PREKITTING
to cost." Snyder used a lot of manufacturer kits and still only 85 to 90
percent of his machines on location
are fully DEXed. "Some machines
just don't," he said.
Another key requirement for Snyder was driver buy-in. He got his drivers to transition, in part, by proving
prekitting would help them be more
effcient, in effect, work less hours,
while servicing more machines and
making more money. "It was most
rewarding to see route drivers embrace
it," Snyder said. "That we were able
to deliver on it and that it did improve
their quality of life, yet cut operating
costs and make us more proftable."
Software is another necessary
component to prekitting. Products sold
need to be calculated at item or SKU
level in order to produce pick lists.
When operators consider software
packages for prekitting, they should
Interior rails can be used to redesign
vehicle interiors for prekitting totes.
think about functionality, forecasting,
DEX data and whether the software
is scalable and robust — will it work
for them in the future, explains Silpa
Pande, Streamware product manager
at Crane Merchandising Systems.
Functionality refers to the program's
ability to take care of stores, trucks
and warehouses and the fow of product across each. The software should
be able to forecast what products will
be needed for a prekit based on realtime and/or regular DEX data. "And
fnally, [operators] should consider a
software package that will work for
them long-term and is future proofed,"
said Pande. "For example, after they
implement prekitting successfully, it
should offer other functionalities that
will take them to the next level.
Launching a VMS and prekitting
aren't accomplished in one day. It
requires dedication with both staff
and time. Cliff Fisher, sales manager at MEI goes so far as to suggest
four phases necessary to implement
the technologies successfully. The
phases are: disciplined operation, pre-
888.400.5744 www.LightspeedAutomation.com
August 2013
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