Supply Chain Management. Webinar summaries Essay

Supply Chain Management. Webinar summaries - Essay Example The session will include a set of video case study segments which have been filmed at the fulfilment centre in Von Maur. Challenges with order fulfilment The current challenges faced by Von Maur with order fulfilment are those to do with accuracy, productivity, speed, and flexibility in seasonality, services and products. Out of these primary hurdles in order fulfilment experienced by Von Maur are those related to providing services with respect to free shipping, free returns, free gift wrap and acknowledging offers and store coupons, speed wherein products have to be shipped the same day, selecting online inventory to the offerings in the store and offering more than brick-and-mortar stores and lastly its growth is unpredictable. Reasons for selecting mobile robotic warehouse automation (KIVA) Traditional automation ties operation to a fixed SKU set, location, workflow and order profile. On the other hand, mobile-robotic fulfilment provides picking, packing and shipping orders by ro bots, pickers stay in ergonomic work stations, delivery of inventory to stations are carried out by robots and above all robots and shelves are mobile. Also the parts of mobile robotic warehouse automation contain human operators, bots, stations, pods and software. The advantage of this system is that all activities like picking, packing, shipping, replenishment, inventory control and return are simultaneously conducted. As of now, orders received before 11 A.M. are shipped the same day, Von Maur online stocks and sells 95 per cent of items available in Von Maur stores, personnel enjoy working in the eCommerce business, this online shop will provide more items than those available in Von Maur stores starting the end of summer. Solution items The system was designed prior to the decision to erect a building by Von Maur for the eCommerce Division. Integration of Kiva Software with Von Maur’s home grown eCommerce order management software, deploying solutions took around 30 days , during the peak seasons temporary workers are hired for the back/wrap areas. Bots are automatically recharged at charging stations. Recap of the outcomes The operation is 4 times productive than when the store did not adapt the mobile-robotic automation system. During average volumes, at least 15 pickers are placed by Kiva. Inaccurate orders hardly exist and the store chain can add solution capacity in future. The eCommerce Division is rapidly growing and is keeping pace with its retail outlets. Kiva – Mobile robotic warehouse automation Kiva automated warehouse operations software help in productively, accurately, flexibly and portably picking, packing and shipping orders. Van Maur is a traditional company having a progressive thinking system. The eCommerce division contains only 35 personnel but despite this they effectively handle operations and this has led to growth in online sales of Van Maur products. Webinar 2: Global Mission Strategies - Webinar by World Trade Grou p Plant Location International (PLI) is the international Center of Excellence for IBM and focuses on economic development and international location strategies. It contains a team of 25 consultants, above 50 years of experience for advising governments and multinationals, having around 3000 projects globally, developed robust analytical and methodological tools and closely operates with IBM’s international network of operations and business strategy consultants and subject and industry matter experts. Global location trends It has been observed that recent crisis impacted foreign