WINTER 2017

148
THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
ROBERT FOOTLIK RE-EXAMINING ‘D ITEMS’ from page 102
Physically, there are two basic ways of dealing with
these vital “D-items” in the warehouse. They can be
integrated in with the rest of a vendor family or separated
into a new family of “solutions waiting to happen.”
For small items the traditional warehouse rule is to
maintain all products from one vendor or family together
in a section of shelving, rack or an aisle. With an
effective Warehouse Management Program (WMS) this is
unnecessary and often counter productive. While it is
best to store items that are sold together in one location
that considers this “affinity factor,” there is no real reason
to keep all the products in part number sequence. This
is especially true with the slowest moving products in the
line.
Once one moves beyond the traditional stocking
concepts there are many opportunities for storing slow
movers with much greater efficiency. By definition
“D-items” are almost never reordered, so this eliminates
the “stocking excuse.” They are rarely touched and
typically counted at most once a year, so this reduces
the need for maintaining a tight inventory control. Under
these circumstances, alternative storage opportunities
can be exploited without any capital expenditures.
Taking the slowest SKUs, and pulling them out of
strict family sequence can mean nothing more than
moving these products to the far end of an aisle. This
opens up shelf space for faster movers closer to the
pick path and significantly reduces the order picker’s
steps. This translates into time saved and greater overall
efficiency. A frequent side benefit is enhanced quality,
especially when the products have uniform packaging or
are easily mistaken. Separating similar items precludes
confusing a #4578BL (black) with a #4578AL (almond).
For larger objects separating stock will often save
space as well as time. If most of a product line is palletized
and the slow movers are stored strictly by the case these
products can be segregated into shelving, hand stacked
on pallet racks, placed in carton flow racking or handled
in some other high density storage medium. A minimum
cost strategy would be to condense the slow movers into
one section of rack at the far end of an aisle, with tight
beam spacing. Several pallet rack manufacturers have
developed retail store accessories that can commingle
palletized goods with individual cases. For an example
of this, go back to http://www.unarcorack.com/retailrack/
and click on some of the accessories that most
Material Handling Equipment Distributors don’t show their
customers.
In an operation that utilizes an “Order Picker” or
“Stock Selector” fork lift (controlled from a position on
the forks), a good strategy is to maintain the fast moving
products at floor level with the “D-items” directly above
the related materials. This takes advantage of the fact
that the fork lift can elevate far faster than it will travel
horizontally. By “popping up” for the slow movers product
affinities can be maintained without slowing the picking
operation.
The Bottom Line…
Is that “D-items” are a fact of life. They fetch business
and if properly controlled can offer a higher return through
better margins. The trick is to exploit their differences
and treat them as an important and necessary factor of a
successful business. While the “A” and “B” items offer
more glamour, all too often the “C’s” and “D’s” pay the
overhead.
And for those who are seeking more romance in their
lives, becoming a specialist in hard to find products may
be the ultimate answer. Thanks to the Internet you might
have a new business model waiting to be discovered.
Getting the “D-items” fully cataloged with specifications
and photos is easier than ever and with the power of
search engines all it takes to bring a part to a customer’s
attention is a stock number or description.
Perhaps you have held onto the obsolete materials
for so long they are now fashionable. You don’t know
this without some investigation. With research, creativity
and a good web site the “D-items” need no defense when
they are turned into super high margin “A-items.” The
term”mid-life crisis” comes to mind or perhaps this can
be your retirement exit strategy. If you think this can’t
work remember Studebaker and the Avanti? Both are
long gone but they live on with collectors. A quick search
on “Avanti Parts” can demonstrate just how powerful
“D-items” can be. Take a look at: http://avantiparts.biz/.
The prices are fair and while the demand is low it’s still
enough to stay in business doing something that these
people really enjoy.
Does this change your mind about what the textbooks
teach when it comes to inventory analysis? Might you
have some Whitworth fasteners waiting to be discovered
in the warehouse? Think about it!
ROBERT FOOTLIK