Reflection – Learning Launch

Challenge    My Warehouse team and I, as the Planning and Logistic Manager, have the need to transform  our warehouse operations to improve material workflow, inventory accuracy and internal  customer satisfaction. The scope of this project includes to reorganize resources, optimize  warehouse layout and implement new operational processes while maintaining warehouse  current operations. This project will be executed in 12 months.    Selection    My team and I were mostly familiar with scrum project management methodology and have  little inside about design thinking. As a team we decided to use the learning launch tool to  allow us to experiment with pilots and do life test of results within the team and internal  customers.    Application    Before releasing our first pilot, all the warehouse team participate in a week-workshop of  “Warehouse Best Practice” to standardize criteria’s and gain a solid knowledge base among  the team. Throughout the project we run four pilots:    Pilot 1 – Reorganization of the team based on material types  Every member of the team was assigned to manage a specific type of material (spare parts,  packaging, safety, etc.), their main goal was to learn how to manage reception from suppliers  and delivery to internal customers while being fully responsible for managing inventory. This  first pilot has two goals (1) to test the knowledge base of the team and (2) to validate this  organization workflow.    Pilot 2 – Reorganization of the team based on end customer (suppliers or internal customers)  Not having a good result in the organizational workflow in Pilot 1, we decided to divided the  team in two sub-teams facing only one customer. The reception team will face our suppliers;  therefore, they were responsible for receiving materials, quality control and loading up the  inventory. The Delivery team will be facing our internal customers (mainly operations and  maintenance teams), and their responsibilities will be focused on accurate picking and  discharging inventory.    Pilot 3 – change warehouse layout  Based on the learning experience of Pilot 1 & 2, the team design and implement a new layout  of the warehouse, adding a separate door for suppliers, modifying racks positions and  defining material locations to simplify the internal flow of work.    Pilot 4 – new operational processes  Once the team consolidate the new layout on Pilot 3, a new set of operational process were  developed and implemented, these set of processes were focus on quality control and

inventory accuracy with the main goal of improving customer satisfaction and reducing  reworks at the warehouse.     Insight    By applying the learning launch tool, the team have more freedom and flexibility to develop  pilots, test results, learn what works and what doesn´t, capture feedback and make  adjustments to the next pilot. The continues trial and error interactions, allow the team to  quickly identify the quick wins, expedite the learning curve, while gaining more confidence  with the new workflow of the warehouse.    Approach    Giving the limited design thinking knowledge of my team at the beginning we were not very  confident on the trail and error approach and were more oriented towards a more traditional  approach of doing all the changes at once. The learning launch tool allow all the team  members to experience the changes gradually while opening the floor for active participation  and feedback. At the end of the 12 months project our warehouse operation was fully  transform with positive results.

