Centric

Operations Modeling & Performance Management

Many companies simply “do not know what they do not know”. We have found that companies often do not have a solid understanding of how their core operational competencies align with their strategic growth objectives, and may not have a business strategy in place to keep up with customer and industry performance demands. Our consultants assist clients in distribution and logistics as-is modeling, and we work together to understand how internal and outsourced capabilities can be leveraged to optimize warehouse and distribution operations. Centric helps companies align quality, throughput, productivity and financial performance measures with strategic business imperatives, and we recommend performance management best practices that are proven to foster stronger customer relationships and business growth.

Value Stream Analysis & Optimization

Processes that support evolving distribution models are often laden with non-value added activities such as dock delays, product staging and transfers, redundant material handling and unnecessary QA control points, to name a few. In addition, companies are challenged by communication breakdown between distributors, carriers, and end customers. These non-value-added activities (NVAs) in the distribution value stream ultimately impact customer satisfaction. Ongoing optimization of information and product flow from supplier to warehouse, to DC, to end customer, must happen if a company is to be viable in a competitive market. Our consultants are experienced in lean and six-sigma approaches to managing down non-value added waste in business processes. We help management, engineers, schedulers, suppliers, and customers recognize waste, identify root causes, and attack the problems with best practice process and technology solutions.

Logistics Analysis and Simulation

Logistics optimization is often misconstrued as a process that must be complex in nature. While many distribution companies do have very complex distribution channels and customer compliance requirements, the methods employed to assess logistical process capabilities are relatively straightforward. Centric’s clients typically retain the knowledge necessary to impact logistics improvements, they just need some help applying methods to assess, simulate, and transform challenges into opportunities to gain competitive advantage. Centric consultants are experienced in resource allocation techniques, put-away and picking strategies, packaging and labeling solutions, product tracking and freight load optimization.

Strategic Sourcing

Labor, freight and packaging are the largest cost components of most distribution companies. Cost reduction in these areas is an imperative, and one that usually needs to be addressed through a holistic plan to strategically source materials and people while keeping inventory levels low and inventory turns up. Centric has strong capabilities in sourcing and procurement ranging from establishing global procurement organizations, driving cost savings through specific sourcing events such as competitive bid, vendor contract and relationship management, and optimizing sourcing/back office operations.

Facility Design and Material Flow Analysis

The long-term success of a distribution company depends on synchronization of the material-flow strategy with process and technology enablers. Centric assists our clients by analyzing material flow from dock to stock, and from pick to end customer. Our consultants evaluate sourcing, inventory and order to cash processes by any number of dimensions such as sales channel, distribution method, and product category, and then provide our clients with a strategy to most cost effectively enhance operations through facility layout and material flow re-engineering. Centric also has considerable experience in implementing advanced warehouse and distribution packaged solutions to support re-engineered material/products management processes.

back to logistics / supply chain