best Cost Saving and Productivity Improvement Ideas

• As you think back over the past few years, what are your best cost saving ideas? 
• What concepts have you implemented that have increased productivity?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• What KPIs do use monitor internally? 
• What KPIs do you report to top management and on what frequency?  Are any of these displayed in on-line systems? 
• Do employees see them?

Technology

• Have you looked at or are you currently using RFID technology? Future use? 
• Do you have redundant systems?
• Who has and why?

Warehouse Management Systems

• Does your WMS provide sufficient reporting; productivity, stock levels, slotting? 
• What warehouse system do you use?  How effective is it?  Does it have functions that “dove tail” into the store replenishment logic of the retail system? 
• Do you have a WMS?
• Which ones did you review?
• What are the areas of cost justification or savings you achieved with your WMS?

Multiple Distribution Centers

• Who plans what products and quantities will be stored in which DCs?  How accurate is the inventory allocation or are large number of transfers required?

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