Labor costs represent the largest operating expense in most warehouses, ranging from 55% to 70% of total budgets. The challenge is to manage and reduce these costs while improving customer service and meeting a growing list of service requirements.

How do you hold down costs while increasing throughput and customer satisfaction?  Robocom’s Labor Management System, called R-Labor is the solution.

R-Labor provides an accurate and objective tool for measuring the performance of individual employees as well as functions to forecast labor requirements.  The basis of the system is a set of time standards for tasks that are performed in your warehouse.  Each standard takes into account the fixed components of each task as well as the variables – the time to travel from point to point in the warehouse, the time required to perform the work at each stop taking into account the quantity of product being handled and so on.  A "target time" is then calculated for a warehouse operator's assigned work set and the actual time spent is compared to the target time. This ability to assess actual work against an accurate and objective target allows the operator and the supervisor to understand and improve performance.

Productivity Gains

The first level of productivity gain comes from an effect we call the Focus Factor.  When the basics of the system are explained to your warehouse employees and the performance scorecards are reviewed, their productivity will rise by 5% to 10%.  When you focus a person’s attention on their performance, productivity improves. 

As managers and supervisors use R-Labor to coach and train employees to become more efficient and as the performance reports are used consistently, an additional rise in productivity can be achieved.  The forecasting tools can be used to avoid overtime and deploy available people effectively. 

The total gain in productivity can reach 10% to 25%, reducing labor costs dramatically.  Add in an incentive plan and watch productivity go even higher.

Robocom’s Unique Approach

The key to success in labor management is in the balance between accurate standards, objective and precise target time calculations and the cost of implementation.  Labor management systems normally use a complex set of engineered standards developed specifically for each site.  The work to develop these standards can push the cost of implementation out of reach from all but the largest warehouse operations.

We have developed an approach that uses a combination of robust pre-determined benchmark standards with an audit approach pioneered by Robocom.  The result is a set of standards that fit your operation and provide accurate target times without the costly investment in engineering work.  The result is an accurate and objective set of standards at a cost that delivers a fast payback and solid bottom line results.

The Interaction of R-Labor with Other Modules

Robocom’s Warehouse Management Systems and Voice Picking module both promise productivity gains.  Many companies find that the sequential implementation of RWMS, R-Voice and R-Labor delivers the highest possible efficiency and the lowest overall operating cost.  RWMS provides the accuracy in the warehouse necessary to improve results.  R-Voice reduces the time required to pick cases and broken cases.  R-Labor provides an effective means of measuring results and making certain that cost reductions are achieved.

Click here to schedule a web demo and find out how R-Labor will help increase your productivity.