Modern Company Logistics Operations - Recommendations

All logistics firms strive to perform efficiently. Such efficiency in the flawless distribution of product from one point to another to reach the end-user is typically defined by several tangible measures such as revenue, total sales, and so on. The performance of any firm is majorly determined by employees, among other variables like the flexibility of management to cope with change and effective communication of information. Factors that move a company to a modern management system can be more than just investing in assets. Notably, the company has pressing problems which include high rates of turnover that has left workers unhappy, old paper only transactions, inaccurate inventory counts, and two shipping bays that do not function. The company also has 300 hourly-paid workers, and ten supervisors while it is still experiencing high picking errors, as well as an employee safety problem. In light of this reality, the company needs to make radical changes that stir its operations towards modern logistics. 

Findings and discussions 

Internationally most companies are those that understand the human resource value. (Jurcevic, M.,et al, 2010) Those companies that strife to improve their employee's skills together with protecting their welfare have a significant achieve significant revenue returns. Our Italian food company, however, faces a considerable problem on different fronts majorly because the employees are not satisfied with the efforts the company has made in ensuring their welfare is catered for. The first problem is managing the employee it has. 

To manage a workforce of 300 employees, the organization has to develop strategic employee scheduling systems. An employee scheduling system connects the employees to the kind of quality work they produce to the company. The following strategies in scheduling will help the company in managing the high workforce it has. 

First, to create an employee schedule system, the company should create an employee schedule. The company should determine the kind of human resource it requires to achieve its operational needs (Shiftboard, 2010) Finding the right number of employee needed is the key to having a master employee schedule. For example, if the company requires two technicians, one finance officer, ten logistics personnel, 20 drivers, and two supervisors from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. A spreadsheet can be created, or chart boards put up or invest in scheduling software to organize resources for each role. Then, one should stipulate the required qualifications for specific shifts. For instance, if the loading bay needs seven employees on Monday from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm and at least one supervisor. This means that a process of qualifying employees before you schedule them will make sure that the shifts have the right people at the right time. The information on how much resources the company needs is then cross-referenced to the available workers. The decision to add more of retrench some will be based on the above assessment. (Shiftboard, 2010) 

Now that an employee schedule has been created, the human resource department can fill up spaces according to the location and time. Choosing employees for particular shifts and positions should be governed by scheduling rules, the seniority level of employees, employee performance, employee's qualifications, and also putting into account employees' preference. The company will assign a department that will manage the schedule for any future changes such as employee availability, demand change. Effective management of employee scheduling is determined by appropriate and real-time communication. The company should automate this process so that all employees from management to casual should have access to the information of when and where their shift well be. The employee will be required to give timely communication on availability so that the shift resources are rescheduled appropriately and on time. (Shiftboard, 2010) 

By using the employee scheduling system, the company will not only be able to solve the problem of workforce management but also reduce the employee turnover rate. Studies suggest that employee scheduling systems improve employee retention and satisfaction. The employee turnover rate in the company has been an enormous problem that slows company growth. According to compensation Force study in 2016, the average rate of employee turnover in all industries is 17.8 % and 16% of our industry (Bares, 2017) According to Table 1 and Table 2. It means that the risk of our company also losing employees is a problem to be addressed. These will be costly to the company in the long run. Employee turnover raises a company's cost of hiring, cost of training, and loss of productivity because it may take up to a year for a new 

employee to start being productive. (Merhar, 2016) 

Table 1 Table 2 

To reduce the turnover of employees, our company should revise its compensation policy. On this policy, the following should be addressed sufficiently: providing workers with better pay, offering employee recognition, and also train employees to advance in their careers. There is no guarantee of stopping employee turnover, but our focus should shift towards having more employee retention per year. It should be noted we due concern that employees are a company asset that, when well managed and motivated, they give the company a competitive advantage over its competitors. (Rider, 2019) 

Furthermore, the company has been struggling with inventory accounts and pick-ups. To address the problem, the company has to invest in modern inventory systems that are easily available in the market. New inventory system functions are based on combining the process and procedure that will manage stock using technology. The system manages products by identifying them as per the type, code, and tags. The system hardware, like a handheld scanner, enables workers to identify a product. The system cannot work without trained personnel who will be required to know the company policies regarding the management of products and also will follow the process. 

Logistics operations involve the movement of products. To manage this movement, so we maximize sales and increase revenue, the company has to have an inventory management system that will monitor current stock, the frequency of product movement. With time, the company can re-order products according to their demand. A good inventory system reduces problems like inaccurate inventory accounts and wrong pick-ups by eliminating these human errors caused by manual documentation. Technology investment of gadgets like barcode labels, scanner, and inventory management software will reduce costly human mistakes and ultimately increase the revenue of the company. 

Recommendations 

Having looked at the company's status quo, I would like to recommend the following; First, the company should revise its objectives and goals. Revising these objectives will enable the company to have a different path to follow. A path that will focus on improving the company. Secondly, the company should invest in new assets. For example, technology and new machines and tools. Machines and tools will help to make work easier and ultimately reduce employee accidents. Technology, on the other hand, fast track the company to be more competitive in providing efficient services and help management. The investment should start with the most urgent as we proceed with other inputs that will be procured. 

Thirdly, the company should revise its organizational structure. The structure should create new departments to manage company resources. The change should also include shuffling of top management or employing new management to ensure that the company picks up on the right course. 

Conclusions 

Company productivity is vital when the company wants to how business is growing by determining the ability of what the company is gaining versus what is putting in. The problems discussed in this report are clear indicators that the Italian food company is not productive. Combining technology and competent human resources management leads to the company's excellent performance. Implementing new systems like inventory management systems will put the company a notch higher in its sales and hence revenue increase while reducing on cost. Employees, too, are essential assets to the company. The company should implement the employee scheduling system, to plan work effectively, and in the long run, minimize turnover rates. The company hence has to define its goals and invest in technology for it to survive existing competitions in the logistics industry. 

References 

Bares, A. (2017, April 17). 2016 Turnover Rates by Industry . Retrieved April 21, 2020, from Compensation Force: https://www.compensationforce.com/2017/04/2016-turnover-rates-by-industry.html 

Jurcevic, M., et al. (2010). "The role of human factors in Supply Chains," 12th International Conference on Transport Sciences (ICTS 2010). Slovenia: Conference Proceedings. 

Merhar, C. (2016, February 4). Employee Retention - The Real Cost of Losing an Employee . Retrieved April 21, 2020, from peoplekeep.com: https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/bid/312123/employee-retention-the-real-cost-of-losing-an-employee 

Rider, N. (2019, April 4). Does Your Company Have a Healthy Employee Retention Rate? Retrieved April 21, 2020, from workest.com: https://www.zenefits.com/workest/your-company-healthy-employee-retention-rate/