Top Takeaways from WERC
By Bob C. Kennedy
The RC Kennedy Consulting team attended the WERC Annual conference in New Orleans a few weeks ago. Below are a few of the interesting things I saw and heard. (All conference presentations mentioned here will be uploaded to the WERC website in the coming weeks.)
Bob Kennedy and Wanda Johnson of Deloitte presenting a Peer-to-Peer discussion on “Unlocking Warehouse Efficiency - Leveraging Low-Hanging Fruit for Immediate Improvements.”
I had the privilege of hosting a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) session with Wanda Johnson of Deloitte on the topic of finding cost savings – the low hanging fruit. If you have never attended WERC, or a P2P session, I highly recommend it. The session involves 20-50 people sitting in a room to discuss the main topic and how it relates to them. These are mostly warehouse folks looking to gather general information and seek advice from their peers, which also include consultants, technologists and some academicians. Getting into the flow of conversation is easy. Of the many good things WERC does, the P2P sessions are among my favorites.
Speaking of WERC, hats off to Michael Mikitka and crew for the overall great conference. The content was great. The keynotes were great. The venue did a very nice job with it, and New Orleans is one of the most fascinating cities in the U.S. I’m not much of a Bourbon Street guy, though I did enjoy a fun evening hosted by Takt at the Tropical Isle. But there is so much more to the city than that – so much architecture to take in. It is a culture unique from the rest of the country.
Bob Kennedy and Alyssa Oles of Penguin Random House presenting a case study on “Using In-House Systems and Technology Empowers Success at Penguin Random House.”
I also had the opportunity to facilitate a presentation by Alyssa Oles of Penguin Random House. Perhaps contrary to conventional wisdom, PRH is taking steps to bring their systems management in-house. Alyssa explained that it makes sense for PRH to do take this step due to the size and dynamic demands of their business. Companies facing similar challenges might want to take a look at PRH.
Younger industry folks often ask me about certifications. Joe Tillman and Will Sparks gave an excellent summary of everything you want to know about certifications. Now all I need do is point those inquisitive people to their presentation.
Ever heard of “Bucket Brigade” picking? I had not. But after a demonstration by Steve Mulaik and the Argon gang, I am excited by the concept. What the demonstration showed is that using a bucket brigade technique (yes, just like the firefighters used in the olden days) to tag team an order results in improvements over traditional pick and pass by significant amounts. The concept comes from studies conducted by John Bhartholdi of Georgia Tech.
As expected, there were several presentations on AI. These talks, however, showed real promise with real (emerging) tools to produce improvements. Scott Gaston facilitated one such panel. Other talks were conducted by Kristi Montgomery on the power of AI with administrative tasks – contracts, content, and customer service. NFI held a case study on using vision and AI to monitor inventory resulting in productivity improvements.
Much of what a conference is all about is networking. It’s always great to see your friends and colleagues, customers and partners. A special shoutout to Annette Daney- Akey, Kevin Kelley, Steve Hopper, Glynn LoPresti , Bryan Jenson, Mark Lewis, Steve Markum, and Steve Simmerman.
Bob C. Kennedy
Principal, RCK Consulting
For more than 40 years, Bob Kennedy has planned, developed, and implemented industry-leading supply chain execution systems around the globe. Bob and his staff have led more than 200 large-scale implementations of supply chain execution software for leading customers in a variety of industries, including Johnson & Johnson, Penguin Random House, DHL, and Google. Read more about Bob and his supply chain expertise.
