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We’re experimenting with fully automated vehicles and synchronising supply chains down to the minute. Yet the admin sometimes gets bogged down over something as simple as sending a parcel. The tape is missing, the stamps have run out. Whilst millions are being invested in supply chain automation, there is often no fixed standard for express deliveries and return envelopes. That is precisely why this micro-logistics also deserves a smart organisation. Anyone who looks at the process through a 5S lens will see where gains can be made.
Hidden waste in the workplace
In logistics, we recognise the classic forms of waste in the warehouse without fail, but in the office we tend to overlook them. Yet the same thing happens there:
- Wasted movement: Staff walk to another department three times a day in search of a pair of scissors, tape or the delivery note printer.
- Defective waste: Estimates are made regarding the weight of an envelope, resulting in the consignment being returned with an additional charge or a return notification.
- Waiting waste: Packages that are ready for collection are left lying around on a desk until the following afternoon because ‘someone will take them to a parcel collection point later on’.
Nine times out of ten, the problem is a lack of ownership and structure. If no one is responsible for the ‘post’, it naturally becomes the sort of task that everyone makes use of, but no one feels responsible for. And so, time and time again, everyone ends up searching for a way to send a parcel. Unnoticed, this also leads to hidden costs.
Organising according to Lean principles at the micro-level
If you want to professionalise this residual flow without it becoming a significant overhead, you should organise your micro-logistics based on four fixed basic principles:
1. Standardised weighing
Stop guessing the weight. Place a compact, calibrated digital precision scale right at the dispatch point. Within a second, a member of staff will know whether a consignment falls within the 0–50 gram, 350 gram or 2 kilo range. This prevents unnecessary corrections afterwards.
2. A designated area for packaging materials
Set up a designated, clearly defined 5S workspace with a fixed stock: a number of standard letterbox-sized envelopes (A6/A5), a few sizes of padded envelopes and a tape dispenser attached to the desk with a spring or chain so it can’t go missing. You can easily order these kinds of standard office supplies in bulk via Viking Office Supplies, ensuring you never run out of stock without realising it.
3. Digital postage instead of physical stamps
Make sure you never have to get in the car again because you’ve run out of stamps. Order stamps online in fixed quantities of sheets and keep your stock topped up. Then store those sheets in a fixed spot near the packing area. That way, you’ll never run out again.
4. A clear Single Point of Drop-off
Designate a single location where all items ready for dispatch are placed. If it isn’t in that specific spot, it officially doesn’t exist yet. If the volume of shipments is high enough, arrange a fixed collection time with your carrier, so that staff no longer have to drive to a local parcel collection point themselves.
Three rules of thumb for office staff
- The 5-minute rule: Does it take longer than five minutes to dispatch an ad hoc parcel from the moment the contents are ready? If so, optimise the layout of your packing area.
- Stop using personal advances. Don’t let staff pay for stamps in advance via Tikkie or their own expense claim forms; set up a central digital postage credit system.
- Check for digital alternatives: Before you pack anything, ask yourself the crucial question of whether a secure portal, EDI link or digital signature can take over from the physical route. After all, anything that doesn’t travel physically takes up the least time in the supply chain.
So the biggest time-saver in operations certainly isn’t always down to the software or the layout of the warehouse, but simply a well-organised dispatch area.