Browsing by Author "Lucas, Wayne Peter"

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    Performance of a customised picking system in a fast moving consumer goods distribution centre
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Lucas, Wayne Peter; Nel, Johanna Helena; Louw, Johannes Jacobus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Logistics. Logistics.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : In the business world the majority of industries need an efficient supply chain to get their products to their customers. An integral link in this supply chain is the distribution centre (DC) that collects and distributes products to various end consumers for the business. Of the various functions, which forms part of the DC’s daily operations, possibly the most influential in affecting efficiency, is picking. Ineffective picking can negatively affect the DC’s performance and add greatly to the expenses of the business. In an effort to increase efficiencies, many organisations develop and implement customised picking systems in their DCs. Whether or not these customised picking systems actually enhance the performance of the DC is a question that needs to be addressed. Research in the form of a case study was done at Pick n Pay’s Philippi DC in the Western Cape, who gave permission for their name and information to be published within this thesis in a public domain. The aim of the research was to analyse the newly installed picking system, which was designed and customised specifically for this facility, and replaced a more traditional pick path sequence in which pickers start at one end of the facility and are guided through rows of shelving, picking articles on their way and finishing at the opposite end of the facility. The new pick tunnel is substantially different to the old picking facility. In order to maximise space utilisation the pick tunnel consists of four picking levels. Pickers are dedicated to each level and do not pick from multiple levels. The research for this thesis compared the performance of the old picking system with that of the new one. An operational assessment was conducted on both systems in which employees were followed and their daily activities were documented. With regard to the quantitative research, a framework was developed in which the KPIs of the facility as well as a balanced scorecard were used to measure the change in performance of the DC. Questionnaires were used to investigate the balanced scorecard. This was to determine and justify the reasoning behind the specific metrics, which were used in the scorecard. In addition to this framework, an Independent t-test and Bonferroni multiple comparison tests were conducted to determine whether there were significant differences in the KPIs measuring throughput and efficiency. The findings of the thesis were that the implementation of the new picking method did lead to an improvement in the performance of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) DC, specifically the volume processed through the facility. The strategic KPIs measured by the balanced scorecard also showed that the majority of the strategic goals were met. Further, similar studies should be done in the future to determine whether this is the case. This research resulted in a framework being developed to measure the impact of picking methods on a DC, and investigated whether implementing a unique picking method resulted in operational advantages for Pick n Pay’s Philippi DC.