From Muscles to Mental Abilities in the Warehouse

A transition needing purposeful management

Warehousing is an integral part of the logistics chain. Here is a strategic insight into the transition of the warehouse workforce which is needed for optimal integration of the end to end supply chain.

Identifying the gaps

Fifteen years ago the following characteristics were not uncommon in the wanted ads for pickers and packers:

•       Basic reading/ writing ability
•       Proven ability to stand for long hours
•       Physically dexterous to lift and move heavy weights

By contrast, a recent Internet trawl uncovers these for the same job category:

•        Relevant post matric qualification/ diploma in warehouse management
•        Ability to do quality inspection
•        Must be computer literate:
•        MS Office or equivalent
•      Warehouse management system
•      ERP System

This leads one to question whether this “picker and packer” is endangered species?

How do we determine what will be needed in the warehouse of the future?

Structure Determines Skills Needed

These questions will shape our thinking:

•       To what extent will our future warehouse be automated, both from the perspective of inventory management and that of physical operations? This will determine a certain set of skills required.
•        How is the inventory management system integrated with that of the total supply chain management system? This will determine a further set of required skills.
•       What is the estimated workforce and how is it to be structured? This will determine the different levels of skills required.
•      Bear in mind that what we need to explore the future, not the present, in carrying out this exercise.
•      Having determined the target market for skills development, we need to find out what they must be able to do:

Future Skills Matrix

At each level in the new warehouse team a blend of technical, leadership and soft skills will be required.

Focusing on technical skills, we need to isolate those specialised areas without which the warehouse is unable to operate. There should be no more than 10 of these, for example:

•       Equipment operation and maintenance
•        Goods receiving and dispatch
•        Inventory location, movement and storage
•        Operate in conformance with SHEQ requirements
•        Security
•        Documentation
•        Packing, marking and labeling

This grid is however insufficient in itself- many fall into the trap of believing that it is only these technical skills which define a competent person.

We also need a similar matrix to cover the so called soft skills:

•       Effective communication
•        Teamwork
•        Organisation of self and others
•        Problem solving
•        Application of technology
•        Collection, analysis and evaluation of information
•        Understanding the interdependence of each function to others in the total supply chain

For each of these, each member of the team will need to be able to apply these skills at one of four levels:

• Awareness
• Basic
• Operational
• Expert

These decisions will enable us to compile a skills matrix for the new warehousing functions:

	Awareness	Basic	Operational	Expert
Technical
Equipment operation and maintenance
Goods receiving and dispatch
Inventory location, movement and storage
Operate in conformance with SHEQ requirements
Security
Documentation
Packing, marking and labeling
“Soft”
Effective communication
Teamwork
Organisation of self and others
Problem solving
Application of technology
Collection, analysis and evaluation of information
Understanding the interdependence of each function to others in the total supply chain

Competency Profiles  

Now we apply the grid in order to develop a competency profile for each function within the new warehouse structure.

This is achieved by answering the question “For this particular function, at which level is each of our defined competencies required?’

Powerful tool

Once we have a competency profile for each function we can measure each of our current workforce against the profile of the function they will be expected to perform. Where additional team members are needed, they will also be measured against the respective competency profile.

By doing this, the resulting individual development plan becomes a powerful tool for growing our warehouse human capital.

To what extent do you see the transition from brawn to brains in your warehousing operations?

Are you able to determine the competency needs for your future warehousing operations? If so, what tools do you use?

Please share your ideas through my blog, www.charlesrdey.blogspot.com

Important Milestone: Competencies for Competitiveness

In a previous post the table below was suggested as a framework to build the competency requirements of the organisation.   

	Technical	Soft Skills	Management	Company In house Systems and Procedures
Aware
Basic
Operational
Expert

Each column needs to be unpacked so that an individual company can select those competencies which are key to its competitiveness.

Some experience and more research have suggested the following “menus”:

Technical	Soft Skills	Management	Company in house Systems and Procedures: Role Specific
Contract Management	Strategic thinking	Enterprise Management	Accounting/ Finance
Compliance Management	Critical thinking	Group Management	Inventory
Risk Management	Thinking agility	Business Management	Payroll
Intellectual Property Management	Decision making	Functional Management	Customer Relationship Management
Logistics/  Return Logistics Management	Problem solving	Manage Managers	International Logistics
Financial Management	Negotiation	Manage Others	Statutory Compliance
Marketing Management	Emotional intelligence	Manage Self	End user computing (e.g. Microsoft Office etc.)
Warehouse Management	Self awareness
Procurement and Materials Management	Self-belief
Financial Management	Self-promotion
Human Capital Management	Stress management
	Communication
	Presentation / public speaking
	Technical writing
	Facilitating
	Mentoring / coaching
	Active listening
	Interviewing
	Selling
	Quality client service
	Team work
	Conflict resolution
	Networking/ Collaboration
	Cross-cultural intelligence

Each business is different: every company maintains and grows its competitiveness in different ways.

Now comes the interesting part:

• These menus need to be verified in terms of our own organisation. Best recommendation is to workshop. 
• Copy and paste these menus on to as many separate documents as there are position in the organisation. Then, for each position, tick off the competencies needed and ADD any which have been left out. These additions will most likely be needed under the “Technical” and “Company in house Systems and Procedures” pillars because these tend to be specific to a particular postion (i.e. role specific). There will be blurring between each pillar: this should not be a concern – what is more important is to capture all the competencies for each job under one of the pillars. Some of the competencies listed may need further unpacking (example: Warehouse Management may need to be specified in much more detail). There may well be competencies which have been listed here but which are not required. 
• The question which needs to be asked during these workshopping sessions is “In order for us to be as competitive as possible, what competencies does each person holding this position need?”
• In capturing these competencies try to ensure that, as far as possible, requirements do not only reflect the NOW of the position but what it will be in the next TWO TO THREE YEARS.
• Once all the competencies have been captured for each position, by indicating against each competency the LEVEL (Aware, Basic, Operational, Expert) at which that competency is required for that position, a competency profile for each position is created. 

This is an important milestone: the competency requirements have been objectively established for each position and they reflect our organisation.

Having obtained this vital information about the organisation, we need to find out, in future posts, how it can be used to turn our people into super performers. 

Does a methodology for creating competency hold values for your organisation?

If so, is it worth spending time in developing these?