CheckPoint: Dorfman Pacific Rolls Out a New Wireless Warehouse

IT/205

CheckPoint: Dorfman Pacific Rolls Out a New Wireless Warehouse
The problem facing Dorfman Pacific was an inefficient picking system within their warehouse. This problem caused an increase in total required hours to perform the same tasks costing the organization excessive overtime pay.
Solutions could include all of the following examples. The most basic solution with the lowest cost to implement, but also the lowest gain in efficiencies would be to reorganize the warehouse using order history to keep the most frequently ordered products in an easier access location and placing the slower moving product in further off locations. The next solution would be to implement a full paperless system including handheld scanners that wirelessly feed order information to warehouse employees. The most expensive solution would be what is known as an automated warehouse. This would require a small fleet of GPS, radio controlled, and proximity aware robots to perform all picking and packing tasks eliminating the human element.
The best solution based on the type of goods used within the warehouse would be the mid-range full paperless system that includes handheld wireless scanners. To implement the solution we will have to choose which hardware and software we will need for the warehouse and also what it will need to interface with throughout the rest of the business. We will need a small area of the warehouse to do some initial testing and then during testing and conversion we will create the training documents and prove them in the real world.
In the text Dorfman took the time to understand and define their problem through the use of a cross-functional team. That team generated the solution of a wireless system at which time an outside vendor was brought in to test feasibility. Once the new plan was