The baking industry is in constant flux with new trends, customer demands and changing market conditions. In an environment of constant change, it is difficult to keep all aspects of an organization synchronized. How do baking managers know their distribution methods are still optimized to meet the needs of their customers and bakery?

A myriad of distribution technologies are available, which include, but are not limited to, paper pick lists, bar code scanners, pick by voice, pick by light, radio frequency identification tags (RFID) and even lights-out automation. As baking managers deal with production, formulation, human resource issues and other challenges, not much time is left to evaluate different methods of distribution.

As a matter of fact, if you were to ask bakers about their latest investment or efficiency improvement, they will usually point to a piece of production equipment. The investment might even be a complete new line for a new group of baked products to cash in on the latest trend. Very rarely will bakers point to the distribution area when talking about operational improvements and expansion plans.

On the contrary, areas once reserved for distribution were likely used to accommodate more production and packaging capacity. The result is that over time, many bakers find themselves distributing a greater volume and variety of baked foods with the same distribution methods they have been using for five or 10 years. How can baking managers know if their distribution processes and systems are best suited for their current environment? When do baking managers know when their distribution methods are in need of a diagnosis?

No more reconciliation

Baking managers should look for two factors that indicate their distribution process is in need of an overhaul or at the very least a check up, notes Graham Jones, director, Logistics Planning LTD, Devize, England. “As the work required to manage and reconcile orders increases, the more a baker would benefit from a computer-aided picking system,” Jones says. “Therefore, the first indicator to look for is an increase or addition of office staff to reconcile and manage orders. Secondly, an increase in SKUs, throughput and/or delivery drop points create more complexity in the picking process. A significant increase in these areas would indicate that a different distribution process would aid in handling the added complexity.”

Reconciliation was the igniting spark for Orlando Baking, Cleveland, to upgrade its distribution technology. When Orlando Baking wanted to improve the reconciliation of inventory from production to truck to customer, the company decided an upgrade of its paper-based picking system was needed. “Our previous paper-based system was OK, but with regards to the reconciliation of products, we kept struggling. Identifying and correcting errors was simply too time consuming and error prone,” says John Anthony Orlando, executive vice president of operations for Orlando Baking,

Until May 2008, Orlando Baking had used a paper-based system to distribute finished products. A paper pick list was produced for each route delivery that needed to be made for that day. Then pickers, as directed by the printout, would take the appropriate products from a central holding location and load the trucks.

Hands-free technology

Orlando Baking ultimately decided to install a light directed distribution system. “Within a couple of weeks, we saw an improvement in the area of reconciliation, as well as a reduction in time to pick and load orders,” Orlando says. “Our reconciliation program continues to move forward very well, especially as we learn from the data that is available. Balancing inventory from production to truck to customer requires significant work to integrate the systems of each area; however, moving away from a paper-based picking system brought us much closer to where we wanted to be.”

With a light directed system, a picker grabs a stack of bread trays and instead of looking at a piece of paper to distribute the trays, the picker looks at displays that are hanging at each ship point. These lights show the number of trays needed. Typically, these displays have multiple lines or colors, so a team of up to five or six pickers can work on the same ship points. With light directed picking systems, pickers are quicker and more accurate. Pickers save time because their hands are never occupied managing a paper pick list. Additionally, a picker can more quickly and accurately read one of the six lines of information illuminated in a specific color on the display. Converting to a light directed system versus picking products while carrying paper and pencil proved to be far more efficient and cost effective, Orlando notes.