Improved Picking Processes Lead to 100% OTIF Score

Lost or unaccounted for inventory in distribution wastes time and money. Partially fulfilled orders and late shipments negatively impact profitability and customer loyalty.

A low On-Time In-Full (OTIF) score can result from inefficient picking processes, staff shortages, even how inventory is stored and organized. When everyone in the Distribution Center follows One Best Way inventory processes, deviation that creates waste is eliminated. Streamlining the fulfillment process from beginning to end results in on-time, in-full deliveries, greater customer satisfaction, and greater profitability for the business.

Outcomes

• Improved order accuracy from 75% average to 85-90%
• Achieved first 100% OTIF
• Significantly reduced new hire training to proficiency time
• $300k savings in first year from improved shipping, inventory organization, and employee hours

“Acadia is the One Best Way to do everything. It’s helped us drive out cost and improve our margins. We’ve seen this across every metric we track.“

– Senior Vice President & GM-Specialty Solutions

New Capabilities

• Digital SOP management and distribution
• Reduction in training time for new employees
• Consistent messaging across all shifts & locations
• Consistent training for safety
• Improved sales report errors and closing procedures
• Streamlined inventory process

An Acadia distribution client has grown to become the largest manufacturer and retailer of professional and consumer-grade trailers, truck beds, parts, and accessories in North America. When they first came to Acadia, they struggled with warehouse inventory management and shipment accuracy. On average, orders were regularly leaving the warehouse 75% complete. Errors and order deviations led to waste and threatened to endanger relationships with customers.

Disorganization and inconsistent training procedures were driving a lot of the challenges. Pickers couldn’t find products and inventory didn’t align with orders. At the end of the day, managers would have a pile of papers on their desk with unfilled orders.

With Acadia, the company deployed One Best Way procedures for just about everything. They streamlined their inventory and picking processes with easy-to-follow task lists and procedures. Pick Ticket Audits using Acadia one-best-way procedures are used to reconcile daily orders instead of keeping track of a pile of pink order slips on their desks.

Since deploying Acadia, OTIF has improved from 75% on average to 85-90% on average. They even hit their first 100%! They also realized cash savings of $300,000 from improved shipping costs, organized inventory, and employee hours. They anticipate seeing additional savings annually.