Exploring delays in order fullfilment cycle in inbound logistics and warehouse team

Abstract

Human resource is considered as the most important human asset and is viewed as the vital part of organization’s competitive advantage particularly for the implementation of supply chain management process and its integration with the other systems of the organization. Usually the top management overlooks the importance of training for the employees involved in the SCM process. IKAN engineering Pvt. Ltd which was selected for this project study also had the same problem. The prime focus of the project was to identify business problems which the organization faced after the implementation of the supply chain management process. In manufacturing business, availability of finished goods on time plays an important role in the process of order fulfilment process, availability but in IKAN due to lack of training in warehouse and inbound logistics this was not possible. This ultimately led to the business problems in the form of profitability and organization’s image. Before the implementation of SCM, no training was given to the teams of inbound logistics & inventory management. This way lack of training lead to the delays in production schedule due to the poor material handling skills and poor material movement skills (inbound logistics) of the employees involved in the process. It was a qualitative study and research instrument used to conduct research was individual questions where questions were kept open ended for the identification of the problems. Sample size used in this research was 40 employees of Supply chain management department. Our research findings showed that, they are very good in performing all other processes/activities associated with order fulfilment cycle. But due to bad material handling and material placement techniques, they are not able to produce as per planned quantity. Quality of raw material got damaged during the movement of material from main warehouse to production location. On the basis of research findings, it is recommended that proper training plan must be developed for warehouse and inbound logistics team to improve the productivity by utilizing existing resources. Training plan must include safety requirements of material, material placement, material handling and material movement techniques. So, less time and efforts will be used to manage the material by picking up the material safely, move the material and drop the material.