Clark Shoes Distribution Center continues to drive continuous improvement while meeting the challenges of COVID-19.
During a recent Go-Lean-Six Virtual Peer Group, the Clark Shoes Distribution team demonstrated some of those improvements via a virtual tour of their facility. Using a unique "view from a package", the tour showed the investment in automation and flow that has occurred to ensure that customers in the US, Canada and Latin America are serviced with quality and efficiency. Leveraging every square inch of footprint, the center has the capacity to store over 7 million shoes and shipping approximately 22 million pairs a year! They are the only distribution center for the Americas, supporting both retail stores and online retail customers.
Like many in the distribution industry, they had their challenges due to the shutdown of COVID. Their flexibility to manage inventory based on their foundations of lean learning was key! To reduce variability and achieve outcomes, the Clark Shoes Distribution Team focuses on standardization, metrics and benchmarking best practices with strong employee engagement. They are currently at Bronze level of achievement and working toward Silver.
Clark Shoes has outlet stores in Hanover, Lancaster and Hershey Pennsylvania.
As part of the Virtual Peer Group, Michael Roth, President, Go-Lean-Six provided training on the importance of Standardization as a Key to Performance Sustainment. Although creating standard work is an important part of the process, standardization itself must be implemented as a process itself for success. Key elements include the following: 1) Understanding of the cycle time versus takt times 2) a focus on reducing variation via metrics (Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost) 3) process best practices as a foundation for training and 4) procedures that describe how to consistently "do the work". These together will achieve success!
Are you interested in joining our next Go-Lean-Six Virtual Peer Group? Contact us at info@go-lean-six.com.