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Opening Session:
Staying on Top of Your Game
Start your exciting conference day with an insider’s look at the changing world of warehouse management. As a warehouse professional, it’s hard enough to keep production lines supplied, customers satisfied, maintain spotless inventory record and put out the hundreds of fires that seem to pop up everywhere. It’s your responsibility to mesh your company’s overall goals and directions with the (sometimes) conflicting realities of daily work. At this session, you’ll find out how other warehouse and inventory professionals have met these challenges with innovative strategies and continuous improvement. Discover how you can continually adapt your practices and warehousing methods to keep up with the demands of your challenging work and meet your personal and professional goals. Plus, you’ll learn more about your role as a warehouse pro and how your insight into the way things are done can be the key to financial stability and success for your company.
Track 1: Warehouse Issues
Session 1A: Maximizing Space in the Warehouse
Handling today’s increasing customer demands requires an efficient and well laid-out warehouse that optimizes every square inch of your available space. But if you’re like the vast majority of warehouse managers, you don’t have the option of physically changing your facility, so you have to make-do with what you have. At this session, you’ll learn some basic fundamentals that every warehouse manager needs to know to create an effective warehouse — no matter what limitations you face. You’ll learn about the most common warehouse design and layout mistakes and how to avoid them. You’ll be able to immediately identify flaws in your own facility and have the confidence to get upper management to help you make the changes that you know need to be made.
Session 1B: Forecasting More Accurately
Today’s competitive markets require your company to make accurate forecasts for the future demand of each and every product in your inventory. But even the simplest mistakes in your forecasting models can cause you to have unwanted overages in your stock, or worse, not have enough parts to keep production lines moving or customer orders fulfilled. In this session, you will learn how to more accurately forecast your company’s needs by identifying unusual factors that can cause costly forecasting mistakes … better ways to collect the information you need ... and how to make well-informed decisions based on this information. When you’re done, you’ll be able to improve customer service ... reduce inventory ... increase productivity ... and improve the deliveries from suppliers. It’s a session that you can’t afford to miss!
Session 1C: Non-Stock Answers for Your Stock Problems
Is there anything at work that occupies your thoughts more than problems with your warehouse stock? Dead stock, slow-moving stock, excess stock, safety stock, out of stock ... the list goes on and on. Instead of relying on the fuzzy theories and “stock” answers that many training companies spout, come to this session and get practical, real-world insights from a warehousing and inventory pro who has seen it all and will share hard-won solutions for your stock problems. If it seems like your company adds new stock every other day ... you have trouble getting your people to rotate the old stock ... or if you’re stuck with more stock than you need because one of your vendors offered your purchasing agent a “deal” for buying a “minimum” amount of product, you need the answers you’ll get at this eye-opening session.
Session 1D: Strengthening Warehouse Security
It’s one of the warehouse manager’s toughest tasks ... dealing with inventory security and theft. Some inventory shrinkage is inevitable, but what is an acceptable level for your company? Do economic factors affect the integrity of your workers and the theft rate? What options do you have if you suspect an employee is stealing? What are your responsibilities? More importantly, what are your liabilities? What technological deterrents are available and can you afford them? Get all the answers you need to these sensitive issues and some easy, common-sense strategies for eliminating employee theft of your valuable inventory. And learn how to stand firm and put a stop to those people who unintentionally cause you inventory shrinkage problems by innocently “sampling” your inventory without your permission!
Session 1E: Working Better With Your Vendors
How do you measure your vendor’s performance? If you’re like many warehouse managers and you go with your “gut” feeling, you may be shortchanging yourself — and your company. In order to make the most cost-effective decisions about your vendors, what you really need is an objective measurement system that spells out how well they’re helping you achieve your goal of effective inventory management. At this session, you’ll learn several of the most accurate methods of measuring vendor performance PLUS you’ll receive some simple and powerful negotiation techniques that you can use with any vendor to get what you want and still maintain a healthy working relationship.
Track 2: Inventory Management: A Better Way
Session 2A: Maintaining More Accurate Inventory Records
They’re the lifeblood of every well-informed business decision that’s made in your company when it comes to production scheduling, sales, forecasting and planning, purchasing … whatever! They’re your inventory records, and if they’re inaccurate, your company can get caught without stock on hand, or with twice as much as you’ll ever need. Either way, that’s unacceptable, and eventually you’ll be standing in front of someone higher up the corporate ladder trying to explain. With the secrets and strategies you’ll get in this session, you can easily achieve inventory record accuracy levels of 95% or more ... evaluate your current system and identify areas for improvement ... and maintain high levels of productivity.
Session 2B: The 5 Golden Rules of Accurate Inventory Counts
Given the time and effort that goes into a physical inventory, and the importance of achieving accurate results, most companies would rather NOT do one than waste their time conducting an inaccurate inventory. The secrets to preparing your company for a hassle-free and accurate physical inventory are revealed during this 45-minute eye-opening session. You’ll never look at your physical inventory the same way again once you master the 5 simple steps that successful warehouse and inventory managers all across the country use to make their lives easier. You’ll learn about the most common blunders that sink the preparation for most companies, and how you can get your entire company behind your efforts to get an accurate physical inventory.
Session 2C: Taking the Pain Out of Annual Physical Inventories
For inventory pros, physical inventories are like trips to the dentist ... you know you have to do it, but you don’t want to. And many a warehouse and inventory control manager has compared doing inventories to having a root canal. Now you can relax. Think of this workshop session as a gigantic dose of novocaine that will ease your nagging doubts that something will go wrong. With the information you learn here, you’ll conduct your annual physical inventory with more confidence, speed and accuracy. You won’t have people throwing up their hands in frustration with delays, missing counts or worse, inaccurate counts. And best of all, you’ll sit back relaxed when the auditors come in because you’ll know you have done the best job you can!
Session 2D: Surefire Cycle Count Strategies
Believe it or not, setting up an accurate cycle counting program, complete with a top-notch cycle counting team to run it, can eliminate your annual physical inventory! Cycle counting has long been regarded as the best way to maintain an accurate inventory recordkeeping system 365 days a year. Whether you’re wanting to set one up if you don’t have one now, or you just want to ensure that your current system is meeting all your inventory management needs, don’t miss this terrific session. You’ll learn how to train your cycle counting team, keep paperwork under control and discover timesaving methods that will allow your people to get more work done in less time!
Session 2E: Maintaining Your New & Improved Inventory System
This troubleshooting session will arm you with the knowledge and skills to maintain a high-quality inventory control system for years to come. With the strategies you’ll learn here, you’ll be able to adjust your processes on the fly and adapt to changes in the marketplace. And that will help you service your customers better, increase your productivity and maintain better cost control. Even better, once you’ve established your system the way you want it, you’ll be able to focus more energy on other responsibilities and ... who knows? ... maybe take a worry-free vacation every once in awhile!
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