Are Your Hiring Practices Ready for 2018 Trends?

Are Your Hiring Practices Ready for 2018 Trends?
Are Your Hiring Practices Ready for 2018 Trends?

Finding qualified help to handle warehouse equipment and perform other vital jobs is one of the biggest challenges in the material handling and logistics industry. Experts weigh in on this year’s talent trends you should be watching.

People Analytics

Today’s incoming workforce has grown up with technology. People analytics provides specific and objective information for creating goals, making decisions and measuring progress.

Growth-Created Jobs

The rise of e-commerce has triggered greater expectations for efficient shipping and shorter turnaround times. Companies are seeking knowledgeable people in the areas of research and development, engineering, hardware and software.

Candidate-Driven Job Market

While job openings are increasing, the shortage of qualified labor continues. Companies are adapting their hiring strategies to become more attractive to potential candidates.

Explosion of Telecommuting

Working remotely is no longer an exception. By 2020, an estimated 40 percent of the workforce will be working remotely, whether from home or a third location.

Women Making Strides

Many companies are beginning to employ women in all levels of business. It’s a double-pronged solution to beating the talent shortage and bringing fresh perspectives to a mature but changing industry.

Social Media Is Here to Stay

Surveys show that 84 percent of organizations currently use social media in talent acquisition, with another nine percent planning on joining the pack.

Robots: Good News and Bad News

A recent report predicts that nearly 40 percent of today’s jobs will be filled by robots by the 2030s. On the plus side, this will create jobs for skilled workers areas such as engineering and software development.

Quality Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

State-of-the-art warehouse equipment makes your company a desirable option for top job candidates. Visit our website to learn more about our battery-powered movers, tugs and pushers.

Warehouse Efficiency – Top Tips from Industry Experts

Warehouse Efficiency - Top Tips from Industry Experts
Warehouse Efficiency – Top Tips from Industry Experts

As your preferred material handling equipment supplier, our primary goal is your success. A panel of industry experts was recently asked to reveal each person’s single best tip for increasing warehouse productivity, and we’re sharing the best answers with you.

What’s the Single Best Way to Improve Warehouse Productivity?

Optimize Pick Routes

It’s a basic equation: the easier it is for employees to perform their tasks, the more they can complete. Review pick routes and modify them as much as possible to have them end close to the packing and dispatch area.

Control Inbound and Outbound Freight Costs

When it comes to eating away at profits, freight charges are at the top of the list. Hire a consultant to help you bid more competitively. The profit will more than pay for the expense.

Incorporate Mobile Computing

Studies show that each step by a warehouse employee costs four cents. Replace fixed workstations with mobile ones that allow associates to process data on the spot.

Use Digital Communications

Accurate communication keeps operations running smoothly, but it’s difficult to keep everyone on the same page when they’re constantly in motion. Create a centralized digital workplace hub that includes communication and chat apps along with productivity software.

Invest in Quality Equipment

Hardware often seems like an obvious place to cut costs, but it frequently ends up being counterproductive when productivity suffers because employees don’t have the right tools to perform their jobs.

Electric Material Handling Solutions from DJ Products

Battery-powered movers such as our popular CartCaddyLite are cost-effective ways to improve efficiency and safety while reducing expenses. Call 800.686.2651 to learn why DJ Products is your first choice for a dependable material handling equipment supplier.

Warehouse Key Performance Indicators (KPI) – What You Need to Know

Key performance indicators, or KPIs, have become standard elements of business plans in nearly every type of industry. In your warehouse, KPIs can be used to monitor and evaluate anything from purchases of material handling equipment to workplace safety.

Warehouse KPI's
Warehouse KPI’s – Why Use Them?

Why Use KPIs?

As the saying goes, you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. KPIs provide you with specific criteria to evaluate performance in predefined areas. Armed with solid data, you can then make any necessary adjustments to refine the journey toward your company goals.

KPIs for Warehouse Operations

No two companies will have the same KPIs. While there are a number of measurements that are commonly used, the final mix is based on your business plan and what factors you consider important.

Here are some KPIs that apply to major areas in a warehouse business model:

Business Performance

– Gross and net profits

– Costs (broken down by labor, inventory, equipment, etc.)

Operational Efficiency

– Utilization of resources

– Waste

– Order fulfillment

Safety

– Workplace accidents (number of incidents, time lost, etc.)

– Monthly health and accident prevention costs

– Percentage of products and services assessed for health and safety effects

“Green” Practices

– Emissions (CO2, greenhouse gases)

– Renewable energy usage

– Percentage of recycled materials used

– Total energy created on-site

Safe, Efficient and Eco-Friendly Material Handling Equipment from DJ Products

Whatever your warehouse goals are, material handling equipment from DJ Products will help you attain them. Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers save on time, manpower and energy while reducing the risk of workplace injuries.

Visit our website and use the convenient online chat feature to learn more. Our experienced sales engineers are ready to help you find the best material handling solutions for your applications.

Mobile Technology is Coming to Warehouses in 2018

Make Sure You Are Using the Mobile Tech That Makes Sense for Your Business
Make Sure You Are Using the Mobile Tech That Makes Sense for Your Business

The e-commerce market is rapidly expanding as consumers increasingly shift to online shopping. As warehouses and distribution centers spread and expand to meet the expanding needs of today’s online retailers, warehouses are being challenged to turn orders faster in efforts for retail venues to maintain a relevant online presence. To meet this challenge, they’re turning to real-time mobile technology in their warehouse equipment arsenal.

Different from Other Mobile Tech
In the warehouse environment, mobile technology differs from other applications. Used intensely for the duration of worker shifts, workers interact with devices hundreds-to-thousands of times per shift, making optimal design and operation critical to accomplishing tasks at hand, ensuring maximum productivity and accuracy.

Meeting Supply Chain Needs
Serving a range of industries, mobile warehouse technology featuring the latest capabilities, including UHF RFID for tracking warehouse equipment, assets, inventory, and workers, is becoming increasingly affordable.

Real-Time Location Solutions (RTLS) are growing in use and popping-up in warehouses nationwide, with its precision optimizing operational visibility, efficiency and safety.

Shipping warehouses can now scan, count, manage, and search for inventory in real-time, getting a complete picture of inventory at multiple locations. This not only reduces errors and improves customer service, but eliminates much of the legwork necessary for managing stock, pricing, and other product data that previously required a repetitive labor investment.

Compatible with Existing Automation & Technology
The latest mobile technology for warehouses, which is most effective when deployed collectively, is also capable of collaborating with existing and up-and-coming technology. From quick-picking drones to articulating arms working in tandem with sensor-fusion technology, precision industrial processes are the new standard.

Do you have the warehouse equipment solutions you need to remain relevant in today’s rapidly changing retail environment? Improve your operation with DJ Products today.