Lean Distribution and Logistics Training Course

Participants can analyse how demand patterns and service promises affect distribution design.

• Demand profiles segmented by volume, variability, frequency and customer priority
• Order characteristics assessed using lines, units, cube and handling requirements
• Service promises converted into order cut-off and dispatch requirements
• Lead-time components separated into queue, touch, travel and wait time
• Flow interruptions traced between order release, picking and carrier collection
• Workload variation compared against available labour and equipment capacity

Participants can create a current-state map for a distribution process using factual operating data.

• Value Stream Mapping symbols applied to warehouse and transport processes
• Process steps recorded with cycle time, changeover and queue data
• Information flows mapped from customer order through replenishment signals
• Inventory locations quantified using units, days cover and ageing
• Material movement distances measured between receiving, storage and dispatch
• Current-state map validated through gemba observation and operator interviews

Participants can conduct structured observations to identify causes of logistics waste.

• Gemba walks planned around safety, flow, quality and information handoffs
• Spaghetti diagrams expose walking, travel and cross-traffic waste
• Time observation separates value-adding work from delays and rework
• Waste observation sheets record frequency, duration and operational impact
• Abnormal conditions distinguished from routine process design weaknesses
• Frontline insights captured without assigning blame for process failures

Participants can calculate required pace, capacity constraints and workload balance for distribution operations.

• Takt time calculated from available time and customer demand
• Cycle times compared against takt across receiving, picking and loading
• Bottlenecks located using capacity, utilisation and queue evidence
• Little's Law applied to work-in-progress and throughput relationships
• Labour requirements estimated from work content and planned efficiency
• Capacity buffers selected for demand variability and service criticality

Participants can redesign warehouse flow to reduce travel, handling and congestion.

• Slotting rules align product velocity, cube, weight and handling risk
• ABC analysis separates fast-moving, slow-moving and exception stock
• Travel paths redesigned using flow analysis and spaghetti diagrams
• Receiving, put-away and replenishment interfaces arranged to reduce queues
• Picking zones balanced against order profile and equipment constraints
• Cross-docking criteria defined for suitable high-velocity inbound products

Participants can establish 5S controls that make warehouse abnormalities visible and correctable.

• 5S standards applied to workstations, staging areas and shared equipment
• Red-tag procedures distinguish necessary items from accumulated clutter
• Visual locations define pallets, containers, tools and safety equipment
• Floor markings control pedestrian routes, staging limits and forklift separation
• Photographic standards establish expected conditions for critical work areas
• 5S audit routines assign ownership, frequency and corrective actions

Participants can document and improve standard work for core warehouse processes.

• Standard work combines sequence, timing, inventory and safety requirements
• Receiving standards specify checks, exceptions and system transaction timing
• Put-away methods reduce travel while protecting location accuracy
• Picking procedures define scan controls, batch rules and verification points
• Packing standards match materials, labelling and carrier requirements
• Loading instructions sequence vehicles, route stops and load restraint checks

Participants can design pull replenishment systems for warehouse and downstream demand.

• Push and pull systems compared using demand and inventory behaviour
• Supermarket locations selected for stable, repetitive replenishment demand
• Kanban quantities calculated from demand, lead time and safety factors
• Replenishment triggers defined through min-max levels and visual signals
• Container sizes matched to handling limits, consumption and storage space
• Kanban exceptions managed for promotions, shortages and demand spikes

Participants can improve inventory flow while maintaining availability and stock accuracy.

• Inventory segmentation combines ABC, XYZ and service-criticality classifications
• Reorder parameters tested against actual demand and supplier lead times
• Cycle counting plans target high-risk locations, items and transaction errors
• Stock discrepancies traced through receiving, movement, picking and returns
• First-expiry-first-out controls applied to dated and regulated products
• Obsolete stock escalation rules prevent hidden capacity and cash losses

Participants can improve order fulfilment methods using flow, quality and ergonomic principles.

• Picking strategies compared: discrete, batch, zone, wave and cluster
• Order release rules prevent congestion at pick faces and packing stations
• Pick-path design reduces travel, searching and crossing movements
• Error-proofing methods prevent wrong item, quantity and customer errors
• Packing cells balanced using work content and demand timing
• Consolidation logic protects route sequence, dispatch windows and traceability

Participants can identify and reduce waste in dispatch planning, loading and transport execution.

• Transport waste identified through empty distance, waiting and rehandling
• Route planning constraints include delivery windows, capacity and driver hours
• Load planning improves cube utilisation, weight distribution and stop sequence
• Dock appointment systems reduce carrier queues and loading delays
• Dispatch readiness measures connect picking completion with vehicle departure
• Proof-of-delivery failures analysed for root causes and corrective actions

Participants can build quality controls into distribution processes rather than relying on final inspection.

• Quality at source assigns checks to the point of work
• Poka-yoke devices prevent scanning, labelling and quantity-selection errors
• First-pass yield measures accuracy through receiving, picking and dispatch
• Containment actions separate customer-impacting defects from routine corrections
• Control plans define critical checks, tolerances and response actions
• Returns data used to prioritise recurring fulfilment quality failures

Participants can use A3 thinking to resolve recurring logistics performance problems.

• A3 structure connects problem statement, analysis, countermeasures and follow-up
• Problem statements quantify performance gaps without assuming root causes
• Five Whys testing distinguishes symptoms from controllable process causes
• Fishbone diagrams organise potential causes across people, methods and materials
• Pareto analysis prioritises failure modes by frequency and operational impact
• Countermeasures tested using owners, dates, measures and review points

Participants can design daily management routines that control distribution performance and escalation.

• Tiered daily meetings connect frontline issues with management decisions
• Visual boards display safety, quality, delivery, cost and people measures
• KPIs selected for leading signals and customer-facing performance outcomes
• Run charts distinguish normal variation from special-cause performance changes
• Escalation rules define response times, decision rights and support needs
• Action logs track countermeasures through completion, verification and closure

Participants can create a feasible future-state distribution design and phased implementation plan.

• Future-state maps specify flow, pull points, pacemaker and inventory limits
• Kaizen bursts identify priority improvements, owners and required decisions
• Improvement roadmaps sequence quick wins, pilots and structural changes
• Benefit calculations estimate labour, inventory, transport and service effects
• Risk registers address safety, system, supplier and change-management issues
• Governance routines assign sponsorship, review cadence and benefit ownership

Participants can prepare supervisors and teams to sustain new Lean distribution practices.

• Supervisor standard work defines daily checks, coaching and escalation activities
• Training within Industry methods support consistent task instruction
• Skills matrices identify capability gaps for critical distribution roles
• Resistance analysis distinguishes legitimate constraints from unclear communication
• Leader standard work reinforces gemba presence and problem-solving discipline
• Sustainment audits verify adherence, results and corrective action follow-through

Participants can build, review and present a complete Lean distribution improvement plan for a selected operation.

• Current-state evidence consolidated into a quantified distribution performance baseline
• Priority waste validated using service, cost, inventory and labour data
• Future-state design integrates flow, pull, standard work and visual controls
• Implementation roadmap assigns countermeasures, owners, milestones and dependencies
• Benefits case states assumptions, measures, risks and validation methods
• Peer review tests operational feasibility, stakeholder alignment and sustainment controls