BPX decodes 5 Winning Steps for writing Warehouse SOPs

In one of its recent announcements, Business process consulting firm BPX has reached out to new-age enterprises shedding insights into the subject of SOP development and implementation for some of the most routine and critical warehouse operations. BPX is a consulting firm with a scaling global footprint, specialising in process management solutions.

Requirements of modern-day warehouses and fulfilment centres

Strategic Positioning

Warehouses and fulfilment centres have high strategic significance in contemporary business models. This element of location affects the distance between manufacturers and customers. And it means a lot from the perspective of competitiveness and achieving operational efficiency. But the operations planning must also uphold such business decisions to derive their strategic benefits.

Stock Availability

Today, customers have greater power in terms of buying options. If a product is not available in one store, they will get it from another one or consider eCommerce shopping. If a product is not available in online stores, they will get the same or a similar product from a brick-and-mortar store. Stock unavailability due to operations mismanagement is never a good reason for businesses to disappoint customers.

Space Optimisation

Space optimization of FCs and warehouses is instrumental in enhancing the inventory handling capacity. As the rental and other land and building-related expenses remain more or less fixed in the short run, it only justifies making the most out of such routine operating expenses. Logistics service providers could also handle higher inventory volumes without compromising on their service quality.

Process-IT Integration

Warehouses and FCs cannot afford to refrain from the speed and precision that have become predominant in the current ways of doing any form of business. And the solution to this is adopting process orientation riding on technology. However, the mere presence of technology and processes do not secure the integration between the two. This is achieved through SOP-based operational planning.

Omnichannel Capabilities

As going omnichannel has become a necessity, warehouses and FCs cannot be kept confined to the capabilities of the past. Empowering these business places with omnichannel capabilities demands major alterations in areas like space management, technological infrastructure, team management, logistics, and financial planning. Warehouse consulting companies can help businesses build these capabilities.

5 Golden Standards in Writing Standard Operating Procedures

Drafting

Writing or drafting may look traditional but it has many fundamental benefits to human perception. Writing helps attain a better understanding of goals and actions. Even if technology is used to execute business processes and operations, having the processes and procedures in a documented format (SOPs) is a necessity. SOPs are one of the best ways to summarise a big picture or a complex process in the simplest of terms. Drafting the procedures or the workflows leads to a better definition of business processes and operations. It also provides an early opportunity to spot deviations and instil the best practices and standards into the working systems.

Result Orientation

SOPs should be designed to accomplish the concerned operational objectives. The standards of input, output, and performance must stand defined with the best detailing possible. It should identify the doers and checkers. The duties and responsibilities need to be explicitly laid out. The idea is not to leave any relevant operational aspect undefined in the operations planning. If SOPs do not deliver what it is meant and was designed for, then it negates the point of having a planned workflow.

Lead to Action

With or without the use of software, SOPs must lead to action without any exceptions. Employees using the SOPs should be able to make decisions or perform tasks by following the SOPs. This means there is no place for doubt or indecision in SOPs. For instance, a payroll process must stipulate a trigger i.e. a date in a month when the process must be initiated. This might be a policy matter but it needs to be defined in the SOPs so that the required actions take place on time. This trigger date should not be vague (e.g. ‘between this and that date’ or ‘after this date’).

Collaboration

The successful execution of a business process involves stakeholders from within and beyond an enterprise. These stakeholders could be employees, vendors and suppliers, contractors, consultants, government offices, logistic partners, etc.

Thus, it is important to form SOPs such that they cover the role of all the concerned stakeholders. If the collaborative links are missing or broken in a process definition, such processes cannot create the intended output.

SOP-IT Integration

SOPs cannot contain requirements that any available or applicable software technology does not or cannot offer. The selected software product must have the features and capabilities that match the requirements of the SOPs.  Technology should allow for all the needed collaborations and coordination among various teams, departments, and stakeholders involved in a process.

Two other considerations are SOP training for employees and improvisation of SOPs at regular intervals.