Wondering How to Improve Warehouse Operations? Not Sure If Any Single “Solution” Will Work Like You Want? Put People First, Says One Supply Chain Executive, and Everything Will Be Okay.
I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t hear about how labor shortages, inventory shortages, shipping lane bottlenecks, lost inventory, lost orders, and inefficient workflows are making it hard to keep warehouse operations on track. But if you're reading this, then you're likely living the struggle. So, I thought it might be helpful for you (and me) to talk to someone who has been in your shoes and might have some remedies for the sting you’re feeling from each of these thorns.
Joe Couto currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Third-Party Logistics (3PL) at Körber Supply Chain. However, he spent many years on the front lines as a warehouse management systems (WMS) logistics expert, sales consultant, and deployment expert before taking on his current role. He also co-founded an industrial-grade 3PL software company at the age of 28, and – as of late – has been steering many different functions in the supply chain.
He knows that the challenge today is that there isn’t just one big lingering issue that’s proving to be a beast. It’s the growing list of challenges (big and small) that keeps you busy all day and up all night. It’s the lack of agility amid constantly changing priorities. It’s the time commitment and resources allocated to compliance and other required “behind the scenes” changes that detract from being able to tackle front-line issues fast and furiously.
That’s why he recommends you embrace the cloud, gamification, and automation right now.
Listen to our conversation now to find out why he thinks these three things are so important, even though it might require a bit of an extra resource commitment in the short term.
LISTEN NOW
Joe also explains the important roles he sees people playing in warehousing operations for the foreseeable future, and why you should protect your people at all costs if you want to keep your business competitive and positioned to grow.
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Did You Know?
Körber Supply Chain is a Zebra Global Premier Solution Partner and has recently completed Zebra’s Solution Validation process. This validation confirms interoperability for the Körber ONE Voice Picking Platform with Zebra’s Android rugged computers. Zebra solution validation for Körber’s direct store delivery (DSD), warehouse management system (WMS) and 3PL solutions are forthcoming.
Given the Körber team’s extensive expertise in these areas, I’m going to be reconnecting with some of their business leaders in the coming months on the Your Edge podcast to learn more about the best practices they’re adopting, the lessons they’ve learned from recent challenges, and what you need to keep in mind if you’re thinking about integrating voice picking, AMRs and other technologies into your workflow to support your workers.
Mark Butler
Mark Butler is a Global Partner Manager within Zebra’s global sales team and is the global leader for Zebra’s partnerships with both HP, Inc. and Körber Supply Chain. Mark has a focus on Zebra’s AMR and warehouse strategies with Körber and Zebra’s Managed Print and Government strategies with HP, Inc.
Mark is based in Cleveland, Ohio. He has been working within Zebra’s channel go-to-market organization since 2011 and has 20+ years in the industry.
