In this episode, I was joined by Jason Morin of Lean Ops Solutions at The New Warehouse MODEX booth and friend of the show Chris Barnes who is the APICS Coach. Jason was an attendee at MODEX and has an extensive background in helping warehouses and distribution centers improve their processes. We discuss some lean topics, innovations at MODEX that are helping the lean initiative, and also how to get your operation on track with the lean movement.

Key Takeaways

• Jason discusses the idea of bringing one-piece flow into the warehouse which was originally a manufacturing concept from Toyota. He discusses how having a continuous flow through your operation can help improve efficiency and save money. Contrary to the belief of needing a large space for receiving in a large distribution center, Jason talks about how larger receiving docks are more prone to errors and can slow down the process.
• As an inventory control manager, I like the concept of countback that Jason discusses. This is where you take advantage of an operator being at a location already for another task to get a count of that location. While the initial thought is probably that this will slow the picker down, the goal here is to stop mistakes from happening or as Jason says catch them as they happen instead of further down the line at the customer.
• I asked Jason his thoughts on what was being exhibited at MODEX that will help the future of warehousing and lean. We are definitely on the same page for augmented reality having a great impact on the industry. As you may remember, we have talked about two different augmented reality solutions on the show in the Zebra HD4000 and the Picavi. What is the most impactful here is how visual it now makes the process and as Jason states visual is a huge component of making a process leaner.

Listen to and watch the episode below. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.