How A DC Walkthrough Can Improve the Receiving Workflow

A DC Walkthrough is an engaging assessment that includes discussions, observations, and interviews among workers, supervisors, and management personnel with the objective to document current business and operational processes and look at ways technology and process changes can be applied to make improvements. The DC Walkthrough can be an informal or formal review/audit conducted by the company or external third parties.

At Honeywell we have the opportunity to conduct DC Walkthroughs throughout the world for every conceivable type and size of DC. The goal of our assessment is to validate logistical/operational processes relative to industry best practices focused on time savings, increased worker productivity, and improved accuracy. We focus on the identification of opportunities to both improve stand-alone general processes, as well as improve processes with new technology.

When we review the Receiving workflow, we ask questions like:

Do you have advance notice of incoming shipments? How far in advance?
What types of transportation/carriers are used for inbound?
Are receipts posted against purchase orders?
Can there be multiple receipts against a purchase order?
Can multiple trailers be received for a single purchase order?
What is the configuration of the inbound product? (pallets, mixed pallets, floor load, etc.)
Is the product broken down and/or sorted for counting and receiving? Describe the process.
What paperwork accompanies inbound product? How is it recorded?
Is a workstation used to reference information in the system for the receipt?
What documents are used on the warehouse floor during the receiving process? How are the documents used?
What is the important information on the paperwork?
What information from the receipts/purchase order is required by the host system?
How and when are receipts recorded in the system?
What information is available on the inbound product? What is currently being tracked on each? What information is barcoded?
- Pallets?
- Cases?
- Eaches?
- Other?
Describe the receiving process steps. (Paper? RF? RFID? Voice?)
Are receipts of items allowed that were not on the purchase order?
Are overs/unders on shipments accepted?
How is damage handled on receipt?
What kind of labeling is performed? Are all products labeled the same?
What happens with the receipt paperwork when it is completed?
Do certain items require a different receiving process?
Are some receipts a higher priority?
What types of special situations exist?
What other types of information is tracked at time of receipt?
Container/asset tracking?
Vendor compliance/inspection/quality control?
Catchweight/code date/lot #/serial #/temperature?
Track and traceability?
How is product staged/prepared for put-away?
Is product ready for put-away following receipt?