Last
weekend, I volunteered with the Food Bank. The Students Activities Committee of
my college had organized this trip to the outskirt area of Pittsburgh.
When our bus finally arrived on the site, my fellow students and I were
explained the task for the day. We were asked to put various kinds of food into
boxes of different sizes. Before doing so, however, we had to check expiration
dates (we were provided a list that told us which date was still considered
acceptable for each product category) and the required weight of each package.
The filled boxes were taped, labelled, and manually placed on a pallet. Our
supervisor then, from time to time, got behind the wheel of a forklift, picked
the respective pallet up and drove away.
There
was no single bar code in sight, and I wondered how people working in the
warehouse were actually able to keep track of the inventory.
After
a little bit of research, I came across an interesting case study dated
November 2005. It deals with inventory management in the Food Bank of New York.
Apparently, the Food Bank there had used a paper-based tracking system and,
when adjustments had to be made, a financial software package. As a
consequence, problems (loose sheets often got lost, there were inaccuracies in
the data due to the manual form of input, the location of products was not easy
to determine, etc.) occurred - the system was not customized for the needs of
the Food Banks' operations.
To
tackle this issue, the Food Bank in New York thought of introducing a new form
inventory management which would make life easier for its employees - and lead
to more efficiency:
- Less data would have to be
managed manually, giving employers more time to focus on their core tasks
(dispatch etc.)
- Less time would be lost due to
product search (when its location was not clear), again providing
employers with more time for their core tasks
- Data would be accurate and
therefore reliable
- Communication between divisions
within the warehouse would be improved, as everybody would have access to
the same sets of information and data
In
the end, the NY Food Bank purchased a Warehouse Management System from North
Branch, Control Solutions Inc. (CSI). The implementation process took nine
months, and minor issues (like compatibility with other devices used in the
warehouse, e.g. tablets) could be quickly solved together with CSI. The system
immediately showed great effect: in the first year after its implementation,
over six million pounds of food more than in the year before could be
distributed.
Now,
how does the system actually work? The main feature is - and this comes back to
what I had figured was missing at the Food Bank in Pittsburgh - the bar
code.
Every
product / box in the NY Food Bank is labeled with such a code, which makes the
feeding of data into the system a simple and time-saving scan process.
When
I volunteered, I asked one staff member at the Food Bank where the food was
actually brought to, i.e. how the food reached the needy people. I learnt that
the Food Bank in Pittsburgh distinguishes between two different forms of
distribution:
- Produce to People, Food
Bank’s large-scale produce distribution program. There are 17
distributions each month in 17 different locations.
- Distribution
of food by smaller local NGOs. The Food Bank Pittsburgh cooperates with
more than 400 of them.
In
particular for the local NGOs that hand out the food, accurate data in the Food
Bank database is important. If the data were incorrect and products did either
not show up or were marked as unavailable although they would be physically
available, some of the products would never be distributed or would be missing
at the local food pantries. A good inventory management in the warehouse does
therefore not only benefit the employers at the Food Bank, but also the other
400 NGOs in the area as well as the people who urgently need the food.
As
I have now read the case study, I do have the feeling that I have to go to the Food
Bank in Pittsburgh again (then for the third time) in order to convince myself
that I just missed the bar codes on the packages. From what I can tell,
however, the local Food Bank here might have to consider a paperless form of
inventory management as it still seems to be operating without the help of
technology.
Another
question I would be interested in: how can the Food Bank plan and forecast its
inventory accurately? And for which period of time is this being done? While in
profit-oriented companies there might be a specific reorder point (e.g.,
if the number of product x drops below 200, a specified amount will
automatically be reordered) if they use the continuous review model or,
if they use the periodic review model instead, they would
reorder (based on the number of product x that has not been sold up to that
point) within a particular time frame
(e.g., if company y verifies the number
of product x always on Tuesdays and replenishes according to the results of
that single inventory check per week),
the Food Bank can only estimate the
number of products it will receive. Different from "other" wholesales, the Food Bank does not order the products but gladly accepts
the products that are donated by individuals as well as companies (like Giant
Eagle).
As
soon as I have answers to these questions, this blog will be updated. So - stay
tuned and donate to your local food bank in the meantime!
Kyra
The
Case Study mentioned in the blog can be found here:
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