Research shows that the typical warehouse or distribution center operating without a formalized labor management program operates at about 60-70 percent of normal performance levels. This means that without rushing workers or using special incentives (and staying within acceptable safety and quality levels) you can improve your labor productivity by 10-30 percent or more by adopting a comprehensive labor management program. There are areas of potential labor productivity improvements hiding everywhere in your supply chain operations. You just have to dig a little bit to find them.

Research shows that the typical warehouse or distribution center operating without a formalized labor management program operates at about 60-70 percent of normal performance levels. Generally speaking, industrial engineers describe normal performance as meeting the minimal expected performance level for an average worker at an average pace for an average day’s work. This means that without rushing workers or using special incentives (and staying within acceptable safety and quality levels) you can improve your labor productivity by 10-30 percent or more by adopting a comprehensive labor management program.

If you are the skeptical type you might be saying, “If there was something I could do to get that kind of increase in productivity, I would have done it by now.” But that’s the problem – there is no one magic bullet. Instead, there are areas of potential labor productivity improvements hiding everywhere in your supply chain operations. You just have to dig a little bit to find them, and be willing to question why things are done the way they are. This paper will give you tips on finding and leveraging untapped labor productivity opportunities in your operations.