In addition to the just-in-time and just-in-sequence methods, there are other time strategies that can be used to ensure that materials are in a constant flow. A smooth material flow has a positive effect on throughput and delivery times.

Cost-reducing time strategies

Time strategies that reduce costs are:

• Elimination
• Elimination involves removing avoidable processes from the value chain. There is often great potential for elimination in administrative departments. In some cases, waiting times for information or parallel data entry can be eliminated.
• Troubleshooting
• Eliminating faults such as breakdowns or errors saves costs and has a positive effect on throughput time.
• Simplification
• Simplifying methods and procedures can lead to cost savings and shorter runtimes.
• Standardization
• The introduction of standards in various processes saves time and therefore costs for a company. The use of standardized functions can be seen in the example of SAIL, a system architecture for intralogistics.

Cost-neutral time strategies

Time strategies that have a neutral effect on costs are:

• • Parallelization
  • In parallelization, an order is split into several sub-orders. The sub-orders are then processed at the same time in different storage zones. This time strategy is used, for example, in order-oriented, parallel picking.
  • Scheduling
  • By setting and adhering to delivery dates, the service departments involved can work in a time-conscious manner. This results in shorter throughput times.
  • Synchronization

Well-coordinated work steps shorten the order throughput time.

• For example, good coordination of the business processes goods receipt, putting away, picking, sorting (packing) and goods issue is important to ensure that orders are processed as smoothly as possible.

Costly time strategies

However, the use of some time strategies also has a negative impact on the “cost” factor. These include:

• Prioritization
• The throughput time of rush orders can be significantly reduced by giving priority to rush orders over other orders. However, this strategy results in additional costs due to the extended process duration of normal orders.
• Single-item production
• The special focus on individual orders and the processing of single-item production usually leads to an increase in order costs.
• Acceleration
• Accelerating the cycle frequency of machines in mechanical processing shortens the throughput time, but increases costs.

After implementing strategies to reduce throughput and delivery times, time controlling should be carried out to ensure that they remain effective.

For more information on logistics, see Contract logistics.

Image source: © Vege – Fotolia.com