US-based XPO Logistics has launched a new labour productivity system for XPO Smart, its technology suite of optimisation tools.
XPO has deployed a new system in 20 logistics facilities to date, including dedicated customer warehouses and hubs for XPO Direct – a shared-space distribution network.
Approximately 200 total implementations are said to be planned by year-end.
The company’s proprietary productivity system puts warehouse operations under a technological microscope, providing managers with insights at many different levels, from total facility output to the productivity of individual workers and teams.
The software reportedly analyses three key drivers in combination: labour output, including gaps that need resolution; fast-moving inventory Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) for optimal placement within the warehouse; and outbound production measured against on-time targets.
“We’re putting new technology in the hands of our logistics operators to realise efficiencies for our customers,” said XPO Logistics Chief Information Officer, Mario Harik.
“Our labour productivity system uses proprietary algorithms and site-specific machine learning to determine how individual output contributes to collective goals.
“Very quickly, the system has had positive impacts with cost control and fulfillment speed,” he said.
XPO’s productivity system interfaces with the company’s warehouse management system and third-party workforce management applications. The system delivers data through a single dashboard, using machine learning to predict how a decision in one area will affect total operations. Managers gain deep visibility into workforce operations, including the number of scheduled versus active workers by job role in real time.
Labour productivity is the second major component of the XPO Smart technology suite, following the roll-out of the company’s warehouse management system in 2018.
In other news, XPO Logistics founder, Brad Jacobs, made Forbes’ world’s billionaires list, ranking 1,349 out of 2,153 based on data collected on 12 March 2019.
Jacobs has a real time net worth of €1.3 billion.