Consumer Goods Logistics Blog

Other than inventory, your logistics workforce is the largest expense in your distribution centers, eating up 50–70% of the warehousing budget. It’s why managing and reducing labor-related expenses is a top priority for just about every logistics executive.

At Kane Logistics, we’re proud that our associate retention levels with our top 10 customers is 80.2%, compared to the industry average of 53.9% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Here are 10 logistics workforce management strategies that work for us, and may work for you.

Back in 2005, the Tyler Texas Area Builders Association built a large home from the ground up in less than 3 hours. At the time, it set a record. Here's the video.  

It was a promotional effort to publicize the Association, but the overarching message was the importance of planning. While the build itself took just 2:52 hours, it was the product of months of meetings – among engineers, architects, builders, landscapers, tradesman, and project planners – to spec out every last aspect of the project. 

We’ve seen no negative impact on KANE customers’ freight during COVID-19 – a great accomplishment that has required a spirited effort by our transportation team. Here are some of the issues we’ve had to face.

During a recent meeting with KANE associates, our long-time business partner, Sam’s Club, reminded the team that they were “the backbone of this economy right now.”

It was a heartfelt comment that cut right to the heart of the matter – without logistics workers, the supply lines for essential goods like food and household staples stop flowing and commerce grinds to a halt.

As the percent of online sales grow and as the line between web and traditional retail store fulfillment blurs, E-retailers and brands need to assess their fulfillment capabilities and those of their 3PL omnichannel distribution partners.

Following are 8 tips to maximize efficiency in an omnichannel environment. 

After inventory costs, labor is your biggest cost bucket in the warehouse. If you can increase efficiency on the warehouse floor, it’s realistic to drive labor costs down up to 20% – even without automation. That money drops straight to the bottom line.

Labor savings are a product of reduced time and touches, and there are dozens of strategies you could pursue to achieve these objectives. But one strategy – warehouse slotting – is both under-rated and under-utilized.

KANE’s new Chief Operating Officer is Patrick Coughlin, a 30+ year logistics industry veteran with a strong history of driving performance excellence in corporate logistics and 3PL environments. We recently sat down with Patrick to discuss the trends and opportunities he’s seeing in the market.

Marriages and logistics partnerships all start with an assumption of a happy ending. But it doesn’t always work out that way – in either case.

Why do 3PL outsourcing relationships fail? A lot of the top reasons parallel what we hear in divorce courts. If any of the following reasons feel familiar to you, it might be time to ask yourself, “Are we with the right 3PL partner?”