Productivity and Labor Metrics

This is usually the area where a warehouse management system makes the biggest difference. Your tracking system should allow you to measure:

• Fill rate: The number of items that are being picked as compared to the number of items that are being ordered.
• Order accuracy: The number of items that are being correctly scanned into and out of bin locations.
• Shipping timeliness: The number of orders that are being filled and shipped according to the promised delivery dates.
• Downtime: The amount of time between items being picked, usually due to distance between bin locations.

These metrics allow you to not only see how your team is doing under various workloads, but also how well organized your warehouse is. Accuracy errors are caused by mis-scanning products, shelf IDs, and purchase orders. Excessive downtime or time that orders are sitting on the dock waiting to be shipped out can be signs that improvements are needed in your warehouse’s organizational structure.