TheWarehouser Here’s a project typical of what PL Programs works with and is well-positioned to help deliver. The Need A leading beverage company was planning on starting its first North American distribution site, in their words conducting “open heart surgery” on the supply chain. Previous distribution through the US was done through third-party logistics providers. As … Read more
Welcome! Let’s talk about managing project risk. Today we’re going to review a specific warehouse start-up task that is difficult to get right: hiring. Key hires have critical input to design, startup activities, and hiring & training. But hiring is almost always later than planned. So this piece of work introduces often-under-appreciated risk in start-up … Read more
Recently I ran across some extremely interesting data analysis about software project estimates versus actuals, courtesy Erik Bernhardsson (hereafter, “EB”). It provides context about how much risk is in software projects, and by implication, how to identify and manage that risk. Since PL Programs project consultants structure and manage supply-chain projects like fulfillment centers, distribution … Read more
“I can’t wait to do the status report this week!” said no one ever. Yet project status reporting is a critical – maybe *the* critical – part of the overall communications plan. If project management is about bringing clarity to the project team, then the status report is the tool for making the project clear. … Read more
Space, space, space. We need space. If only we had more space… Every warehouse manager has heard this at one time or another. It can be pretty frustrating to have too much product and nowhere to put it! So if it’s so important, why do facilities run out of it? A lot of times this issue is driven by … Read more
If you think a big projects executed well cost a lot of money, just wait until you have one that goes poorly. The implication is that that good project management increases project value by removing risk to those initial cash flows. Here is how we think about the sources of value of good project management … Read more
Warehouse projects come in a range of sizes. There are small brownfield startups. There are large, million-plus square foot automated distribution and fulfillment centers. Some are done by companies for themselves. Some are done by third-party logistics companies for their customers. Some are done to support businesses shipping out a handful of SKUs, others have … Read more
Just as a software program requires a design spec or user stories, and a building needs design drawings, a warehouse distribution or fulfillment operation needs a specification. It is documentation of the entire operation. Experience shows that it is critical to project success and operational continuity. We think of it as a combination of the … Read more
There’s a connection between company culture and its engineering output. That connection can be summed up in one word: design. The most obvious example of this may be Apple. Apple produces beautifully engineered products because of its design-centric culture, famously influenced by Steve Jobs’s calligraphic experiences and by Jony Ive’s genius with product. In this … Read more
“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.” This bon mot attributed to Yogi Berra sums up the state of risk management in projects. Risk management is supposed to be a defined process backed up with quantitative tools. In reality, it rarely is. This difference between “what project managers … Read more