How controlling and warehouse metrics help to improve logistics performance

In logistics, traffic jams often cause delays in the collection process. For the warehouse manager, this means a huge amount of extra work, as they have to keep track of everything and coordinate operations. COGLAS is now offering a solution for the first time with the new KPI dashboard in its web-based warehouse management software. What makes it special is that the dashboards are easy to configure and display all key warehouse metrics in a customisable layout.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) allow the results of various logistics processes to be measured. These warehouse metrics are of great importance to any logistics professional, as they provide detailed insight into a company’s actual performance. However, the dashboard not only provides a comprehensive overview of all warehouse activities that is visible to everyone, but also serves as an indicator for internal controlling. What is the current performance level, and what could or should performance look like to improve my company’s profitability?

With the help of the COGLAS KPI dashboard, logistics professionals can immediately identify areas where there is still room for optimisation to improve overall performance. “Warehouse metrics are an enormous advantage not only for large companies, but also for small and medium-sized enterprises. With the help of KPIs, time-consuming coordination can be reduced,” says Ilja Tremasow, product designer at COGLAS.

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The logistics manager looks at the dashboard and sees that the average picking times in the ‘Upper Floor Shelving’ area of the warehouse are two minutes, whereas the average picking times in the ‘Lower Floor Shelving’ area are just 97 seconds.

He asks himself: Why is that? Are the items on the upper floor more time-consuming to pick, or could it be because the staff there generally work more slowly? In any case, the logistics manager can now look for a solution and optimise the processes afterwards. Similarly, for example, the early and late shifts could be compared with one another, or slow-moving stock could be identified.

Almost every web-based WMS nowadays has a KPI function, but the layout is often confusing and the available options are pre-defined. With the COGLAS KPI Dashboard, customers can create their own personalised dashboard and have the option to select numerous filters, such as specific storage zones or time intervals. Configuring the dashboard is intuitive, and widgets can be placed in the desired location using drag-and-drop. Furthermore, different access and editing rights can be set for various user groups.

All KPIs can be exported either automatically or manually in various formats. For example, an automatic report from Dashboard 1.0 can be sent as a PDF via email to a specified address every Friday at 11 am.

“We are continuously developing the dashboard,” says Ilja Tremasow. “There are currently several hundred possible combinations. In future, we will expand this number many times over and provide completely new functions for controlling.”