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SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT

ON

Identifying critical roles in

SCS & Freight divisions and

Preparing SOPs for the same

AT

“Transport corporation of India”

SUBMITTED BY:

JASKARANBIR SINGH AUJLA

13DM082

PGDM (OPERATIONS)

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INDEX

SUMMER PROJECT CERTIFICATE…………………………………………………4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………..5

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL………………………………………………………….6

LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION……………………………………………………….7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………….8

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background…………………………………………………………………………….9

1.2 About the company…………………………………………………………………..9-10

2. PROBLEM DEFINITION……………………………………………………………11

3. METHODOLOGY ADOPTED………………………………………………………11

3.1 METHODOLOGY AT SCS (SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS) DIVISION…………11

3.2 METHODOLOGY AT FREIGHT DIVISION………………………………………..11

4. RESULTS & CONCLUSION………………………………………………………....12

4.1 TCI SCS DIVISION………………………………………………………………….12

4.1.1WAREHOUSE…………………………………………………………………….12

4.1.2 INBOUND PROCESS…………………………………………………………….15

4.1.3 TEAM LEADER ACTIVITIES…………………………………………………...18

4.1.4 OUTBOUND PROCESS………………………………………………………….24

4.1.5 DESPATCH TEAM LEADER---ACTIVITIES…………………………………..28

4.1.6 INVENTORY TEAM LEADER—ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES…………….41

4.1.7 INVENTORY TEAM LEADER—ACTIVITIES…………………………………42

4.1.8 WAREHOUSE PICKER…………………………………………………………..47

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4.2 TCI FREIGHT DIVISION…………………………………………………………...57

4.2.1 BOOKING SUPERVISOR……………………………………………………….57

4.2.2 DELIVERY SUPERVISOR………………………………………………………66

4.2.3 BRANCH HEAD………………………………………………………………….73

4.2.4 CSH: Customer Service Hostess…………………………………………………73

5. LIMITATION…………………………………………………………………………..77

6. RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………………………….77

7. APPENDIX……..……………………………………………………………………78-105

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Birla Institute of Management Technology

Summer Project Certificate

This is to certify that Mr. JASKARANBIR SINGH AUJLA , Roll No. 13DM082 , a

student of Post Graduate Diploma in Management in PGDM (Operations) has worked on

Summer Project titled “Identify critical roles in SCS & Freight divisions of TCI and

preparing SOPs for the same” at “Transport corporation of India” after trimester III in

partial fulfilment of the requirement for the programme. This is his original work to the best

of my knowledge.

Date: Signature

Seal: (Faculty Guide)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of all the people who took active part

and provided valuable support to me during the course of this project. To begin with, I would

like to offer my sincere thanks to “Mr. Rahul Dubey, General Manager”, for giving me the

opportunity to do my summer training at “Transport Corporation of India, Gurgaon”.

‘Without his guidance, support and valuable suggestions during the research, the project

would not have been accomplished.

I also sincerely thank “Prof. K.R.Chari”, my faculty mentor at BIMTECH, who provided

valuable suggestions, shared his/her rich corporate experience, and helped me script the exact

requisites.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank all support function team for sharing their experience

and giving their valuable time to me during the course of my project.

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Letter of Transmittal

Date: 24. 06. 2014

Mr. Rahul Dubey,

Transport Corporation of India,

Gurgaon.

Dear Sir,

Re: Summer Project Report

Attached herewith is a copy of my summer-project report “Identifying critical roles in SCS

& Freight divisions of TCI and preparing SOPs for the same” which I am submitting in

order to mark the completion of a 7-week summer project at your organization. This report

was prepared by me using the best of practices and summarizes the work performed on the

project and is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for award of diploma.

I would like to mention that the overall experience with the organization was very good, and

helped me to know how work is carried out in real practice with the help of your esteemed

organization. I feel honoured that I got an opportunity to work with Transport Corporation of

India, a company of great repute.

I hope I did justice to the project and added some value to the organization.

Suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Yours truly,

Jaskaranbir Singh Aujla,

PGDM (Operations)

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Letter of Authorization

I, Jaskaranbir Singh Aujla, a student of Birla Institute of Management Technology

(BIMTECH), hereby declare that I have worked on a project titled “Identifying critical roles

in SCS & Freight divisions of TCI and preparing SOPs for the same” during my summer

internship at Transport corporation of India Ltd., in partial fulfilment of the requirement for

the Post Graduate Diploma in Management program.

I guarantee/underwrite my research work to be authentic and original to the best of

my knowledge in all respects of the process carried out during the project tenure.

My learning experience at Transport Corporation of India Ltd, under the guidance of

Mr.Rahul Dubey and Prof. K.R.Chari has been truly enriching.

Date: June 24, 2014

______________

(Jaskaranbir Singh Aujla)

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report suggests four critical roles in SCS (Supply Chain Solutions) division of TCI

which are warehouse picker, receipt team leader, dispatch team leader and inventory team

leader. It also suggests three critical roles in Freight division of TCI as Supervisor (Booking

& Delivery), Branch Head & CSH (Customer Service Hostess).

As required by the company, we had visited three branches of TCI SCS at Dharuhera,

Hasangarh & Bilaspur. We also visited three branches of FREIGHT at Noida, Faridabad &

Rambagh. The aim of the visits was to analyze the processing of the units and identify the

critical roles and prepare SOPs of the same.

NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) is a Govt. of India body mandated to give,

among other things, supplementary skill development in various sectors and fulfill the

growing need in India for skilled manpower across sectors and narrow the existing gap

between the demand and supply of skills. It has identified ‘Logistics’ as one of the sectors

which needs skilling. TCI will work with NSDC in a PPP (Public Private Partnership) with

NSDC.

In order to develop a training material for skilling, TCI required us to prepare SOPs of its two

divisions namely SCS & FREIGHT and identify critical roles which can be included in the

skilling program and with a view to use these SOPs as a base material in the content design.

The critical roles were identified on the basis of their importance in the process as well as

their viability in the skill development program. The processes were observed at the shop

floor in the respective branches of both the divisions and interactions were done with the

employees performing several tasks at every level in every branch. Observation sheet and

performance sheet were used to note down the critical observations and special inputs in the

performance.

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Govt of India, in the budget of 2008-09, announced the formation of National Skill

Development Corporation (NSDC) for skill development in various sectors as its stated

objective is “To contribute significantly (about 30 per cent) to the overall target of skilling/up

skilling 500 million people in India by 2022, mainly by fostering private sector initiatives in

skill development programmes and providing funding.”

NSDC has identified several sectors for this, and ‘Logistics’ is one of those. TCI, being the

largest logistics company in India, is working with NSDC on a PPP model by creating an

institution to facilitate skill development.

1.2 About the company

Transport Corporation of India is India's leading integrated supply chain and logistics

solutions provider and a pioneer in the sphere of cargo transportation in India. Leveraging on

its extensive infrastructure, strong foundation and skilled manpower, TCI offers seamless

multimodal transportation solutions. An ISO 9001:2008 certified company, TCIL is listed

with premier stock exchanges like NSE and BSE.

The company progressed from being a "One Man, One Truck, One Office" set up to

becoming India's leading Logistics & Supply Chain Solutions provider with a Global

presence. Today, TCI moves 2.5% of India's GDP by value and is the proclaimed market

leader of the Indian Logistics Industry.

TCI Group has an extensive network of over 1000+ company owned offices, a huge fleet of

customized vehicles and managed warehouse space of 10 million sq. ft. and a strong work

force of 5000+. With its customer-centric approach, world class resources, State-of-Art

technology and professional management, the group follows strong corporate governance

principles and is committed to value creation for its stake holders and its social

responsibilities. It has six divisions which are mentioned below:

TCI Freight, the largest division of Group TCI, is India's foremost and Asia's leading surface

transport entity. It has a strong backing in terms of its extensive and strategically located

branch network and trained work force.

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TCI XPS an express distribution specialist offers a single window door to door time definite

solution for customers' express requirements. Equipped with an ISO 9001:2008 certified

operations. TCI XPS delivers consignments of all sizes and weights to 13000 locations in

India and 200 countries abroad.

With a Mission to be "the most admired service provider of integrated supply chain

solutions", TCI Supply Chain Solutions brings a lot of commitment in its partnerships with its

clients. Dedicated verticals for Auto, Retail, Telecom, Electricals, Pharmaceuticals, FMCG

and Cold Chain offer specialised services to these critical sectors of economy.

TCI Global provides a single window advantage to its customers across all major South East

Asian countries through a dedicated network of international offices in the region besides

having strategic presence in high growth and emerging markets in Asia, Brazil (Latin

America) and Africa. TCI Global offers its customers end to end services ranging from

customs clearance, international inbound and outbound freight handling (air and sea),

primary and secondary warehousing/redistribution, third party logistics multimodal (air,

surface and sea) services, ODC movements, mining logistics and project cargo.

TCI Seaways has well equipped ships in its fleet and caters to the coastal cargo requirements

for transporting container and bulk cargo from Ports on the East coast of India to Port Blair in

the Andaman & Nicobar islands and further distribution within the islands.

As the groups social arm, TCI Foundation fulfils corporate social responsibility. TCIF has

been actively working in the areas of Health, Education, Women Development, Disability

and Disaster Relief Assistance. It runs charitable hospitals and schools for the under-

privileged in the rural areas. It has also collaborated with the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation & National Aids Control Organization to run programs on AIDS.

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2. PROBLEM DEFINITION

The problem given was to identify critical roles in SCS & Freight divisions of TCI, preparing

SOPs for the same. And to create base line content which will provide inputs to the company

for entering in skill development programs in Logistics sector in collaboration with NSDC.

3. METHODOLOGY ADOPTED

This report is based on the exploratory research conducted. The exploratory research has been

carried out with the help of performance sheet, observation sheet and personal interviews

conducted in the field.

3.1 METHODOLOGY AT SCS (SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS) DIVISION

As the problem was to identify crucial roles in SCS division, so in this regard several visits

were arranged at the different warehouses of the SCS division. As the company has been

working on this, it has already identified role of a warehouse picker. Performance sheet,

observation sheet and design document was developed and used for data collection. On the

basis of this, SOP for warehouse picker was developed which was further converted in the

base content.

A number of visits were made to the different warehouses and crucial roles were identified

apart from warehouse picker and there SOP were prepared which were named as

“Team leaders”

3.2 METHODOLOGY AT FREIGHT DIVISION

A number of visits were made to the different branches of the freight division. There were

three kinds of offices- branch level, controlling level, regional level. The purpose was to

know the basic functioning of three levels. All the areas were discussed by the team through

brain storming sessions and crucial roles were identified. The reason behind visits at different

places was to find universal set of procedures as functioning was different at different places.

Company demanded to have universal and clearly defined set of functions.

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4. RESULTS & CONCLUSION

4.1 TCI SCS DIVISION

IN TCI SCS division, crucial roles were to be identified in warehouses. A warehouse can be

explained in plain terms as ‘a house for goods’. It is used to store goods which can be of any

industrial purpose. A warehouse is used to store these goods and deliver as and when

desired by the client. A warehouse can be basically divided into two areas – INBOUND &

OUTBOUND activities.

All inbound and outbound activities were observed and noted down. Inbound activities

basically deals with acquiring and storing the product in warehouse whereas outbound deals

with activities related to dispatch of the products from warehouse. Following are the SOP as

per the roles identified.

4.1.1WAREHOUSE

INTRODUCTION:

A warehouse can be explained in plain terms as ‘a house for goods’. It is used to store goods

which can be of any industrial purpose i.e. raw materials, finished goods, packing material,

spare parts or a stock for e-commerce companies. A warehouse is used to store these goods

and deliver as and when desired. Some companies maintain their own warehouses while

others get it done via third party service providers. There are various sections in a warehouse

which normally are ‘loading dock, storage, packing area, dispatch area, admin building’ etc.

Forklifts are used to move the heavy material from one place to another inside a warehouse.

If a warehouse deals with too heavy material then electric cranes are also used. Goods can be

of toxic, inflammable nature as well, so separate sections are maintained for such goods

inside the warehouse to minimize the damage in case of any accident.

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PLANT LAYOUT:

Type of Warehouses:

I. Super Mother: This warehouse handles operation of a particular company for the

entire nation. It supplies to all the regional hubs. It receives material directly from

manufacturers.

II. Hub: Hubs are maintained in regional areas. Regions are decided by the client

company. Hubs receive material from super mother warehouse and supplies to the

client outlets/ manufacturing facilities.

III. Buffer: These types of warehouses are maintained for any emergency needs or any

quick supply needed in any of the hubs or JIT warehouses.

Types of Goods for picking or handled:

As we already know that there are mainly three types of inventories handled in warehouses:

Fast Moving, Just in Time and FMCG. Inventories can be further classified in Heavy Duty

goods, light weight goods, Cold Storage goods, Inflammable goods.

Heavy Duty Goods are handled with fork lift; normally more than one personnel

handle these items in a team. Manufacturing companies keep such type of goods in

their warehouses.

Light Weight Goods are handled manually only. And put up on lower shelves in case

of multi-level storage facility.

LOADING AREA

LOADING AREA

LOADING AREA

LOADING AREA

DOCK

DOCK

DOCK

DOCK

STORAGE AREA

OFFICES

PACKAGING AREA

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Cold-Storage Goods are kept in a separate facility with controlled temperature.

Expensive cosmetic items, medicines, certain food items are kept in such a facility.

Hygiene is maintained strictly in such a warehouse.

Inflammable Items like batteries etc are kept in separate chambers within the

warehouse where proper safety measures are ensured. For example, mobile phone are

required to be kept silent, a certain distance is maintained from other goods so that

other goods are saved in case of fire in inflammable section and vice-versa.

Types of inventory and its importance:

Warehousing operation is vast and different as per different needs of different warehouses.

Mainly following types of inventories are dealt with in warehouses:

I. Fast Moving: Those items which need to be despatched quickly. Such items are kept

in easy access zones of the warehouses (lower levels, if it is multi-level warehouse).

Sometimes, fast moving items need to be despatched on the same day on which they

are received.

II. JIT (Just in Time): This type of inventory is maintained in the warehouses which are

nearby to the factories. These items might need to be maintained for a long time and

are despatched as requested by the client. These types of warehouses are maintained

mainly for manufacturing companies.

III. FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods): FMCG goods are those goods which are

consumed by customers on an everyday basis and which need replacements on a

regular basis. Warehouses for such products are very dynamic as items are despatched

not in lot but in small numbers. Majorly home delivery companies maintain such

warehouses. As per the trends and weather conditions, some items move very quickly

and some very slowly. After the trend or peak season time ends then these items are

returned back to their vendors.

Types of Packaging & its importance:

There are different types of packaging that is used for finished goods; internal packaging,

which the end consumer sees, and external packaging, which is for industrial use. The

internal packaging is developed usually to appeal to the consumer and has all the information

required by law. The external packaging must be sufficient to protect the internal packaging

as well as the finished item. It must also have enough information so that it identifies the

contents, in text and often with bar codes for use with RF technology in the warehouse. The

external packaging should have dimensions that allow a suitable quantity to be stored on a

pallet most efficiently.

With space and weight being the logistics manager’s primary concerns, it is important to

develop packaging that is small, but sufficient to protect the finished item. In turn, the

~ 15 ~

packaging must be light so that the shipment of the product can be as low as possible. When

companies are developing packaging solutions they often turn to the lightweight materials

initially, paperboard, aluminum, and plastic. Paperboard and plastic are very lightweight and

can protect finished items quite well. In addition the recycling aspect of paper, cardboard, and

some plastics can help reduce the amount of waste going into local landfills. Aluminium

containers are excellent for some food items as the material is strong, but light, as well as

recyclable.

Corrugated cardboard is a very popular product used for efficient exterior packaging, mainly

due to its strength, light weight, and recyclability. It can easily have information printed on it,

as well as bar codes, and MRP tags can easily be applied. The corrugated cardboard container

usually contains organic material, paper and starch glue, and can be up to 80 percent recycled

product. It is also 100 percent recyclable so there is no need to dump the left over packaging

material in the landfill.

4.1.2 INBOUND PROCESS

RECEIPT TEAM LEADER – ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Receipt supervisor is the first person to deal with the material in a warehouse. He is in charge

of receiving the material, reporting of any damages/shortages, sorting, labeling, stacking the

material at different locations in the warehouse and updating the system for the incoming

material. He is the point person until material is stacked at appropriate locations in the

warehouse.

To perform his duty efficiently, a receipt TL need to be well versed with basic computer

knowledge i.e. MS office and basics of an ERP software.

Receiving (unloading) the Material:

Receipt team leader’s role starts from the moment a truck enters into the premises of

the ware house.

1. The client sends PO (Purchase Order) to the Receipt TL via system software. PO

contains information about the items to be unloaded. Receipt TL receives this

information everyday in the morning. TL gets a print out of the same.

2. When a truck arrives at a warehouse, security personnel at the gate check for all

the necessary documents (delivery challan, permit, invoice of the items to be

delivered etc) and then truck is allowed to go to unloading dock.

3. At unloading dock, receipt TL matches the PO with the invoice carried by truck

attendant. If both the documents match then truck is allowed to unload the

material.

4. Receipt supervisor remains present while unloading; he matches the items with

their codes and ticks off items which are unloaded.

~ 16 ~

Quality Check:

Before the materials are unloaded, it is checked for the quality. A QC person remains

present during this process. This QC person represents the client (in some cases,

where client requires). A certain amount of items are selected as samples and are

checked for quality. These sample items are opened and checked properly by QC

person and receipt TL. If the sample is up to the desired level of quality, it is allowed

to be unloaded in the supervision of receipt supervisor.

Match Quantity Received with Quantity Ordered:

Receipt TL ensures that the quantity which is unloaded is same as the quantity which

was ordered. As stated earlier, receipt TL receives item list from the client (for whose

material the warehouse is being managed). He hands over item list to receipt

supervisor who ticks off items as they are unloaded.

Updating the System with Incoming Stock:

Once items are received as per the order, receipt Supervisor informs receipt TL about

the same and receipt TL updates the stock of material in the system.

Claim Report:

During unloading, if any shortage of material is reported, or if materials are found

damaged, then it has to be reported to the client. A claim form need to be filled for

this and need to be sent to the client. If a warehouse’s activities are completely

maintained on system software then receipt TL need to update it about

shortage/damaged parts. Truck attendant’s signatures are also taken on the form.

This step is important because once material is received in the system then it becomes

warehouse’s responsibility and in case of damage/shortage, warehouse has to pay for

it. So, any shortage/damage has to be identified before material is received inside the

warehouse.

Sorting:

SORTING is performed at some warehouses as per the needs:

1. Coordinate sorting with supervisors and laborers.

2. All the boxes are opened, each item is taken out and checked for physical

damages, if found then it is taken out and Receipt TL is informed who places the

claim to supplier about the damaged item. If any item is found with no code on it

then team leader sends a picture to the supplier who sends the code and then the

code is hand-written on the box.

3. Supervisor has the inventory list in which item-type (heavy, fast moving, handle

with care etc) is mentioned for each item.

~ 17 ~

4. Supervisor segregates the items on the basis of its type and directs laborers to put

items in different boxes; each box contains similar type items. For example, Box

A contains HD items, Box B has Light weight items, Box C has fast moving items

etc. This process is not necessarily followed in all warehouses but only in those

warehouses where it is required due to nature of materials handled. For example,

automobile manufacturing company which need to handle all sorts of material i.e.

HD, Light Weight etc.

5. Each type of material is stored in separate bays/racks for the ease of handling.

Generate Codes (LP & SKU):

Receipt TL coordinates this activity and assigns tasks to supervisors and also monitors

this activity.

1. The boxes are opened up and each item is pasted with a unique SKU CODE created

by the manufacturer. One SKU code is given to one type of item. All the items of that

type have same SKU code.

2. These items are counted and again placed in the box. Every item is identified from

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) codes.

3. The boxes are pasted with pre-generated LP (License Plate) codes and the unique

SKU code which contains the number of items per box. This LP tags help in put away

process for matching the location with LP Tag. One big box containing several SKUs

has one LP assigned to it.

4. Pre-packing of the boxes before storage.

NOTE: Vendor type items are received in bulk and they don't have any specific codes

for them. Items are allotted system generated bar codes before packing, and labels are

printed which consists of information like manufacturers name, manufacturing date,

item name, date etc. These labels are pasted on the items after packing. These codes

are provided by the manufacturer.

Put- Away:

Put away is one of the most important tasks. Following procedure is followed in this

process:

1. Binner (put-away person) is given a list of items with the location of each item

mentioned. The list is given to him by receipt team-leader. This list is generated

through software which automatically assigns empty locations to newly arrived items

according to the quantity of items arrived.

2. Binner is made fully aware of all the locations on a regular basis and informed

about the changes, if happened.

3. Verifying that items are put in their specified locations and confirming the entry in

the system software.

4. If pickers face any difficulty in finding the items at their specified locations the

receipt TL coordinates with inventory TL to look for the items.

~ 18 ~

It is the responsibility of receipt TL to coordinate this activity; he prepares the put-

away lists on the basis of stock received and hands over this list to receipt supervisors.

Submit original Invoice:

Once material is stacked in the warehouse then its location is updated in the system. It

is also referred as “PO Closure”. At this stage, role of receipt supervisor ends.

4.1.3 RECEIPT TEAM LEADER ACTIVITIES:

Activity 1: Receiving (unloading) the Material:

1. Receive & understand the task schedule:

Client (whose products are to be stored in the warehouse) sends (or uploads it

into the software, if there is any) item-list along with the time of receiving the

material at the warehouse and send the list to warehouse manager for

unloading of products OR the client sends PO (Purchase Order) to the Receipt

TL via system software. PO contains information about the items to be

unloaded. Receipt TL receives this information everyday in the morning. TL

gets a print out of the same.

Warehouse manager sends the item list to receipt TL for unloading the

material before it arrives at dock.

2. Assign tasks to Supervisors:

Receipt TL briefs the supervisor about the type of load to be received, the time

at which it is to be received and the manner it needs to be handled in (brittle,

Heavy Duty etc)

If there are multiple trucks to be received at the same time, then one

supervisor is allocated the task of unloading one truck only.

Supervisors are instructed to put the unloaded items from one truck at separate

bay. In order to avoid any mixing of the items.

3. Hand over the item receipt list to supervisors:

Receipt TL gives the item list to receipt supervisor.

Receipt supervisor receives the truck at the dock and verifies the item list with

the invoice being carried by truck attendant.

After verifying and checking the invoice of the truck vis-a-vis with the item

receipt list given to him by warehouse manager, receipt supervisor allows the

truck driver/unloaders to start unloading the truck.

~ 19 ~

Activity 2: Quality Check:

1. Coordinate with Quality Control (QC) person to be present during unloading:

Depending on the nature of inventory being handled in a warehouse, a Quality

Control Person is present in a warehouse.

Normally, this QC personnel is mandated by the client (whose inventory is

being handled in the warehouse) and appointed by the client itself. So, he

represents the client in the warehouse.

Normally, E-com companies require a separate QC person because they have a

variety of products whose quality is difficult to be checked by supervisors.

Also, these items are delivered at door steps so companies don’t want to take

risk of delivering a lower quality product.

If client does not mandate a separate QC person then this activity is performed

by receipt supervisor only.

When an unloading schedule is received by Receipt TL, he informs the QC

person about the time of unloading and the nature of material which is being

unloaded.

2. Determine the sample size for quality checking before unloading:

It is very difficult to check all the items which are received.

A sample size is decided which represent adequately the entire materials

received.

In case of a QC person: sample size is communicated to him by the client

directly.

Otherwise, receipt supervisor determines the sample size for quality check.

Supervisor is guided by the Receipt TL in this exercise.

3. Perform quality check on the selected sample of items:

Almost 10-15% of items are opened for the quality check from each category

of items.

These boxes are selected randomly.

It is to be noted that 10-15% of boxes are selected from each type of items. So,

if there are 5 categories of items are received in one truck then 10-15% from

each category is checked for quality.

If the sample is up to the desired level of quality, it is allowed to be unloaded

in the supervision of receipt supervisor.

4. Coordinate with supervisors for any damaged items that need to be fixed:

If QC person/supervisor finds a significant number of items of substandard

quality then they report it to Receipt TL.

Receipt TL verifies the quality-report and if found correct, i.e. if items are

found to be of substandard quality then he does not accept the material.

He hands over a copy of the quality report to truck attendant and sends back

the truck to the vendor.

~ 20 ~

He prepares a report mentioning the details about the material being of low

quality, this report contains all the information about the material i.e. the type

of material, vendor, arrival date & time etc.

He sends this report to warehouse manager, vendor and also updates the

system about non-acceptance of the material.

Activity 3: Match Quantity Received with Quantity Ordered:

The PO received by Receipt TL is matched with the invoice given by truck

attendant. If both matches then only material is allowed to be unloaded.

Receipt TL receives the PO from the vendor/client and hands it over to

supervisor and instructs him to match it with the invoice before starting the

unloading.

Receipt TL ensures that the quantity which is unloaded is same as the quantity

which was ordered by monitoring the supervisor.

Activity 4: Claim Report:

1. Prepare a report on any variances in quality of load, scheduled time:

While unloading, number of items are counted by the supervisor and matched

with their codes in the inventory list.

While unloading, Supervisor checks for physical damages in the boxes and

physically damaged boxes are separated out in "freshly damaged" (goods

which are received from the manufacturer) section.

The report is prepared about amount of boxes found damaged and handed over

to the receipt team leader.

Receipt TL crosschecks and verifies this report.

The fresh damaged goods are handed over to the PI inventory.

The PI inventory maintains a different section for freshly damaged goods and

maintains a record for it.

2. Place any additional orders that need to be placed to replace

misplaced/irreparable items:

When supervisor spots damaged/misplaced items then he informs receipt team

leader.

Receipt TL prepares a claim document mentioning details such as material

type, time and date of receipt, sample size, percentage of sample whose

quality is low, type of discrepancies found etc.

He sends claim document to vendor/client/supplier.

Supplier replaces the items in next order or compensates for the damaged

items.

~ 21 ~

Activity 5: Sorting

1. Assign the task of sorting to supervisor:

SORTING is performed at some warehouses as per the needs. In some warehouses, it

is done before labeling. Sorting and labeling are two such processes which are not

necessarily followed in all the warehouses. As stated these are adopted as per the

needs.

Those items which do not require to be labeled after unloading are passed to

sorting bay directly from unloading area.

For those items which require labeling, sorting is done simultaneously with

labeling i.e. when a box is labeled then it is put with the same category items.

That is why a separate procedure of sorting is not introduced for such items.

All the boxes are opened, each item is taken out. If any item is found with no

code on it then team leader sends a picture to the supplier who sends the code

and then the code is hand-written on the box.

Supervisor has the inventory list in which item-type (heavy, fast moving,

handle with care etc) is mentioned for each item.

Supervisor segregates the items on the basis of its type and directs laborers to

put items in different boxes; each box contains similar type items.

2. Verify items are sorted correctly:

Supervisor has a list of items which are being sorted out, the list has the

information about the type of items (HD, light, inflammable etc). Workers

pick each item and read out the code to supervisor who sees in that list the

category of the item and directs the workers to put that item in the box

assigned for items of that category.

This list is given to the supervisor by Receipt TL.

Receipt TL oversees the task of sorting. In addition, he randomly picks items

from the boxes in which they were put after sorting, and checks for correctness

of sorting.

Activity 6: Pre-Packing:

1. Identification of those goods which need pre packing before storage:

Receipt supervisor sends damaged items to packers for repacking.

NOTE: In some warehouses, unpacked items are received from third party vendors.

These items need to be packed before storing them in the warehouse. So, these items

are directly sent to packing area after unloading. When Receipt TL receives PO of

items then this information is mentioned in the PO itself.

Receipt TL briefs supervisor about such items and directs him to send these

items directly to packing area. This packing area is different from dispatch

packing are to avoid mixing of material.

~ 22 ~

2. Determine packing type needed such as carton type, wooden packing, loose

packing etc:

Damaged items which need repacking are packed in the same packing type in

which they were received.

For unpacked items from third party vendors, clear cut instructions are given

about the type of packing by the client/manufacturer itself.

Receipt TL conveys this information to supervisors who in turn ensures the

same packing by packers.

3. Verify packing of goods:

Receipt TL checks the packing of vendor type goods which are packed and labeled in

the warehouse itself. Client provides labels for vendor type goods, these labels are

pasted on the goods after packing. Receipt TL receives these labels and issues the

same to supervisor. Supervisor gets it pasted on the packing.

Activity 7: Generate Codes (LP & SKU):

1. Generate SKU codes & LP codes for the material received:

SKU & LP codes are used to identify goods In other words; these are the

names of the goods.

SKU is Stock Keeping Unit and LP is License Plate.

One SKU code is assigned to all the items of same type. For example, all

Samsung Galaxy S3 handsets will have same SKU code.

One LP is assigned to one big box which contains several SKUs of one type.

These codes are given for the ease of identifying goods in their location and

record keeping without confusion.

This task of generating SKU & LP codes is performed by Receipt TL only.

When Receipt TL gets the PO. He segregates the items mentioned in it on the

basis of its arrival. If a category was previously handled in the warehouse then

it already has an SKU code assigned to it. But, if a category is being stored for

the first time then it needs to be allocated a new SKU code to it.

Receipt TL generates new SKU on the system for the new items being handled

for the first time.

Receipt TL also generates LP codes for the big boxes with the help of system

software.

2. Monitor the labeling of SKU & LP codes on the items:

The boxes are opened up and each item is pasted with a unique SKU CODE

created by the manufacturer. One SKU code is given to one type of item. All

the items of that type have same SKU code.

These items are counted and again placed in the box. Every item is identified

from SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) codes.

Supervisor makes the entry of the number of items being packed in the box.

~ 23 ~

The boxes are pasted with pre-generated LP (License Plate) codes and the

unique SKU code which contains the number of items per box. This LP tags

help in put away process for matching the location with LP Tag. One big box

containing several SKUs has one LP assigned to it.

The boxes are packed again and are ready for storage

Activity 8: Put- Away:

1. Generate put away list and hand it over to supervisors:

Supervisor has the responsibility of put away list generation.

He has the information about the items being received in the morning itself.

He divides all the items among put-away personnel as per the locations of the

items being put away.

He takes print out of all the lists and gives it to supervisors who distribute it

among all the put away personnel.

Put away list has the information about items being stacked, name of the item,

its code, location code in which it is to be stacked, number of SKUs of that

item, category of item (brittle, handle with care, etc)

2. Verify the items which had been put-away and confirm their receipt in the

system:

Binners put items into their allocated locations after matching the item code

with the location code.

Binners keep ticking off items in the list as they stack them in their location.

When all the items are stacked then they hand over the list to supervisor.

Supervisor checks that all the item names are ticked off in the list and then he

hands it over to Receipt TL.

Receipt TL also randomly checks items for their proper binning.

Once he is satisfied then he closes the entry of the items in the system. Once

he does that, then only system shows the items in the specified locations.

~ 24 ~

4.1.4 OUTBOUND PROCESS

DESPATCH TEAM LEADER—ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Despatch Team Leader handles the responsibilities of managing the orders and to

ensure that goods leave for the destination in minimum possible time. He take care of

prominently five areas-

1. Preparation of orders.

2. Picking.

3. Packing.

4. Loading.

5. Despatch.

DESPATCH TEAM LEADER

SALES

For performing the below mentioned activities the person should possess skills in ms-office

and the erp software company is using.

DESPATCH LOADING PACKING PICKING SALES ORDER

~ 25 ~

PREPARING THE SALES ORDER

Ensure presence of work-force

Check the orders and look for any pending work

PREPARATION OF PICK-LIST

Sorting of order according to location:

Despatch leader checks all the record of orders received. Every hour, Despatch team leader

receives the number of orders for despatch. Order received from client contains quantity,

weight, the target destination (codes) example Lucknow (coded as LKW).

Creating the pick-list:

Team leader generates the pick-list which contains SKU code, location, quantity, weight of

item that is to be picked.

Deciding the number of lorry required and arranging them

Health and safety procedures

Comply with all the health regulations and maintain a neat, clean and orderly working

area.

Making labourers aware about how to handle the goods (brittle, fragile) and other

handling procedures.

Give instructions about the picking procedure.

PICKING

Assigning the work & picking

The team-leader will generate the pick-list through software and assign the work to the

pickers. Pickers are given specific targets and have to complete in specific time. Pickers are

guided by the supervisor in this task. Team leader require continuous monitoring of the

activities of the workers & supervisor.

Making pickers understand the code of items to be picked

Team Leader should ensure that both the supervisor and picker have full understanding of

codes. The Products are identified with different codes which have been given by the

manufacturer. Each character of the code has to be read and matched with the item-list.

Team leader should ensure that each character is read by labour while picking.

Instruct picking methods specified by the organisational procedure

~ 26 ~

Handling the misplaced/damaged items

Picker faces the situation that item mentioned in the pick-list is not present physically

in the given location then it is brought in the notice of despatch Team Leader which

communicates with the inventory personnel.

In case damaged goods are found at the location, it is brought to the notice of the

inventory personnel.

Verify the items are picked appropriately

Team leader has to ensure that no wrong item proceeds towards the packaging

area and none of the above mention cases happen by verifying it with the pick-list.

Handover the labels to the supervisor

The client provides the labels that are required to be pasted on the items for

despatch. Labels include the item code and invoice number. Different labels are

provided for different products.

Types of goods for picking or handling

Heavy Duty Goods, Light Weight Goods, Cold-Storage Goods, inflammable

Items.

PACKING

Generating invoice:

Team leader need to generate the invoice. Invoice includes the details of the items to be

picked with description of goods: SKU-code, Quantity, unit price of each item, shipping

date and the stipulated time in which it has to be completed. This invoice goes along the

goods while despatch.

Give Packing instructions

The packing instructions are given to the packers and providing the required

equipments to perform the task. Instructions are given as in some cases:

a) Items have to be repacked and be given new packing.

b) If any coupons are to be inserted in the packing.

C) If there is any offer on the items, then the required quantity that need to be clubbed

together. New labels are given to the packed items. All this information is given to

packers by despatch TL.

Monitor the labelling process

Labelling process at two levels-

1. While loading

2. While packing.

~ 27 ~

Types of packaging & its importance

Verify that the items are packed appropriately

Importance of Health, Safety & Hygiene

LOADING

Assigning the location

Despatch TL makes sure that all the goods are placed at one location and there is no

mixing of goods of different location. This can be checked by identifying the label

pasted on each item.

Despatch TL check for the goods if they require any special packing or if packing has

been tempered.

Procedure to be followed while handling the goods.

DESPATCH

Despatch TL needs to be present for despatch, when the truck arrives at the dock.

Generating the item list: The items are loaded in the truck with each item being

ticked in the item-list.

Code of each item is checked while loading.

Number of packets that are loaded in the truck.

Packaging of each item is checked. If packaging is found damaged, then

repackaging is done at the spot.

Material handling while loading

~ 28 ~

4.1.5 DESPATCH TEAM LEADER---ACTIVITIES

Despatch Team Leader handles the responsibilities of managing the orders and to

ensure that goods leave for the destination in minimum possible time. He take care of

prominently five areas-

1. Preparation of orders.

2. Picking.

3. Packing.

4. Loading.

5. Despatch.

SALES ORDER

Activity 1: Ensure presence of work-force

At the start of the shift, all the Team Leaders- Receipt, Despatch, Inventory gathers the

available workforce and distributes the labour as per required by the different sections.

A small meeting is done regarding if there are any issues or concerns, problems faced at the

workplace, the workforce is asked to share their view. If some accident, errors have occurred

on previous day are brought to the notice and resolved.

Activity 2: Check the orders and look for any pending work

Team leader checks the orders for the day and check the pending work, if any that has been

left and plan the work accordingly. He prepares the pick-list which has been described in the

next section. He handovers the pick-list to the supervisor and give the time limit before which

work has to be completed. Time-limit will be depending on the demand of the client and it is

further communicated to supervisor.

PREPARATION OF PICK-LIST

Activity 3: Sorting of order according to location:

Despatch leader checks all the record of orders received. Every hour, Despatch team leader

receives the number of orders for despatch.

Order received from client contains:

1. Amount of quantity to be despatched.

2. The target destination given in codes, for example for despatch to Lucknow being coded in

LKW.

3. The weight of each good that will be despatched.

Despatch leader categorises the given excel sheet according to the destination.

The excel sheet show the amount of quantity and weight of goods that has to be despatched

to a particular location.

~ 29 ~

Activity 4: Deciding the number of lorry required and arranging them

1. According to the weight of the goods to be despatched to particular location, He decides

the number of lorry that will be required to deliver at a certain location.

2. It also depends on the number of items ,for example ,in FMCG sector some items are such

which occupy large space but have very less weight .So considering the weight and number

of goods, despatch team leader decides for the number of lorries,

For example, if he receives the order for being despatched to 7 different locations then he

will calculate the weight and amount of goods that has to be despatch at one location and then

decide the number of lorries required to all the locations.( weight to be carried in one lorry is

as per need of the vendor )

Activity 5: Creating the pick-list

Next step is that for one location, he will see the type of goods that needs to be

despatched (light weight, heavy weight materials), quantity of items, weight of items

that are going to one place. Then for particular one location, he will locate the items

that need to be picked.

The software automatically locates the items and assigns the amount and specific

location from where it has to be picked.

Software generates the pick-list which contains

a) The SKU code of the item.

b) The location of the item.

c) The amount of item that has to be picked.

d) The weight of the each item.

~ 30 ~

Figure 1

As shown in the figure1, it defines separate section which includes description, SKU code,

location, quantity, order id and the customer id .It clearly defines the location from where it

needs to be picked, and the amount of quantity that need to be picked. With the help of this

pick list picker reached to different locations and perform the required tasks.

~ 31 ~

Activity 6: Health and safety procedures:

All the workers and supervisors are given training once a month by Team Leader

about how to use fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description

is also mentioned near every fire extinguisher.

Team leader makes sure that Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise

damage in care of an accident. Mobile phones are required to be switched off near

Inflammable material area.

Instruct supervisor that labourers pick items keeping in mind the instructions (handle

with care, orientation of boxes etc)

Instructions are also mentioned on the boxes being unloaded. Arrows (up/down) tell

direction in which upper side is to be placed. Umbrella sign tells keep the items

indoor. A glass sign tells 'handle with care'.

Ensure that heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is need to

be present always. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less

time to proceed for loading. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter

items are placed above them. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as

instructed.

Order in warehouse is to be maintained by well planning, there are different sections

to stock different types of materials as per their categorization.

Make sure that Docks and storage area are kept clean after loading/unloading.

Separate cleaning staffs are put in place for this task.

Two separate areas are dedicated for packing of despatch goods and packing of

vendor-type goods.

Every worker has a specific task for the day which is given to him as per requirement

(loading, unloading, binning, sorting, packing, picking etc)

~ 32 ~

PICKING

Picking Process:

Supervisor

DESPATCH TEAM LEADER (TL) Picker

Activity 1: Assigning the work & picking

The team-leader generates the pick-list and assigns the work to the pickers .The pick-list is

placed in the table from where pickers pick the list and perform the given task. Pickers are

given specific targets and have to complete in specific time. Pickers are guided by the

supervisor in this task.

Team leader require continuous monitoring of the activities of the workers.

In some industries, there is requirement of hourly targets where orders keep coming

Assign work

to pickers

Picks the

items from

storage area

Prepare

pick-list

Verifies the

picked items

and send

report to TL

D

~ 33 ~

up hourly and pick-lists are continuously generated. So this requires good skill set of

workers, good communication, well-aware and responsible staff.

After receiving the pick-list, the pickers proceed towards the storage area, pick the required

items and bring back to the packaging area.

Activity 2: Making pickers understand the code of items to be picked

Team Leader should ensure that both the supervisor and picker have full understanding of

codes. Products are identified with different codes which have been given by the

manufacturer. Each character of the code has to be read and matched with the item-list. Then

only that item need to be picked from their respective location. The location and code of the

item is given in the pick-list. Pickers reach the location and match each character of the code

on the item with the code mentioned in item-list. Then he picks the items and brings them

back to storage area

Here the team leader, require to check and verify the brought items with the pick-list.

Activity 3: Instruct picking methods specified by the organisational procedure

Team leader should instruct and make supervisor understand the picking methods which need

to be taken care of while picking which are following:

1. Forklift to be used for picking heavy items. A forklift driver is kept standby to cater to this

need. Whenever there is a need to pick heavy items, the driver is called.

2. Small items are picked manually.

3. If large quantity or heavier items need to be stacked on higher floors then also a forklift is

used.

4. While moving the goods from one place to another, goods are placed it different places and

then are again moved by using labourers. It consumes a lot of time and also involves a large

amount of labour being involved in this process. Use of trolleys should be maximised as it

reduces the despatch time and also save goods from damage.

Activity 4: Handling the misplaced/damaged items

1. Sometime picker faces the situation that item mentioned in the pick-list is not present

physically in the given location then it is brought in the notice of despatch Team Leader

which communicates with the inventory personnel. The data of all the misplaced items is

handed over to the Inventory personnel who will assign the new location of the items from

where the required item can be picked.

~ 34 ~

2. In case damaged goods are found at the location, it is brought to the notice of the inventory

personnel. PI Inventory will move the damaged goods maintained by them and will give the

alternate location of the same item from where it can be picked.

Activity 5: Verify the items are picked appropriately

1. In some scenarios, the picker can pick the wrong item and bring it in the packaging area.

This leads to the wrong delivery of goods. This causes harm to image of the company and

company has to bear claims from the client.

2. In some scenarios, the pickers are given the labels that required to be pasted on the item

while picking. Labels include the item code, quantity, and invoice number. The pickers are

given the labels which are provided from the client.

Picker paste the label only when both of them match. Team leader has to ensure that there is

no wrong pasting of labels.

So, team leader has to ensure that no wrong item proceeds towards the packaging area

and none of the above mention cases happen by verifying it with the pick-list.

When the items are picked and brought back to the packing area, they are verified by the

Team leader with pick-list being given to the picker. Team Leader checks the brought items

and makes items proceed towards packing area.

Activity 6: Handover the labels to the supervisor

The client provides the labels that are required to be pasted on the items for despatch. Labels

include the item code and invoice number. Different labels are provided for different

products. Sometimes, if thing are to be repacked by combining two products, then new

packing is provided and also the instructions of how to pack them is also provided by the

team leader. Supervisor ensures that the picker paste the right labels on the items. Supervisor

give instructions to the pickers that paste the labels only when the code of the item mentioned

in the pick-list matches with the code mentioned on the pick-list.

Pickers are given the pick list by despatch supervisor. The pick list contains

information about storage bays in which items are stored.

Labels (MRP tags) are also provided by the client. These labels are handed over to the

pickers by despatch supervisor for the items mentioned in their pick list.

Pickers locate the appropriate storage location for the items to be picked. Then these

tags are pasted on the items while picking.

~ 35 ~

In some cases, materials are received in bulk and their packing is done in the

warehouse according to the instructions from the client. They don't have any specific

codes for them.

Items are allotted system generated bar codes before packing, and labels are printed

which consists of information like manufacturers name, manufacturing date, item

name, date etc.

These labels are pasted on the items after packing. These codes are provided by the

manufacturer.

PACKING

Activity1: Generating invoice

A sample invoice has been provided at the next page. Invoice includes the details of the

customer where it has to be sent. Like in this invoice, all the items to be picked with

description have been given in the list.

It includes the SKU-code of the item.

Quantity of items that have to be despatched.

It also includes the unit price of each item.

It includes the shipping date and the stipulated time in which it has to be

completed.

The required number of quantity is packed according to this invoice and is pasted on the

items to ensure that there is no mix of items.

After picking, goods proceed towards to the packaging area. Despatch TL has to

provide the invoices that are required to be pasted on the packaged material. This is to

be done in packaging section.

INVOICE contains the code of the item, quantity, location of the destination and the

name of the recipient.

The invoice is generated by entering the order ID (While generating pick-list, order

ID is assigned to the received order) in the software. The system shows the invoice

which contains the destination address, quantity, code of the items and all necessary

information. Then this invoice is printed and handed over to the packaging section.

While packing items are packed according to the invoices. Only the items that are

present in the invoice need to be packed and should proceed in the loading area.

Despatch TL makes sure that no items are packed in the wrong invoice.

~ 36 ~

~ 37 ~

Activity 2: Give Packing instructions

The packing instructions are given to the packers and providing the required

equipments to perform the task. Instructions are given as in some cases:

a) Items have to be repacked and be given new packing.

b) If any coupons are to be inserted in the packing.

C) If there is any offer on the items, then the required quantity that need to be clubbed

together. New labels are given to the packed items. All this information is given to

packers by despatch TL.

Activity 3: Monitor the labelling process:

- Labelling process

In warehouses, labels are pasted on items after unloading and during packing.

While unloading:

The boxes are opened up and each item is pasted with a unique SKU CODE created

by the manufacturer. One SKU code is given to one type of item. All the items of that

type have same SKU code.

These items are counted and again placed in the box. Every item is identified from

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) codes.

Supervisor makes the entry of the number of items being packed in the box.

The boxes are pasted with pre-generated LP (License Plate) codes and the unique

SKU code which contains the number of items per box. This LP tags help in put

away process for matching the location with LP Tag. One big box containing several

SKUs has one LP assigned to it.

The boxes are packed again and are ready for storage.

While packing:

Pickers are given the pick list by despatch supervisor. The pick list contains

information about storage bays in which items are stored.

Labels (MRP tags) are also provided by the client. These labels are handed over to the

pickers by despatch supervisor for the items mentioned in their pick list.

Pickers locate the appropriate storage location for the items to be picked. Then these

tags are pasted on the items while picking.

~ 38 ~

Activity 4: Types of packaging:

Different kind of packaging material is provided to the packer e.g. wooden packing,

loose packing, carton packing etc.

1. Client gives information related to type of packing required to despatch team

leader through software system.

2. Despatch TL conveys the information to packing personnel.

If item are found damaged while packing then these materials are placed in the

damaged section on the instructions of despatch team leader.

When packaging is done, all the items are verified by the Despatch TL by matching it

with the invoice. As explained earlier, invoice contains all information related about

destination code of item, quantity etc. Then these goods are moved in the loading area.

Activity 5: Verify that the items are packed appropriately

When packing of all materials is completed then it has to be verified by the

supervisor. With the help of the invoice given to the supervisor, all the packed items

are checked. As explained earlier, Invoice includes the details of the customer where

it has to be sent. All the items to be picked with description have been given in the

invoice. It includes the following:

It includes the SKU-code of the item.

Quantity of items that have to be despatched.

It also includes the unit price of each item.

It includes the shipping date and the stipulated time in which it has to be

completed.

The required number of quantity is packed according to this invoice and is pasted on the

items to ensure that there is no mix of items.

Supervisor ensures that no items remains from packing and all the items are pasted

with their invoice on it. While inspection, if any item is found without packing, then it

is again sent for packing.

In case some items require special packing e.g. there are some glass products which

have been packed, these products are given wooden packing to ensure there is no

damage to the goods happen while transit.

Note: In some cases, packed goods are found without labels, then it is brought to the notice

of supervisor and hand written codes are pasted on it by checking on the invoice.

~ 39 ~

Activity6: Importance of Health, Safety & Hygiene

Risk and impact of not following defined procedures/work instructions:

Every activity is given a certain procedure to be followed. If not followed, then it has

negative impacts on the overall functioning of the warehouse. Some of them are captured

here, which are as follows:

If item codes are not checked properly during sorting/put-

away/picking/labelling/despatch, then wrong items might get despatched to the

customer. In such situations, company may have to pay a claim to the customer. To

avoid this, checking of codes is mandated at different stages, but sometimes workers

or supervisors don’t take it seriously and in order to finish their work early, they

become careless. It had been found that workers are not aware about the importance

of matching the codes at every stage. To eliminate this human error, workers should

be educated enough to understand the repercussions of this error. It had been found

that workers are not aware about the importance of matching the codes at every stage.

Workers don’t read out the entire codes and only remember/use last four-five digits of

the codes. For example, codes 56UG954716 and 56UG654716 are similar except the

fifth number which is ‘9’ and ‘6’ in both the codes. Such types of products have a real

danger of being misplaced if their last 4-5 digits are matched and entire code is not

matched. If items get misplaced due to this error then it becomes very difficult to

locate the item’s exact location and despatch may get late. In a late delivery also,

company have to pay a claim to the customer. Workers are not aware about the

repercussions of this error also.

Heavy Duty items need to be moved through the help of fork lift. Workers can get

hurt if they move the items all by themselves. Heavy Duty items are marked ‘HDR’

on the packing to identify them as Heavy Duty items.

Mobile phones can create fire at the storage of inflammable items. Workers need to

be educated about this danger; it should not be a mere procedure for them. One

mistake can cause damage to the items as well as to workers’ life.

LOADING

Activity 1: Assigning the location:

After the goods are packed, the goods for loading are placed in the loading area.

Goods going for one location are stacked at one place with the help of trolleys or are

put at one place by labourers.

Despatch TL makes sure that all the goods are placed at one location and there is no

mixing of goods of different location. This can be checked by identifying the label

pasted on each item.

~ 40 ~

Despatch TL check for the goods if they require any special packing or if packing has

been tempered.

If items are found without label then the handwritten label is pasted on it.

Procedure to be followed while loading:

1. Fast moving item (which are unloaded and loaded on daily basis) are stacked in

lower racks to reduce the loading time.

2. Heavier items are picked by a forklift. A forklift machine with a dedicated driver is

always present inside the warehouse to cater to this need.

3. Lighter items are stacked manually.

4. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above

them. Despatch TL ensures that procedures are properly followed.

DESPATCH

Despatch TL needs to be present for despatch, when the truck arrives at the dock.

The item is shifted from the loading area to the dock with the help of labourers or on

the trolleys.

Item list includes all the items that are to be despatched. Item-list includes the SKU

code, invoice and the number of packets that are to be loaded in the truck.

The items are loaded in the truck with each item being ticked in the item-

list.

Code of each item is checked while loading.

Number of packets that are loaded in the truck.

Packaging of each item is checked. If packaging is found damaged, then

repackaging is done at the spot.

Material handling while loading:

The goods are placed in proper manner in the truck.

Heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above them.

Instructions are also mentioned on the boxes being loaded. Arrows (up/down) tell

direction in which upper side is to be placed.

Umbrella sign tells keep the items indoor.

A glass sign tells 'handle with care'. These boxes are placed with special attention and

are ensured that it does not get broken while loading.

Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. Fast

moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for

loading. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed

above them. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

~ 41 ~

After ensuring that items are properly placed in the truck, photograph is clicked to maintain

the record if in any case if company is put to blame for damage in goods received.

4.1.6 INVENTORY TEAM LEADER—ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Inventory team leader is responsible for the entire inventory which is stored in the warehouse.

From the moment its location is updated in the system, it becomes Inventory TL’s

responsibility to maintain it until it gets dispatched. Inventory TL’s role can be divided

majorly in two categories:

Cycle Count

Managing damaged parts/unsold parts/RTO

CYCLE COUNT

While cycle count inventory team leader deals with the following activities:

Managing the record of goods

Assign work to labour

Tackling with any discrepancies

Locating misplaced goods

Handling displaced goods

Handling goods with no labels

Handling damaged goods

Managing damaged parts/unsold parts/RTO:

In a warehouse, there can be four types of damaged parts and inventory team leader has the

responsibilities of handling with following four types of categories.

Freshly Damaged

Return to Vendor

Return to Order

Damaged inside the warehouse

~ 42 ~

4.1.7 INVENTORY TEAM LEADER-- ACTIVITIES

Inventory team leader is responsible for the entire inventory which is stored in the warehouse.

From the moment its location is updated in the system, it becomes Inventory TL’s

responsibility to maintain it until it gets dispatched. Inventory TL’s role can be divided

majorly in two categories:

Cycle Count

Managing damaged parts/unsold parts/RTO

CYCLE COUNT

Activity 1: Managing the record of goods

The PI inventory maintains all the records of the inventory and handles damaged/misplaced

goods. Inventory personnel make sure that all the items are placed at proper location.

To make sure that goods are placed at their respective locations, stock is counted on a

daily basis.

Schedule is prepared by Inventory Team Leader every day to check whole stock in the

storage area; this schedule is called daily count.

In some cases, client creates the daily cycle count according to their requirement.

According to the goods that arrived and got despatched on the previous day, software

generates the present quantity of goods at their respective locations. Software shows the

quantity of item, code of the item being present at the respective location. Inventory TL print

the data of all locations.

Activity 2: Assign work to labour

Inventory TL will gather his team in one place and will distribute equally the work

among workers. He will distribute the list of locations to the workers .Work will be

distributed such that it covers whole storage area. Every worker will be given the

required equipment to perform the given task.

Worker will proceed towards their respective locations. The list given includes the

location of the item, code of item and amount of quantity that has to be present at the

location. Worker reaches the respective location and count the number of goods. If the

quantity found match with mentioned in the list, he will sign it off in the list.

Tackling with any discrepancies

1.Locating misplaced goods: In case, there is any discrepancy in the quantity of items, e.g.

there is less number of items at the required place then the whole warehouse is checked for

~ 43 ~

that same item code, and the place where is excess of that item is found and the issue is

resolved. This is then updated in the system by the Team Leader.

Note: This situation arises because pickers, out of negligence, pick the items from a location

which is not specified in the pick list. Therefore, worker should be well aware and should be

instructed to pick the items from the specified location only.

2. Handling displaced goods: if goods of same item code are found in small quantities at

different location, then these goods are picked from that location and are placed at one place.

Afterwards, these goods are given new location and are updated in the system by Inventory

TL. This update is done with the help of item code that is unique to that good.

3. Handling goods with no labels: If goods are found without any location tag, this is

brought to the notice of Team Leader, and then he assigns the new master bin card to that

item. The master bin card includes the item code, location tag and the amount of quantity

present at the location. This time the entry in new master bin card is done manually by the

TL. This entry is made on the basis of count list being given to the worker.

4. Handling damaged goods: While counting if goods are found damaged in packing e.g.

carton packing is found damaged, then repacking is done at the spot as the equipment has

been provided to the worker. Sometimes, new packing is provided to the item and again new

master bin card is issued to that good.

Managing damaged parts/unsold parts/RTO:

In a warehouse, utmost there can be four types of damaged parts:

Freshly Damaged

Return to Vendor

Return to Order

Damaged inside the warehouse

Some of the above mentioned types may not be present in some warehouses depending on the

type of inventory being managed.

Freshly damaged goods are those goods which are received damaged only. These goods are

rejected by the QC personnel and are updated in the system by receipt TL. At the time of

receiving, these goods are handed over to Inventory TL who arranges to put it up in different

section and arranges to resend it to vendor.

During unloading, and before stacking items into the warehouse, if any item is found

damaged by receiving team (items are checked thoroughly for any damages before

labeling them), then it is handed over to the inventory TL.

Receipt TL intimates the vendor about damaged parts.

These damaged parts need to be sent back to the vendor. Inventory TL puts them in a

separate section which is meant for damaged parts only.

~ 44 ~

He clubs it with ‘Return to vendor’ parts. It will be discussed in the next heading.

Inventory TL maintains the record of all the damaged parts which are present in the

warehouse.

‘Return to Vendor’ items are those items which haven’t been used by the client. In such a

case, these parts need to be sent back to the vendor. Normally, this happens in FMCG goods’

warehouses where goods are seasonal. Once the season is over, it is no longer demanded, so

it needs to be sent back to the vendor.

Client intimates to the warehouse manager about the items which need to be sent back

to the vendor for not being demanded.

Warehouse manager gives this list to inventory TL.

Since these items are going back to the vendor, so it doesn’t require to be packed

again.

Inventory TL assigns tasks to workers to pick the items in the pick list. He hands over

pick lists to them.

Workers pick the items and take it directly to the loading dock.

Items are loaded in the trucks and each item is ticked off in the list as it gets loaded.

Supervisor ticks off the items.

Once items are loaded, Inventory TL gets the dispatch document signed by the truck

attendant and updates in the system about items being dispatched to the vendor.

‘Freshly damaged’ items are also loaded with ‘Return to Vendor’ items. Since both

the items are stored in one section only, once they are stored, they follow the same

procedure of dispatch.

Return to Order items are those items which customers had rejected. These types of items

are received in exclusively FMCG warehouses. Customers reject home delivery products for

various reasons, so courier persons bring back these items to warehouse.

Truck enters at the dock. Truck attendant gives the list of items which are being

unloaded.

Items are transferred to RTO bay directly from unloading area along with the list of

items unloaded.

Inventory supervisor assigns the work to laborers, laborers unpack the items, and then

they sort the items as per their SKU codes and item types. They put similar items in

one box.

After packing similar items in one box, Supervisor labels the box with newly

generated LP codes.

He also updates the system about new LP codes associated with the SKU codes.

Inventory TL gives him a put-away list which has locations for RTO items.

Supervisor hands over this list to put-away personnel, who takes the items to their

respective locations and stack them there.

~ 45 ~

Some items get damaged while being handled in the warehouse itself. These damages are

rare though, and most of the times damages are limited to packing only. In such a situation,

Inventory supervisor gets the packing changed by the workers.

If items get damaged due to any accident then a claim need to be filed in insurance company.

Claim report is completed by Inventory TL. Insurance company pays the claim for the

damaged items. Inventory supervisor updates the system about this type of damage.

SAFETY PROCEDURES:

1. Use of forklift:

OR (Use Crane)

Heavy load??? Use forklift

~ 46 ~

2. Handling the Material:

(Brittle Material – Handle with care)

3. Stack package of one client at one place:

Keep this side up

Put the box in covered storage

Client ‘1’

Client ‘2’

Client ‘3’

~ 47 ~

Safety and Security:

1. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use fire extinguishers

when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near every fire

extinguisher.

2. Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an

accident. Mobile phones are required to be switched off near Inflammable material

area.

3. Order in warehouse is maintained by well planning, there are different sections to

stock different types of materials as per their categorization.

4. Docks and storage area are kept clean after loading/unloading. Separate cleaning

staffs are put in place for this task.

5. Two separate areas are dedicated for packing of despatch goods and packing of

vendor-type goods.

6. Every worker has a specific task for the day which is given to him as per requirement

(loading, unloading, binning, sorting, packing, picking etc)

7. Employees are checked thoroughly when they leave the premises to ensure there are

no pilferages.

8. Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present.

9. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for

loading.

10. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above them.

11. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

4.1.8 WAREHOUSE PICKER

Unloading:

Preparing task Schedule:

1. Client (whose products are to be stored in the warehouse) sends (or uploads it

into the software, if there is any) item-list along with the time of receiving the

material at the warehouse and send the list to warehouse manager for unloading of

products.

2. Warehouse manager sends the item list to receipt TL for unloading the material

before it arrives at dock.

3. Receipt TL gives the item list to receipt supervisor.

4. Receipt supervisor receives the truck at the dock and verifies the item list with the

invoice being carried by truck attendant is carrying with him.

5. After verifying and checking the invoice of the truck vis-a-vis with the item

receipt list given to him by warehouse manager, receipt supervisor allows the

truck driver/unloaders to start unloading the truck.

~ 48 ~

Matching Items being unloaded:

1. Supervisor matches the codes written in the inventory list with the codes

mentioned on the boxes. These codes are given to the items by manufacturer

which includes details such as mfg date, mfg batch, product name etc. These

codes become unique ID for the products as each product is given a unique code

to it.

2. Supervisor remains present during the entire process of unloading, and checks

each and every item is unloaded as per the inventory list. Once he matches the

same and the items have been unloaded then he sign off on the challan/checklist of

the items which have been unloaded.

Check for variances in quality of load:

1. While unloading, number of items are counted by the supervisor and matched

with their codes in the inventory list.

2. A certain sample size is checked by QC personnel. They check for quality of the

products received. If majority of the products from that sample are rejected then

the whole truck is returned.

3. While unloading, Supervisor checks for physical damages in the boxes and

physically damaged boxes are separated out in "freshly damaged" (goods which

are received from the manufacturer) section.

4. The report is prepared about amount of boxes found damaged and handed over to

the receipt team leader.

5. The fresh damaged goods are handed over to the PI inventory.

6. The PI inventory maintains a different section for freshly damaged goods and

maintains a record for it.

SORTING: It is performed at some warehouses as per the needs:

1. Items are passed to sorting bay directly from unloading area.

2. All the boxes are opened, each item is taken out and checked for physical

damages, if found then it is taken out and team leader is informed who places the

claim to supplier about the damaged item. If any item is found with no code on it

then team leader sends a picture to the supplier who sends the code and then the

code is hand-written on the box.

3. Supervisor has the inventory list in which item-type (heavy, fast moving, handle

with care etc) is mentioned for each item.

4. Supervisor segregates the items on the basis of its type and directs labourers to put

items in different boxes; each box contains similar type items.

Identify and report damaged/misplaced items:

1. Misplaced items are spotted during unloading itself by the supervisor as he has the

list of items to be received with him. So, he gets to know any shortage in receipt

or any wrong item received.

~ 49 ~

2. Damaged goods are checked by physical inspection. If supervisor feels that a

particular box is severely damaged and inside items need to be checked then he

opens up the box to check whether boxes inside are okay or not.

3. If any damage is found then it is reported to receipt team leader.

4. Receipt team leader sends these damaged items to packers for repacking.

5. After repacking, items are handed over to receipt supervisor who sends it to put-

away personnel who puts it in its specified location in the warehouse.

6. When supervisor spots damaged/misplaced items then he informs receipt team

leader who in turn sends claim document to the supplier for the

damaged/misplaced parts.

7. Supplier replaces the items in next order or compensates for the damaged items.

Pre-packing before Storage: Receipt supervisor sends damaged items to packers for

repacking.

NOTE: In some warehouses, unpacked items are received from third party vendors.

These items need to be packed before storing them in the warehouse. So, these items

are directly sent to packing area after unloading.

1. Damaged items which need repacking are packed in the same packing type in

which they were received.

2. For unpacked items from third party vendors, clear cut instructions are given

about the type of packing by the client/manufacturer itself.

Labeling:

1. The boxes are opened up and each item is pasted with a unique SKU CODE created

by the manufacturer. One SKU code is given to one type of item. All the items of that

type have same SKU code.

2. These items are counted and again placed in the box. Every item is identified from

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) codes.

3. Supervisor makes the entry of the number of items being packed in the box.

4. The boxes are pasted with pre-generated LP (License Plate) codes and the unique

SKU code which contains the number of items per box. This LP tags help in put away

process for matching the location with LP Tag. One big box containing several SKUs

has one LP assigned to it.

5. The boxes are packed again and are ready for storage

NOTE: Vendor type items are received in bulk and they don't have any specific codes

for them. Items are allotted system generated bar codes before packing, and labels are

printed which consists of information like manufacturers name, manufacturing date,

~ 50 ~

item name, date etc. These labels are pasted on the items after packing. These codes

are provided by the manufacturer.

Put-away:

Picking materials from unloading bay:

1. Binner is given a list of items with the location of each item mentioned. The list is

given to him by receipt team-leader. This list is generated through software which

automatically assigns empty locations to newly arrived items according to the

quantity of items arrived.

2. Binner picks up the items from unloading area and takes it to the storage area. He

locates the exact location at which an item is to be stacked. Binner is made fully

aware of all the locations on a regular basis and informed about the changes, if

happened.

3. Before stacking the material, the code mentioned on the packing is matched with the

code mentioned in the bin-list. When both the codes match, then only item is picked

and proceed towards storage.

4. While picking worker checks the packaging of the items and then only proceeds to the

storage area.

5. While picking, worker checks the damage in packaging of the items, if damaged, he

brings it in the notice of supervisor. If possible, repacking is done at the spot;

otherwise it is put in damaged category. These goods are then moved in damaged

section.

6. Before picking, the worker matches the code of each item with the code mentioned in

the pick list. If item is found without code, then it is brought in the notice of

supervisor.

Reporting format: Receive all packages in the receiving/unloading dock:

1. If the procedure is completely software system controlled (scanners are used for binning

etc) then at each step entry is made about number of items received and system is updated.

2. If process is not totally system operated then following documents are filled:

(A). CRN (Consignment Receipt Note) is prepared by receipt supervisor. It is given to the

truck attendant containing information about the material received, date of receipt, total

number of items received etc.

(B.)Check-list: This list consists of information of all the items received; it is filled by receipt

supervisor and handed over to receipt TL.

~ 51 ~

Apply picking methods and perform put-away:

1. Fast moving items (which are unloaded and loaded on daily basis) are stacked in

lower racks to reduce the loading time.

2. Heavier items are picked by a forklift. A forklift machine with a dedicated driver is

always present inside the warehouse to cater to this need.

3. Lighter items are stacked manually.

4. Every picker has a target of picking certain items. This target is given to him by

receipt/despatch supervisor. It is changed on the basis of PDP (Per Day Plan). PDP is

set on the basis of total items to be loaded/unloaded in a day and the tasks are

distributed among the workers accordingly.

5. PDP is done by warehouse manager with the help of receipt/despatch/inventory TL.

6. The worker picks the items from unloading area and brings it to storage area.

7. The binner matches the item with its location in the list and places only if both the

location matches.

8. After placing the item in its respective location, he signs off in the list.

-Health & Safety procedures

Labourers unload items keeping in mind the instructions (handle with care, orientation

of boxes etc) which are communicated to them by the supervisor.

Instructions are also mentioned on the boxes being unloaded. Arrows (up/down) tell

direction in which upper side is to be placed. Umbrella sign tells keep the items

indoor. A glass sign tells 'handle with care'.

Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. Fast

moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for

loading. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed

above them. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

Small items are picked manually.

If large quantity or heavier items need to be stacked on higher floors then also a

forklift is used. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use

fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near

every fire extinguisher.

Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an

accident. Mobile phones are required to be switched off near Inflammable material

area.

~ 52 ~

INVENTORY- Warehouse picker:

Stock Count:

1. Every day the Inventory TL gets schedule of checking the stock of items from the

client. In some warehouses the whole stock is counted everyday and in some

warehouse certain amount of items are checked as desired by the client.

2. Inventory TL gives this schedule to inventory supervisor who gets workers to do this

job.

3. Every day the amount of stock despatched and received is counted.

4. Incase of any misplaced item, previous stocks of 2-3 days are compared by inventory

TL and the location of the misplaced item is identified. This situation arises because

pickers, out of negligence, pick the items from a location which is not specified in the

pick list.

5. Once the misplaced items are located, their new location is rectified in the system by

inventory TL.

Damaged/misplaced Inventory:

1. Inventory personnel monitor all the damaged/misplaced goods and create a separate

section for these items at separate section in the warehouse.

2. PI inventory distinguish the goods in categories- freshly damaged, good, RTO (return

-to- order).

3. Incase of any misplaced item, previous stocks of 2-3 days are compared by inventory

TL and the location of the misplaced item is identified. This situation arises because

pickers, out of negligence, pick the items from a location which is not specified in the

pick list.

4. Inventory supervisor makes a separate list of those items which are found damaged

while counting.

5. Then, these items are transferred in a separate section of warehouse.

6. If similar items are placed at different locations in small quantities, then Inventory

supervisor places them at one location and makes a list of these items and reports to

Inventory TL.

7. Inventory TL updates the software with the new location of the items.

8. In case of any accidents, it is the responsibility of inventory TL to fill out damage

claim forms for insurance claim.

~ 53 ~

OUTBOUND- Warehouse Picker:

Preparing Task Schedule:

1. As per the needs of the client, a despatch order is received by despatch TL in the

morning.

2. He prepares a system generated pick list of all the items to be despatched. Location of

the items is also mentioned in the pick-list. He distributes the pick list to different

pickers. Each picker is given hourly targets and has to pick a certain minimum items

per day. An individual picker is given items which are of one category preferably.

3. In some warehouses, labels (MRP tags) are provided by the client. These labels are

handed over to the pickers by despatch supervisor for the items mentioned in their

pick list. These tags are pasted on the items while picking it.

4. In other warehouses, labels are pasted on items after picking and during packing.

-Out bound inventory list

Out bound Inventory list contains the items that have to be despatched from the warehouse.

Inventory list includes

Well-defined Location from where items need to be picked

code of the item to be picked after reaching location

amount of quantity to be picked

-Codes understanding

Products are identified with different codes which have been given by the

manufacturer.

Picker is given the out-bound inventory list which has the code of the item to be

picked. Picker reaches the location and each character of the code on the item with the

code mentioned in item-list.

Each character of the code has to be read and matched with the item-list.

Perform Picking with Appropriate Picking Methods:

1. Before handing over the pick list to pickers, despatch supervisor cross checks the

items to be picked in the stock. If required number of items is present in the stock,

then only pickers are sent for picking process.

2. Pickers are given the pick list by despatch supervisor. The pick list contains

information about storage bays in which items are stored. Pickers locate the

appropriate storage location for the items to be picked.

3. Pickers are made aware of all the locations in the warehouse during their initial

training.

4. The pick list has the information about exact location of the item, including

shelves/bins. Pickers locate the shelves/bins for the items to be picked.

5. Picker reaches the shelves/bins and matches the SKU CODE on the item with the

code mentioned in the pick-list and then only picks the item.

~ 54 ~

6. Forklift is used to pick heavy items. A forklift driver is kept standby to cater to this

need. Whenever there is a need to pick heavy items, the driver is called. Small items

are picked manually.

7. Picking is performed by removing the items from pallets/bins/shelves.

8. Heavy items are picked by a forklift and lighter items are picked manually.

9. In some warehouses, items are labelled with an MRP tag which is provided by the

client. This tag is provided for each and every item which contains all the information

about the item like batch no., mfg date, product code etc. Pickers receive this tag from

despatch supervisor along with the pick list. Before pasting the label on the item,

pickers verify the codes by matching the product code mentioned on the item with the

corresponding MRP label as mentioned in the pick list.

10. Before picking an item, picker makes sure that there is no physical damage to the

packing and product code is there on the packing of the item which he matches with

the code given on the pick list.

11. For items which need to be labelled with an MRP tag, Items are picked only after the

picker labels them with the MRP tag.

Identify and report damaged/misplaced items:

1. While picking, goods are checked through physical inspection. If picker finds that a

particular box is severely damaged and inside items need to be checked then he opens

up the box to check whether boxes inside are in good condition or not.

2. Any misplacement found are reported to PI Inventory who in turn finds out the exact

location of the item in case it is misplaced.

3. In case of damaged items found, Inventory personnel handle the damaged item either

by repacking or putting it in the damaged category.

4. If repacking, items are handed over to despatch supervisor otherwise damaged goods

are moved to the damaged section.

5. The PI section maintains record of all the goods found

misplaced/damaged/irreparable.

6. PI sends the report to the client, in response to which client takes the decision

according to their requirement.

Verify Items Picked and make System Entries:

1. When picker picks all the items then he takes the items to packing area and handover

the pick list to supervisor.

2. All the items are verified by despatch supervisor by matching with the pick list

3. After verifying the items, the picked items are handed over to packing personnel.

4. If any physical damage is found by the picker then team leader is informed who

intimates to client about the damaged item. Claim is placed to insurer through claim

form in which details about type of damages is mentioned.

5. In case of accidents, the claim is sent to the insurer including all the details of

mishappening.

~ 55 ~

Packing:

1. Client sends information to despatch team leader about the items which need to be

packed.

2. If two or more items are required to be packed in one packing as per offers given by

the client company. In such a situation, client sends information regarding type of

packing and items which need to be clubbed in one packing.

3. Despatch TL makes a list of those items and gets it picked by pickers.

4. A separate section is dedicated for packing in the warehouses. All the items are put in

the packing area by pickers. Packing process starts once despatch supervisor verifies

the right picks.

5. Client gives information related to type of packing required to despatch team leader

through software system.

6. Despatch TL conveys the information to packing supervisor who in turn conveys it to

packing personnel.

7. In packing area, several packers are present at the packing bay.

8. Despatch supervisor hands over the items to packing personnel after verifying the

right picks.

Labeling:

1. Packers are provided with the information related to type of packing to be used.

2. Packers are also given any additional information. For example, if any coupons are to

be inserted in the packing, if invoices are to be attached.

3. If there is any offer on the items, then these items need to be clubbed together. This

information is also given to packers by despatch supervisor.

4. If warehouse is managed for a home delivery client, a bar code is pasted on the items;

this bar code contains all the information about the product. It is given to packers by

despatch supervisor who receives it from either client or codes are generated in the

warehouse itself by despatch TL.

Precautions: When pickers go for picking the items, due to the human error, they label the

wrong item with the MRP tag. This happens because they don't understand the gravity of

the situation. Because of this error, sometimes wrong item is supplied to the customer and

company has to pay a claim for that. This situation can be avoided if labels are

electronically verified (through scanners) rather than doing it manually.

Loading:

1. Once items are packed, it is sent to the loading area through labourers.

2. Labourers use trolleys to take the items to loading area.

3. If there are multiple receivers from one truck's items then one customer's items are

placed at the palette in loading dock.

~ 56 ~

4. Despatch supervisor remains present during loading. He has a list of items to be

loaded with him. This list is given to him by despatch TL.

5. Despatch supervisor ticks off the items which are loaded in the truck. Truck

attendants are shown quality of the items by opening a certain number of boxes as

mandated by the client. In some warehouses, a QC person also remains present while

loading. This person represents client.

Damages/Accidents while Picking:

1. Inventory personnel monitor all the damaged/misplaced goods and create a separate

section for these items at separate section in the warehouse.

2. PI inventory distinguish the goods in categories- freshly damaged, good, RTO(return -

to- order).

3. Incase of any misplaced item, previous stocks of 2-3 days are compared by inventory

TL and the location of the misplaced item is identified. This situation arises because

pickers, out of negligence, pick the items from a location which is not specified in the

pick list.

~ 57 ~

4.2 TCI FREIGHT DIVISION

TCI freight can be distributed into three levels—the branch level , controlling level , regional

level. The branch level basically deals with all the bookings and delivery of the goods. The

controlling level handles the branches in that area and regional level handles the working of

controlling offices.

Visits were made and based upon the understanding of functioning of the different division,

crucial roles were identified and their SOPs were prepared. The crucial roles that were

identified are given below:

1. Booking supervisor

2. Delivery supervisor

3. CSH (Customer Service Hostess)

4. Branch Head.

4.2.1Booking Supervisor

Booking supervisor takes care of all the responsibilities regarding booking of orders,

handling the queries about the order and preparing the goods for despatch. Booking

supervisor needs to convey all the information regarding the rules and regulations being

followed by the company.

1. Booking the order

There are some required forms and conditions that have to be fulfilled; these have been

explained in the following sections:

Filling the GFN (GOODS FORWARDING NOTE) form:

1. Booking supervisor should give the form to consignor to fill the required details-

consignor address, Consignor code, consignee address, consignee code, weight of

each packet, number of packets.

2. Supervisor should ensure that both the sides of the form are signed by consignor.

Invoice of Goods:

Supervisor needs to collect the invoice of goods and should match it with GFN

submitted by the consignor.

Type of delivery methods:

Supervisor needs to ask which kind of delivery methods the client wants:

1. Godown delivery.

2. Door delivery.

~ 58 ~

Type of payment method:

Supervisor need to ask from the client that which kind of payment mode he wants and

should tell all the relevant information about it.

1. Paid (consignor will pay the amount at booking place).

2. To pay (consignee will pay the amount).

3. To be billed at.

Insurance of goods

Owners risk

Carrier risk

Creating bilty:

A) Lorry copy (black/white colour):

All the details of goods are entered here and are given to the lorry. It includes the number of

packets, Consignor address, Consignee address, Number of packets, weight of each packet.

This copy is given to the lorry driver which is to be preserved by the lorry driver till the

goods are received.

b) Consignee copy (magenta colour):

This copy is to be retained by the consignee and had to be produced at the time of receiving.

There are two kind of mode:

Against consignee copy: In this mode, copy is given to the consignor at the time of

booking and consignor has the responsibility to hand over the consignee copy to

consignee.

Consignee copy attached: In this mode consignee copy is sent along with the driver.

c) Consignor copy (green): This copy is given to the consignor as a proof of booking for

him. This copy has to be retained by the consignor.

d) File copy (orange): This copy is generated for the record purposes for the office. This

copy is placed in the internal files for reference. This copy is of orange colour.

e) CRPO copy (blue): This copy is generated which has to be sent back to the corporate

office.

Creating challan

Challan contains all the bilty codes written that has to be delivered at the location.

Each challan contains bilty codes of several goods, number of packets, and weight of

each consignment. Each bilty code is written in the challan with the additional

information of the weight and the number of packets in the challan.

~ 59 ~

2. Physical inspection of goods

1. Checking if there is any material damage.

2. Verifying with the details filled in GFN.

3. Storage of the goods

When the goods have been booked after proper inspection, goods are placed in the storage

area. According to code of Bilty of goods the goods are placed in the storage area.

4. Loading of goods

Marking of goods:

The booked good is provided marking by supervisor. The marking of good is to be

done carefully. While marking supervisor has to write: the name of company,

codename of the booking location, bilty number, code name of target location.

Bilty number and destination code should be clearly written.

Second type of marking “marka”: This marka is given by the consignor. This is

present in the invoice which has been given by the consignor.

Verifying documents of lorry driver

Lorry driver required to submit the identification documents like license, vehicle registration

certificate and chassis number of the truck, Permit, Phone number.

Hiring of lorry

There are two ways in which material can be transported to the location.

1. Through the company owned transport: In case, the company is using their own transport

then the lorry driver is given Trip-sheet. Trip-sheet contains the route through which it will

go and deliver the goods.

2. Hire from market: lorry hiring contract is made and given to the lorry. The lorry driver

will deliver the goods and get payment only when he will show the lorry hiring contract.

Loading of items in lorry

After all the required documents mentioned are submitted and verified by the supervisor,

bilty containing lorry copy, consignee copy, challan, either lorry hiring contract or trip sheet ,

invoice and all the attached documents are handed over to the driver.

The goods are loaded in the lorry with the help of labourers. The entry should be made

regarding the despatch of goods in the software and stock out note is generated for the

confirmation of despatch and record purposes.

The booking process gets completed here.

~ 60 ~

Booking Activities

Booking supervisor takes care of all the responsibilities regarding booking of orders,

handling the queries about the order and preparing the goods for despatch. Booking

supervisor needs to convey all the information regarding the rules and regulations being

followed by the company.

Booking the order

Before booking the goods, there are some required forms and conditions that has to be

fulfilled, these have been explained in the following sections

Activity1: Filling the GFN (GOODS FORWARDING NOTE) form:

The person handling the booking should attend to the client who either calls the supervisor or

came to office for booking of goods. The client should be asked to describe about the type of

goods that is to be delivered to the destination location.

While booking, Client is asked to fill the GFN (goods forwarding note).In this form, client

fills all the details of the goods that are to be booked and delivered. The form contains:

1. Consignor address (consignor is the person who comes for booking of material- sender) 2.

Consignor code (usually given by the company for internal records)

3.Consignee address (consignee is the person who will receive the material- receiver)

4. Consignee code

5. Weight of each packet

6. Number of packets

7. Size of each packet (l*B*H)

GFN Form contains two sides in which one side includes all the details related to above

mention and on other side of the form includes the declaration from the consignor about the

awareness of the rules & regulations of the company.

This form has to be signed by the consignor from both the sides and has to be verified

by the supervisor at the time of booking.

Activity 2: Invoice of Goods

The client is asked to attach the invoice of the goods which includes all the details of the

goods for booking. Invoice includes following:

1. Consignor address (consignor is the person who comes for booking of material- sender) 2.

Consignor code (usually given by the company for internal records)

3.Consignee address (consignee is the person who will receive the material- receiver)

4. Consignee code.

5. Weight of each packet.

6. Number of packets.

~ 61 ~

7. Size of each packet (l*B*H).

8. Net value of the good.

9. Description of each good.

The supervisor is required to collect both the forms –GFN and Invoice before booking. These

forms should be checked for any discrepancy and both the documents should be matched

with each other. These should be checked because sometimes there are discrepancies in both

the forms e.g. invoice includes invoice of 7 items but GFN includes 5 items then client should

be informed about it.

The client is asked to attach the necessary documents with these documents. Client is asked

to attach the bill of the goods that is to be booked.

Activity 3: Physical inspection of goods

The material which came for booking is checked by the booking supervisor.

A) He matches the observed goods with the mentioned in the GFN filled by the client. If

goods are found matching with GFN, then goods proceed for the booking process.

B) He checks the material for any damage, if he finds any kind of damage related to product

or its packaging, then it is brought to the notice of the client and client is asked to find

solution to the problem, then only goods will be booked.

C) In case any good that is prohibited from being booked is rejected.

D) if goods are in deliverable condition, then the weight of the box is measured. According to

the weight, charges are told to client that will be charged for the service.

Activity 4: TYPE OF DELIVERY METHOD:

A) GODOWN DELIVERY: While booking, consignor is asked whether the consignee will

receive the material from godown or wants a door delivery. Considering all the things;

weight, dimension, distance to be travelled, charges are conveyed to the client and after his

confirmation goods are booked for delivery. This option whether it is a door delivery or

godown delivery is entered in the GFN for reference purposes.

B) DOOR DEILVERY: While booking, consignor is asked whether the consignee will

receive the material from godown delivery or wants a door delivery. Considering all the

things; weight, dimension, distance to be travelled and additional door delivery charges are

conveyed to the client.

The booking personnel should be well aware of all reachable location of the company. In

case, company is not able to reach some location then he can take booking for the nearest

~ 62 ~

possible location and arrange for lorry to reach the specific location as indicated by the

consignor. After his confirmation for the door delivery charges, goods are booked for

delivery. This option whether it is a door delivery or godown delivery is entered in the GFN

for reference purposes.

Activity 5: Type of payment method: There are three types of payment methods. All the

three methods are required to be told to client by the booking supervisor. Accordingly the

payment method is selected and the mode of payment is written in the GFN form.

a) PAID at the booking place: In this type of booking payment is made at the booking office

while booking. The information is conveyed about all the charges according to the weight,

dimension, distance to be travelled and the additional charges of door delivery to the

customer. The customer pays the money at the spot and is given the money receipt. Money

receipt includes all the details of the charges that has been charged by the company e.g.

godown charges, handling charges etc according to the policy of the company.

b) TO PAY (consignee will pay the amount):

In this type of booking, the payment will be given by the consignor at the delivered location.

So, the entry is made in GFN form regarding this type of booking.

C) TO be billed at

In this type of booking the payment is received after certain interval of time. This is done in

the case of special customers who have been loyal. So according to their previous records

booking is done.

Activity 6: Insurance of goods

The client is asked whether the goods are insured or not. If the client wants the good to be

delivered at his risk, then it falls under the “owners risk category” and if the client wants to

have insurance then it falls under “carrier’s risk”.

a) Owners risk: In this category, company takes the charge on FOV (freight on value).

A certain amount of value is charged from the client. This value is charged from the client in

case any kind of mishappening takes place like damage, fire, loss of good, then the company

will provide the certificate of fact. This certificate of fact is produced by survey conducted by

the company and consignor. Consignor gets the benefit for claiming from the insurance

company.

b) Carrier risk: In this category, company takes the responsibilities of all the goods. In case

any mishappening and there is damage to goods of any kind occurring while transit then

company will bear the claim. There will be an internal survey done by company and will be

~ 63 ~

settled with the client. For this the company charges extra fees which are to be bear by the

client.

Activity 7: CREATING BILTY

When all these formalities are done, bilty is generated by the booking supervisor by entering

all the details in the software. Bilty contains five kinds of forms:

A). Lorry copy: In this receipt all the details of goods are entered here which have been

given to the lorry. It includes the number of packets, Consignor address Consignee address

Number of packets, weight of each packet, Size of each packet (l*B*H).This copy is given to

the lorry driver which is to be preserved by the lorry driver till the goods are received and this

lorry copy is signed by the customer. Signing of lorry copy means that the goods have been

received to the customer. This copy is of black/white colour.

b). Consignee copy: This copy is to be retained by the consignee and had to be produced at

the time of receiving. The goods will be handed over to the consignee only when he shows

consignee copy.

There are two kind of mode:

a) Against consignee copy: In this mode, copy is given to the consignor at the time of

booking and consignor has the responsibility to hand over the consignee copy to consignee.

The goods will be handed over to the consignee only when he shows consignee copy. The

stamp of receiving party has to be present on the consignee copy then only goods will be

delivered. It includes the number of packets, Consignor address Consignee address, number

of packets, weight of each packet, Size of each packet (l*B*H). This copy is of magenta

colour.

b) Consignee copy attached: In this mode, consignor wants to have consignee copy attached

with the lorry hiring copy. Then the goods are sent with lorry driver possessing lorry copy

and consignee copy. When the goods are delivered at the location, then the consignee signs

the consignee copy and pays the payment in case it is “to pay” kind of payment mode. Money

receipt is provided to the client for the payment made. The person brings the POD (proof of

delivery) and then the entry is made in the software that payment has been received, stock out

note (SON) is created.

c) Consignor copy: This copy is given to the consignor as a proof of booking for him.

This copy has to be retained by the consignor. This is a kind of receipt for the consignor that

client has booked the material and this copy includes the details of charges that will be taken

by the company. It includes the number of packets, Consignor address, Consignee address,

weight of each packet, Size of each packet (l*B*H). This copy is of green colour.

d) File copy: This copy is generated for the record purposes for the office. This copy is

placed in the internal files for reference. This copy is of orange colour.

~ 64 ~

e) CRPO copy: This copy is generated which has to be sent back to the corporate office.

This copy has to be properly maintained and the whole record of the copy needs to be

maintained at the branch. These copies are sent to the corporate office after certain interval of

time. This copy is of Blue colour.

Activity 8: Storage of the goods

When the goods have been booked after proper inspection, goods are placed in the storage

area. Bilty of good is generated and is used for the storage purposes.

The storage area has been divided in different section from 01 to 99. The last two digits of the

bilty are used for storing. E.g. If bilty is last number is 21 then the good will be placed in the

section 21. Storage area is categorised on the basis of code of the bilty. This helps in easy

picking of goods from respective places.

Activity 9: Marking of goods

The booked good is provided marking by supervisor. This gives identification to the good

which is unique and is used for despatch of goods. The marking of good is considered

important because in case wrong delivery location is written while marking, then it will lead

to wrong delivery of goods. For marking, the locations are given codes through which they

are identified e.g. Kanpur can be given code KNP.

Usually while marking,

1. The name of the company is written,

2. Then the codename of the booking location,

3. Then the bilty number of that good,

4. Then code name of target location.

This needs to be done carefully, bilty number and destination code should be clearly written.

There is another type of marking given which is called “marka”. This marka is given by the

consignor. This is present in the invoice which has been given by the consignor. Sometimes if

the marking done by the company gets damaged during the transit then the marking given by

the consignor is used to identify the goods.

The numbers of Lorries that will be required to deliver the goods are arranged by the

supervisor. Number of Lorries is decided according to the weight, quantity of items to be

delivered. In case there is heavy material to be delivered, then the Crain is arranged for the

loading purposes

~ 65 ~

Activity 10: Verifying documents of lorry driver

The lorry driver which is hired for this purpose required to submit the valid documents which

are seen and verified by the supervisor.

1. Lorry driver requires submitting the identification documents like license, Pan Card or

Adhaar card.

2. The vehicle number is noted down who is carrying the material.

3. He has to submit the vehicle registration certificate and chassis number of the truck.

4. The valid permit is required to be submitted by lorry driver.

5. Phone number is also noted down for the record.

Activity 11: Creating challan

Challan contains all the bilty codes written that has to be delivered at the location. In case, the

truck is going to three different places, then three different challan are created and given to

the driver.

Each challan contains bilty codes of several goods, number of packets, and weight of each

consignment. It includes the description of number of packets in each consignment. Suppose

there three clients who have booked for one location then separate bilty are generated for

three clients. Each bilty code is written in the challan with the additional information of the

weight and the number of packets in the challan.

Activity 12: Hiring of lorry

There are ways in which material can be transported to the location. Either through the

company owned transport or hire from others. In case, the company is using their own

transport then the lorry driver is given Trip-sheet. Trip-sheet contains the route through

which it will go and deliver the goods. E.g. if a lorry driver has to deliver goods at four

places, then at each place while delivering, he will present the trip sheet at each company

office. The official at receiving point will make the entries at each point in the trip sheet.

The other way can be of hiring lorry from other transport, a lorry hiring contract is made

and given to the lorry. The lorry driver will deliver the goods and get payment only when he

will show the lorry hiring contract. There are three types of form in this contract:

1. Destination form: This form is of green colour. This copy is given to the lorry driver and

has to show it to the receiving personnel for getting payment.

~ 66 ~

2. Acknowledgement form: this form is blue in colour and is also given to the receiving

personnel. This form is then sent back to the booking office to acknowledge that goods have

been received.

3. Advance form: This form is of red colour. If in case, the driver is provided some cash and

or given advance then this form is filled and is signed by the lorry driver.

Activity 13: Loading of items in lorry

After all the required documents mentioned are submitted and verified by the supervisor,

bilty containing lorry copy, consignee copy, challan, either lorry hiring contract or trip sheet ,

invoice and all the attached documents are handed over to the driver.

The goods are loaded in the lorry with the help of labourers. Laborers are instructed about

proper handling of the material i.e. up sign (↑) and brittle sign etc.

The entry is made regarding the despatch of goods in the software and stock out note is

generated for the confirmation of despatch and record purposes.

The booking process gets completed here.

4.2.2ROLE: DELIVERY SUPERVISOR

Delivery supervisor is the person who is responsible for delivering the packages to the

consignees. His role starts from the moment package is dispatched from the hub for his

branch. He oversees unloading, storing, contacting consignees, arranging for transport for

door to door delivery, ensuring safe delivery, taking payment from the consignee if it is a to-

pay delivery, updating the system about receiving the material and closing the entry after

delivery, maintaining the records. Since branches don’t have much staff, so a delivery

supervisor also needs to be aware of booking procedure so that he can assist booking

supervisor as well.

Due to the nature of the activities he performs, a delivery supervisor must know basic

computer skills of MS office and ERP software.

In a Freight Branch, Delivery supervisor has two main tasks, each of which has subtasks:

Receiving the material from the hub

o Tracking the material once it is dispatched from the hub, especially it is late

from its scheduled arrival.

o Checking the documents of the lorry before unloading, these include challan,

invoices of the material, bilties.

~ 67 ~

o Ensuring safe unloading, labourers should be aware about proper handling of

the material, i.e. brittle materials should be handled cautiously, orientation of

the boxes (keeping the upper side of box as directed by the arrow on it).

o Matching the challan and bilties and ticking off items in the list as being

unloaded.

o Arranging for crane in case of heavy material.

o If any shortage of material the coordinating with hub.

o Checking the packing of package, if packing is damaged then arrange for

changing it.

o Storage of material, keeping all the boxes of one consignment at one place,

putting boxes at the locations as per their codes so that it becomes easier to

locate them at the time of delivery.

o Giving lorry driver POD (proof of delivery), this document is a proof with the

lorry driver that he delivered the material safely. He is no more liable after

getting a POD.

o Closing the entry in system software, after this step only material will start

showing it to be in branch.

Delivering the material to the customers

o Informing the consignee about the arrival of his package.

o Arranging for lorry in case of door to door delivery. This includes checking its

documents i.e. RC, insurance, permit, driving license, pollution certificate etc

and then preparing LHC (Lorry Hire Contract).

o Issuing MR (Money Receipt) in case of godown delivery.

o Checking for CC (Consignee Copy) before delivering the package to the

consignee (unless it is a ‘with CC’ delivery). If consignee doesn’t have CC

then asking for Indemnity Bond. Only when he shows either of the two then

the material should be delivered.

o Ensuring the payment if it is To-Pay delivery. Other type of deliveries are To-

be-billed and paid delivery.

o Updating the system once the material is safely delivered to consignee.

o If consignee doesn’t pick his material within a specified time then issue him

notices regarding this. And if even after this, he doesn’t pick his material and

crosses DEMURRAGE period then sending the material for bidding and

recovering the due payment from it.

~ 68 ~

Critical points:

1. Before unloading, material should be very carefully counted and checked for any

damages, because once material is stored in the godown then it is supervisor’s

responsibility to ensure the safety of the material.

2. The identity of consignee should be verified. If he has consignee copy then only he

should be delivered the package otherwise he should have indemnity bond with him.

3. Labourers should be aware about proper handling of the goods.

~ 69 ~

DELIVERY ACTIVITIES

In a Freight Branch, Delivery supervisor has two main tasks, each of which has subtasks:

Receiving the material from the hub &

Delivering the material to the customers.

Receiving the Material from the Hub:

Follow up the Lorry Movement:

When lorry is dispatched from the hub, they make an entry into the system about the

same. It immediately reflects in the system and delivery supervisor can see the list of

Lorries which are dispatched for his branch. If the lorry is taking unusually longer

time then he coordinates with the hub and/or truck driver. If it is stuck because of

some problem then Delivery Incharge coordinates with Branch Head or Hub head to

resolve the problem.

Unloading:

When a truck arrives at the delivery branch, it is first checked for the appropriate

documents which are:

a. Challan (Material list)

b. Bilty of goods carried with the truck.

c. Invoices of the material, this is given by consigner for the material he is sending.

Ensuring Right material is delivered to the warehouse: Delivery incharge has a

copy of items with which the truck has arrived; he matches it with the Challan and

Bilty, if all of them match then only he allows the truck to be unloaded. He ticks off

items in the challan as they are being unloaded.

In case of any shortage in material received, delivery incharge doesn’t tick off the

items which are short. He updates the system with the actual quantity which is

received and he reports about shortage to hub via email. If the item is left at the hub

by mistake then they send it to the delivery branch in the next consignment. But if the

item is misplaced during the transit time then truck driver is held responsible for that

and he compensates for the short material.

Packing is also checked when material is unloaded, and if packing is torn then it is

repacked. Material for repacking is obtained from the local market as per the need.

Repacking is done in exactly the same manner in which it was previously packed.

Along with packing, codes are also checked whether they are in readable condition or

not. If not, then material is identified with another code provided by consigner, which

is also written over the package.

~ 70 ~

Only after ensuring the proper packing, the material is stored in the godown. It is

stored by the labourers. Labourers are instructed about proper handling of the material

i.e. up sign (↑) and brittle sign etc. Location is allotted to the items as per there codes.

If the last digit of the code is ‘1’ then it’ll be stored in bay no 1. Items of one customer

are stored together so that one order is delivered easily.

Once items are stored properly in the godown then delivery incharge updates the

system about it and the material will start showing up in the delivery branch which

was so far being shown in the hub. He also gives POD (proof of Delivery) to the truck

driver who needs to submit it to the hub as a proof that he delivered the material

safely.

Delivering the Material to the Customers:

On the basis of Delivery Method: There are two types of delivery on the basis of delivery

method:

Door to door delivery: If a material is to be delivered at the door step then delivery

incharge has to arrange for transport. Normally small lorries are selected for this task.

He prepares a route on the basis of the locations to which the material is to be

delivered. Route is decided such that maximum delivery points are covered in one

round. He then contacts contractor to hire a lorry. When lorry arrives at the godown,

first of all the papers are checked i.e. lorry permit, RC, insurance, pollution document

and driver license etc. A lorry hire contract (LHC) is prepared and items are loaded in

the lorry and addresses of recipients are given to lorry driver. He is also given the

bilties which has contact information of customers.

When material is delivered, lorry driver gets Lorry copy signed from the recipient.

But, before delivering, he checks for the consignee copy (CC), if the recipient doesn’t

have CC then he doesn’t deliver the material. But if consignee copy is attached with

the package then he delivers it to the recipient after checking his ID. Lorry driver

submits the CC to the branch office once material is delivered.

If it is a to-pay delivery then lorry driver also collects cash from the consignee. He

carries an MR (Money Receipt) with him which is given to him by Delivery incharge.

Before sending the material for delivery, CSH (Customer Service Hostess) calls up

consignee and informs him about arrival of his package. Lorry driver submits this MR

in the branch office Delivery incharge updates the system about the delivery.

Godown Delivery: Package is received by consignee in the godown itself. At the

time of booking, it is mentioned on the bilty about the nature of delivery. Consignee

need to submit Consignee Copy in the branch to get the delivery. If it is a To-Pay

delivery then he needs to deposit the charge and submit the MR to the delivery

incharge. When consignee is verified by incharge then the package is handed over to

consignee.

Incharge updates the system about the delivery of the package.

~ 71 ~

Stock out Note: When package is delivered to consignee then delivery incharge

closes the entry in the system. This is also termed as ‘S1’.

On the basis of Payment Method: There are three types of payment methods for the

delivery charges. It is mentioned in the bilty about the type of payment at the time of booking

only. At delivery branch, delivery incharge proceeds according to the type of method

mentioned on the bilty.

To pay Delivery: When consignee pays for the delivery charges. When consignment

arrives at the delivery branch, CSM calls up the consignee and informs him about the

arrival of his package.

In case of a godown delivery:

o Consignee reaches to the branch with his own lorry.

o He pays for the charges and gets MR from the incharge.

o He submits Consignee Copy & MR to incharge

o Incharge verifies both the documents.

o He hands over the package to consignee after getting CC signed from him.

That acts as a proof of delivery.

In case of door to door delivery:

If consignee agrees to give the payment to the lorry driver, then lorry driver is

sent with an empty MR which he gets signed from the consigner after

delivering the package and receiving the goods.

Otherwise, consignee comes to the branch office and deposits the payment.

Submits the MR to delivery incharge. Then only package is sent to his

address.

To be billed: When consigner pays for the packages weekly/monthly. These types of

customers are regular customers of the company.

o When consigner books the package then he has two options: either sends the

consignee copy via post to consignee.

o Or he deposits it in the bank. Consignee will deposit the amount in the bank

for the value of goods. Bank will give him CC which he’ll produce in the

delivery branch to get his consignment.

o Delivery charges are collected by the booking branch from the consigner.

Paid delivery: When consigner has already paid for the delivery charges at the time

of booking only. Consigner sends the CC (Consignee Copy) to consignee via post or

any other means. When consignee shows this CC then only package is handed over to

him.

~ 72 ~

COD (Cash on Demand): This is a special type of delivery which requires delivery branch

to collect the value of consignment from the consignee. When consigner books a package in

booking branch, he asks to collect the DD/cheque of his delivery. Booking branch mentions it

on the consignee copy itself. Consignee hands over the DD/Check in the delivery branch and

collects the package. This DD/cheque is sent to the consigner via post.

Indemnity Bond: When consignee loses the consignee copy then he cannot receive the

package from delivery branch as it is necessary to produce consignee copy before taking

delivery. To facilitate the delivery, consigner prepares an Indemnity Bond on which he

mentions all the details related to the package and consignee and he sends this bond t

consignee. This Bond is a legal document prepared on a stamp paper and verified by a court

of law. When consignee produces this bond in the delivery branch then only he can receive

the package.

Demurrage: Sometimes consignees don’t turn up to receive the material at the delivery

branch and package is left stored in the godown. In such a case, there is a certain period

defined by the company after which consignee has to pay storage charges for his package.

There is another period, also defined by the company, after which Freight Company can sell

the unclaimed package in bidding. This condition is mentioned on the GFN (Goods

Forwarding Note), and consignee is given notices before sending his package for bidding.

The income from this bidding is settled against the due payment by the consignee.

~ 73 ~

4.2.3 BRANCH HEAD

Branch head should be well versed with all the activities happening in a branch. However his

main tasks are:

Reporting everyday business to the controlling branch. He sends details about the

amount of business done in a day in a branch on everyday basis. This detail is used by

the controlling branch to monitor the activities of a branch and to keep a track on the

performance.

Customer Relationship: Branch head needs to maintain relationship with permanent

customers. If they are facing any problems regarding booking/delivery then branch

head resolves the issue. He also coordinates with BDO (Business Development

Officer, who is posted at controlling branch) for new customers.

Collection: He coordinates with lorry drivers for collection. If a customer is taking

too long for the payment then branch head approaches him for timely payment.

Apart from these duties, if any employee in the branch is facing any difficulty then

he approaches branch head. If some money is required for the payment of lorry

charges and branch doesn’t have enough cash in hand then branch head coordinates

with controlling head to arrange for cash.

4.2.4 CSH: Customer Service Hostess

Customer service hostess handles activities regarding customer queries and resolving them,

tracking the shipment and keeping the customer informed. Job activities should be following

at branch & Controlling Office level.

At Branch Office:

Checks the mail & Mail follow-up.

Courier receiving & sending.

Follow-up hold consignment.

Consignment Tracking.

Party follow-up for outstanding payment.

Intimate the party about the arrival of consignment.

Prepare Consignment Note, and MR.

Controlling Office:

Handle the customer complaint.

Lorry movement entry and report to CRPO.

~ 74 ~

HR & ESI (Employee State Insurance) related mail follow-up.

POD receives from branch and scans it.

If SON (stock out note) is already generated send to RO (regional office).

Branch Office CSH Activities:

Check the mails and follow-up: CSH first check mail for knowing work, business and

service status. For checking the mails, take following steps.

On the PC/ Laptop.

Connect the internet connection.

Start the Outlook Express.

Click on Send/Receive button that shows on top of the Toolbar.

(After few second all mails appear in the Inbox.)

Double click on any mail that you want to open.

(Selected mail would be open)

Read properly and give the answer in respectfully word.

And try to sort-out quickly.

If you want to forward the mail at upper level/concerned person then:

Click on forward button from message toolbar.

Type E-mail address at to place.

Click on send button.

Point to remember: You should not leave any mails and follow-up the mail conversation

unto it is sorted out.

Courier receiving & sending: CSH is also responsible for sending and receiving the

courier. CSH should keep register for sending and receiving of courier and should mention

following information in that register.

~ 75 ~

S. NO.

Date of sending and receiving.

Time of sending and receiving.

To and from address.

Types of courier.

Courier company Name

Signature of sender and receiver person. Etc.

Follow-up hold consignment: CSH is responsible for follow-up of any consignment which

is held at any place. For follow-up this type of issues should take following steps:

Find out the holding consignment by online tracking system/Customer’s mail or

information.

Find out the reason of holding consignment.

Take appropriate action for quick movement of consignment.

Inform the senior (if it is necessary).

Inform the customer with suitable reason.

Consignment Tracking: CSH should track the consignment on daily basis. For tracking any

consignment should do following steps.

Login in to TFOS.

Click on Main Menu

Go to Care > Transaction > Marketing > Complaint.

Fill consignment no. and press <Enter Key>

(Consignment Details will be show)

Read the information and take appropriate action.

Party follow-up for outstanding payment: CSH has also follow-up the outstanding

payment. You should must use following steps.

First make a call to customer.

Use respective word.

Take feedback of our service.

~ 76 ~

In the last intimate about outstanding.

Record the information about outstanding payment.

Inform the senior.

Intimate the party: After reaching consignment at delivery station. CSH intimate the party

about delivery of consignment. You should use mail, SMS or call for intimation.

Prepare Consignment Note and MR: If CSH has extra time then she can prepare

Consignment Note and Money Receipt. For preparing Consignment Note we should use

following steps.

After checking and weight material.

Take GFN from customer.

Fill consignment Note information as per GFN.

Cut MR at the time of booking. (If paid booking)

Take all necessary documents. (Invoice, ST, Insurance, Permit etc.)

Controlling Office: CSH has similar tasks to perform at controlling office as well.

Handle the customer complaint: if a customer complains directly to controlling

office then CSH attends the call/mail and give him relevant information. And

coordinates with relevant person at branch/controlling level to resolve customer’s

problem. Normally problems are related to consignment’s late delivery. For that, she

contacts branch office or lorry driver, asks for reasons of delay, if reasons are justified

then she informs the same to the customer. Otherwise, she contacts controlling head

to resolve the issue.

Lorry movement follow up and report to CRPO: Lorry movements are also

followed up by CSH at controlling level.

HR & ESI (Employee State Insurance) related mail follow-up: When a new

employee joins at a new branch/controlling office then his personal details need to be

submitted at corporate office for the purpose of record keeping and enrolling the

employee in an insurance policy. CSH collects the details from the employee and

sends it to the main office.

POD receives from branch and scans it: CSH scans the PODs and maintains a

record of the same. Sends a consolidated report the regional office. She also checks if

Stock out note is prepared or not. If not, then she follows it up with branch office and

until it is prepared, she holds scanning of POD.

~ 77 ~

Handling Everyday Couriers: Controlling office receives couriers related to daily

business of all the branches and prepares a consolidated report of it. And the

consolidated report is sent to Regional Office (RO) on everyday basis.

5. LIMITATION

1. A warehouse is maintained and operated according to the needs of the client. As needs

vary from industry to industry, for example, automobile company and FMCG Company will

have different requirements from a warehouse. So, a standard SOP applicable to all

warehouses is not possible.

2. In some freight branches, where traffic is less, one or two people are handling all the tasks.

Thus making it difficult to segregate tasks and identifying job roles.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Overflow Situation: In TATA Motors warehouse at Bilaspur, when an assigned location

is overflowed, the binner puts items at new empty locations and informs to TL. Because of

this, pickers don't have information about new locations of the items in case they are

emergency items and need to be delivered on the same day. Ideally TL should be informed

immediately about overflow and it should be updated in the system immediately.

2. There should be improvement in the labelling process. When pickers go for picking the

items, due to the human error, they label the wrong item with the MRP tag. This happens

because they don't understand the gravity of the situation. Because of this error, sometimes

wrong item is supplied to the customer and company has to pay a claim for that. This

situation can be avoided if labels are electronically verified (through scanners) rather than

doing it manually.

3. Mix binning: caused by similar looking codes. Product codes normally consist of 8-10

letters. But, pickers identify items by matching only last 3-4 digits. In such a situation, if a

product has a variation in its 3rd or 4th letter and rest letters are same then pickers pick the

wrong item which again costs company heavily. This situation can also be avoided if

scanners are used.

4. Damaged parts: Despite checks at several stages (Ex. sorting, put-away, inventory count,

picking), damaged parts are still packaged; this creates claim requests from the customer. The

main reason for this is human-error. Pickers, binners, sorters are not aware about the

consequences of a damaged part being sent to the customer and sometimes they tend to

overlook it. This situation can be avoided by better training and making them aware about the

consequences.

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7. APPENDIX

OBSERVATION SHEET Observer Name : Jaskaran, Mukesh, Vijay Mishra Place:

From Date: To date:

JOB ROLL : Warehouse Picker NOS. NO. : LSC/ N 0301

S. NO.

PC NO.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA Activity

Happening (Y/N)

REMARKS

1 PC1 Understand the task Schedule and inventory list for goods unloaded in the unloading dock/from the Truck

yes

1. Client (whose products are to be stored in the warehouse) sends (or uploads it into the software, if there is any) item-list along with the time of receiving the material at the warehouse and send the list to warehouse manager for unloading of products. 2. Warehouse manager sends the item list to receipt TL for unloading the material before it arrives at dock. 3. Receipt TL gives the item list to receipt supervisor. 4. Receipt supervisor receives the truck at the dock and verifies the item list with the invoice being carried by truck attendant is carrying with him. 5. After verifying and checking the invoice of the truck vis-a-vis with the item receipt list given to him by warehouse manager, receipt supervisor allows the truck driver/unloaders to start unloading the truck.

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2 PC2 Verify that all the items unloaded are listed on the inventory list and sign off items as received

1. Supervisor matches the codes written in the inventory list with the codes mentioned on the boxes. These codes are given to the items by manufacturer which includes details such as mfg date, mfg batch, product name etc. These codes become unique ID for the products as each product is given a unique code to it. 2. Supervisor remains present during the entire process of unloading, and checks each and every item is unloaded as per the inventory list. Once he matches the same and the items have been unloaded then he sign off on the challan/checklist of the items which have been unloaded.

3 PC3 Prepare a report on any variances in quality of load, scheduled time

1. While unloading, number of items are counted by the supervisor and matched with their codes in the inventory list.2. A certain sample size is checked by QC personnel. They check for quality of the products received. If majority of the products from that sample are rejected then the whole truck is returned. 3. While unloading, Supervisor checks for physical damages in the boxes and physically damaged boxes are separated out in "freshly damaged" (goods which are received from the manufacturer) section. 4. The report is prepared about amount of boxes found damaged and handed over to the receipt team leader. 5. The fresh damaged goods are handed over to the PI inventory. 6. The PI inventory maintains a different section for freshly damaged goods and maintains a record for it. SORTING is performed at some warehouses as per the needs: 1. Items are passed to sorting bay directly from unloading area. 2. All the boxes are opened, each item is taken out and checked for physical damages, if found then it is taken out and team leader is informed who places the claim to supplier about the damaged item. If any item is found with no code on it then team leader sends a picture to the supplier who sends the code and then the code is hand-written on the box. 3. Supervisor has the inventory list in

~ 80 ~

which item-type (heavy, fast moving, handle with care etc) is mentioned for each item. 4. Supervisor segregates the items on the basis of its type and directs labourers to put items in different boxes; each box contains similar type items.

4 PC4 Handle the items with care to ensure minimal damage to person and good

1. Labourers unload items keeping in mind the instructions (handle with care, orientation of boxes etc) which are communicated to them by the supervisor. 2. Instructions are also mentioned on the boxes being unloaded. Arrows (up/down) tell direction in which upper side is to be placed. Umbrella sign tells keep the items indoor. A glass sign tells 'handle with care'. 3. Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for loading. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are

~ 81 ~

placed above them. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

5 PC5 Identify any discrepancies such as damaged/misplaced items in the load received

1. Misplaced items are spotted during unloading itself by the supervisor as he has the list of items to be received with him. So, he gets to know any shortage in receipt or any wrong item received. 2. Damaged goods are checked by physical inspection. If supervisor feels that a particular box is severely damaged and inside items need to be checked then he opens up the box to check whether boxes inside are okay or not.

6 PC6 Notify the supervisor of any damaged items that need to be fixed

1. If any damage is found then it is reported to receipt team leader. 2. Receipt team leader sends these damaged items to packers for repacking. 3. After repacking, items are handed over to receipt supervisor who sends it to put-away personnel who puts it in its specified location in the warehouse.

~ 82 ~

7 PC7 Notify administration for any additional orders that need to be placed to replace misplaced/irreparable items

1. When supervisor spots damaged/misplaced items then he informs receipt team leader who in turn sends claim document to the supplier for the damaged/misplaced parts. 2. Supplier replaces the items in next order or compensates for the damaged items.

8 PC8 Identify those goods that require pre-packing before storage

1. Receipt supervisor sends damaged items to packers for repacking. NOTE: In some warehouses, unpacked items are received from third party vendors. These items need to be packed before storing them in the warehouse. So, these items are directly sent to packing area after unloading.

9 PC9 Determine packing type needed such as carton type, wooden packing, loose packing etc.

1. Damaged items which need repacking are packed in the same packing type in which they were received. 2. For unpacked items from third party vendors, clear cut instructions are given about the type of packing by the client/manufacturer itself.

~ 83 ~

10 PC10 Pack and label goods accordingly with details such as package number, inventory id etc.

1. The boxes are opened up and each item is pasted with a unique SKU CODE created by the manufacturer. One SKU code is given to one type of item. All the items of that type have same SKU code. 2. These items are counted and again placed in the box. Every item is identified from SKU(Stock Keeping Unit) codes. 3. Supervisor makes the entry of the number of items being packed in the box. 4.The boxes are pasted with pre-generated LP (License Plate) codes and the unique SKU code which contains the number of items per box.This LP tags help in put away process for matching the location with LP Tag. One big box containing several SKUs has one LP assigned to it. 5.The boxes are packed again and are ready for storage NOTE: Vendor type items are received in bulk and they don't have any specific codes for them. Items are allotted system generated bar codes before packing, and labels are printed which consists of information like manufacturers name, manufacturing date, item name, date etc. These labels are pasted on the items after packing. These codes are provided by the manufacturer.

11 PC11 Fill out appropriate administrative forms as required by the company

1. If the procedure is completely software system controlled (scanners are used for binning etc) then at each step entry is made about number of items received and system is updated. 2. If process is not totally system operated then following documents are filled: (a). CRN (Consignment Receipt Note) is prepared by receipt supervisor. It is given to the truck attendant containing information about the material received, date of receipt, total number of items received etc.

~ 84 ~

(b.)Check-list : This list consists of information of all the items received, it is filled by receipt supervisor and handed over to receipt TL.

12 PC12 Move items to put-away area

A list is printed with the location of all the items, and this list is given to binners who stack the items in their specified locations.

13 PC13 Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures in case of fire, Chemical hazards, bio-hazards, etc.

1. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near every fire extinguisher. 2. Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an accident. Mobile phone is required to be switched off near Inflammable material area.

14 PC14 Follow organization procedures with respect to security, materials handling

1. Employees are checked thoroughly when they leave the premises to ensure there are no pilferages. 2. Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. 3. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for loading. 4. In a stack, heavier items are

~ 85 ~

placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above them. 5. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

15 PC15 Maintain a clean, neat and orderly working area

1. Order in warehouse is maintained by well planning, There are different sections to stock different types of materials as per their categorization. 2. Docks and storage area are kept clean after loading/unloading. Separate cleaning staffs are put in place for this task. 3. Two separate areas are dedicated for packing of despatch goods and packing of vendor-type goods. 4. Every worker has a specific task for the day which is given to him as per requirement (loading, unloading, binning, sorting, packing, picking etc)

Any Suggestion

NOS. NO. : LSC/ N 302

S. NO.

PC NO.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA Activity

Happening (Y/N)

REMARKS

1 PC1 Ensure all items in the inventory list are at the appropriate warehouse after unloading

Items are crosschecked before unloading it. Item list which is received from the client is matched with item list given by truck attendant. When the two matches then only truck is unloaded, otherwise it is sent back.

~ 86 ~

2 PC2 Locate the appropriate storage bays and bins for the packages unloaded

1. Binner is given a list of items with the location of each item mentioned . The list is given to him by receipt team-leader. This list is generated through software which automatically assigns empty locations to newly arrived items according to the quantity of items arrived. 2. Binner picks up the items from unloading area and takes it to the storage area. 3. He locates the exact location at which an item is to be stacked.Binner is made fully aware of all the locations on a regular basis and informed about the changes, if happened.

3 PC3 Verify all items are labelled and packed appropriately

1.Before stacking the material, the code mentioned on the packing is matched with the code mentioned in the bin-list. When both the codes match, then only item is picked and proceed towards storage. 2.While picking worker checks the packaging of the items and then only proceeds to the storage area.

4 PC4

Identify any errors occurring prior to the picking process such as damaged/misplaced goods/wrong labels and report the problems accordingly

1.While picking, worker checks the damage in packaging of the items, if damaged, he brings it in the notice of supervisor. If possible, repacking is done at the spot, otherwise it is put in damaged category. These goods are then moved in damaged section. 2.Before picking, the worker matches the code of each item with the code mentioned in the picklist.If item is found without code, then it is brought in the notice of supervisor.

~ 87 ~

5 PC5 Apply picking methods specified by the organizational procedure for the type of goods and size of orders

1.Fast moving items(which are unloaded and loaded on daily basis)are stacked in lower racks to reduce the loading time. 2.Heavier items are picked by a forklift. A forklift machine with a dedicated driver is always present inside the warehouse to cater to this need. 3.Lighter items are stacked manually.

6 PC6 Perform ‘binning’ ‘put-away’ function - by placing the goods into the appropriate containers or onto pallets

1. The worker picks the items from unloading area and bring it to storage area. 2.The binner matches the item with its location in the list and places only if both the location matches. 3.After placing the item in its respective location, he sign off in the list.

7 PC7 Fill out appropriate administrative forms as required by the company in case of accidents, damages, errors etc.

1.If some items are found without label while picking, then the supervisor informs receipt team leader. Then team leader sends a picture to the supplier who sends the code and then the code is hand-written on the box. 2. If any physical damage is found by the picker then team leader is informed who places the claim to client about the damaged item. Claim is placed through claim form in which details about type of damages is mentioned.3.In case of accidents, the claim is sent to the insurer including all the details of mishappening.

8 PC8 Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures in case of fire, chemical hazards, bio-hazards, etc.

1. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near every fire extinguisher. 2. Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an accident. Mobile phone are required to be

~ 88 ~

switched off near Inflammable material area.

9 PC9 Follow organization procedures with respect to security, materials handling and accidents

1. Employees are checked thoroughly when they leave the premises to ensure there is no pilferages. 2. Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. 3. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for loading. 4. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above them. 5. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

10 PC10 Maintain a clean, neat and orderly working area

1. Order in warehouse is maintained by well planning, There are different sections to stock different types of materials as per their categorization. 2. Docks and storage area are kept clean after loading/unloading. A separate cleaning staff is put in place for this task. 3. Two separate areas are dedicated for packing of despatch goods and packing of vendor-type goods. 4. Every worker has a specific task for the day which is given to him as per requirement (loading, unloading, binning, sorting, packing, picking etc)

1. While picking, worker should check the material for any damage in the product and bring it in the notice of supervisor which was not observed in any of the warehouses. This will result in decrease of damaged items being despatched.

2. Parts with no location mentioned are binned at new empty locations by binner and he updates it in the bin-list and subsequently informs about it to receipt TL.

~ 89 ~

3. Overflow Situation: In TATA Motors, When an assigned location is overflowed, the binner puts items at new empty locations and informs to TL. Because of this, pickers don't have information about new locations of the items in case they are emergency items and need to be delivered on the same day. Ideally TL should be informed immediately about overflow and it should be updated in the system immediately.

NOS. NO. : LSC/ N 0303

S. NO.

PC NO.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA Activity

Happening (Y/N)

REMARKS

1 PC1 Report the status of inventory that has been damaged/misplaced

1.Inventory personnel monitors all the damaged/misplaced goods and create a separate section for these items at separate section in the warehouse. 2..PI inventory distinguish the goods in categories- freshly damaged, good , RTO(return -to- order). 3. Incase of any misplaced item, previous stocks of 2-3 days are compared by inventory TL and the location of the misplaced item is identified. This situation arises because pickers, out of negligence, pick the items from a location which is not specified in the pick list.

2 PC2 Report the status of inventory that has been successfully picked and stored

1.Everyday the Inventory TL gets schedule of checking the stock of items from the client. In some warehouses the whole stock is counted everyday and in some warehouse certain amount of items are checked as desired by the client. 2. Inventory TL gives this schedule to inventory supervisor who gets workers to do this job. 3. Every day the amount of stock despatched and received is counted. 4. Incase of any misplaced item, previous stocks of 2-3 days are compared by inventory TL and the location of the misplaced item is identified. This situation arises because pickers, out of

~ 90 ~

negligence, pick the items from a location which is not specified in the pick list. 5. Once the misplaced items are located, their new location is rectified in the system by inventory TL.

3 PC3 Inform the supervisor of any difficulties due to task loads or time limits

1. Every picker has a target of picking certain items. This target is given to him by receipt/despatch supervisor. It is changed on the basis of PDP (Per Day Plan). PDP is set on the basis of total items to be loaded/unloaded in a day and the tasks are distributed among the workers accordingly. 2. PDP is done by warehouse manager with the help of receipt/despatch/inventory TL.

4 PC4

Fill out administrative forms and complete all organizational formalities for damages/accidents that occurred post-picking

1. Inventory supervisor makes a separate list of those items which are found damaged while counting. 2. Then, these items are transferred in a separate section of warehouse. 3. If similar items are placed at different locations in small quantities, then Inventory supervisor places them at one location and makes a list of these items and reports to Inventory TL. 4. Inventory TL updates the software with the new location of the items. 5. In case of any accidents, it is the responsibility of inventory TL to fill out damage claim forms

~ 91 ~

for insurance claim.

5 PC5 Record the inventory details reported in the log books

1. Inventory supervisor makes entries in the log book related to stock-in, stock-out, relocation of items, damaged items, repacked items, misplaced items, return to order, return to vendor items on every day basis. 2. This log book is overview by inventory TL.

6 PC6 Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures in case of fire, chemical hazards, bio-hazards, etc

1. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near every fire extinguisher. 2. Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an accident. Mobile phone are required to be switched off near Inflammable material area.

7 PC7 Follow organization procedures with respect to security, materials handling and accidents

1. Employees are checked thoroughly when they leave the premises to ensure there is no pilferages. 2. Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. 3. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for loading. 4. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above them.

~ 92 ~

5. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

8 PC8 Fill out appropriate forms for all administrative, safety requirements forms

Any Specific Gaps / Observation :

NOS. NO. : LSC/ N 0304

S. NO.

PC NO.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA Activity

Happening (Y/N)

REMARKS

1 PC1 Ensure reception of task schedule from supervisor and pick list from customer/company side.

1. As per the needs of the client, a despatch order is received by despatch TL in the morning. 2. He prepares a system generated pick list of all the items to be despatched. Location of the items is also mentioned in the pick-list. 3. He distributes the pick list to different pickers. Each picker is given hourly targets and has to pick a certain minimum items per day. An individual picker is given items which are of one category preferably.

~ 93 ~

2 PC2 Check the documents for any typos or errors.

Despatch TL hands over the pick lists to despatch supervisor. Supervisor places these pick lists in a table which has a separate rack for every picker. Picker has to achieve hourly targets. Before placing the pick-list in the table, supervisor crosschecks different pick lists with the despatch orders for the day.

3 PC3 Generate labels (printed or handwritten) with the help of administrative staff for the items to be picked.

1. In some warehouses, labels (MRP tags) are provided by the client. These labels are handed over to the pickers by despatch supervisor for the items mentioned in their pick list. These tags are pasted on the items while picking itself. 2. In other warehouses, labels are pasted on items after picking and during packing.

4 PC4 Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures in case of fire, chemical hazards, bio-hazards, etc.

1. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near every fire extinguisher. 2. Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an accident. Mobile phone are required to be switched off near Inflammable material area.

5 PC5 Follow organization procedures with respect to security, materials handling and accidents.

1. Employees are checked thoroughly when they leave the premises to ensure there is no pilferages. 2. Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. 3. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for loading. 4. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above them. 5. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

~ 94 ~

6 PC6 Maintain a clean, neat and orderly working area.

1. Order in warehouse is maintained by well planning, There are different sections to stock different types of materials as per their categorization. 2. Docks and storage area are kept clean after loading/unloading. A separate cleaning staff is put in place for this task. 3. Two separate areas are dedicated for packing of despatch goods and packing of vendor-type goods. 4. Every worker has a specific task for the day which is given to him as per requirement (loading, unloading, binning, sorting, packing, picking etc)

Any Specific Gaps / Observation :

NOS. NO. : LSC/ N 0305

S. NO.

PC NO.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA Activity

Happening (Y/N)

REMARKS

1 PC1 Ensure items on the pick list are for the right warehouse/storage area.

Before handing over the pick list to pickers, despatch supervisor cross checks the items to be picked in the stock. If required number of items are present in the stock, then only pickers are sent for picking process.

~ 95 ~

2 PC2 Locate the appropriate storage bays for items on pick list.

1.Pickers are given the pick list by despatch supervisor. The pick list contains information about storage bays in which items are stored. Pickers locate the appropriate storage location for the items to be picked. 2. Pickers are made aware of all the locations in the warehouse during their initial training.

3 PC3 Locate the appropriate storage shelves/bins and locate items to be picked.

1.The pick list has the information about exact location of the item, including shelves/bins. Pickers locate the shelves/bins for the items to be picked. 2. Picker reaches the shelves/bins and matches the SKU CODE on the item with the code mentioned in the pick-list and then only picks the item.

4 PC4

Apply picking methods specified by the organizational procedure for the type of goods and volume of goods to be picked.

1.Forklift is used to pick heavy items. A forklift driver is kept standby to cater to this need. Whenever there is a need to pick heavy items, the driver is called. 2. Small items are picked manually. 3. If large quantity or heavier items need to be stacked on higher floors then also a forklift is used.

5 PC5

Perform picking- by removing goods from the appropriate shelves, storage space into containers or pallets to prepare for loading.

1. Picking is performed by removing the items from pallets/bins/shelves. 2. Heavy items are picked by a forklift and lighter items are picked manually. 3.In some warehouses, items are labelled with an MRP tag which is provided by the client (TATA Motors). This tag is provided for each and every item which contains all the information about the item like batch no., mfg date, product code etc. Pickers receive this tag from despatch supervisor along with the pick list. Before pasting the

~ 96 ~

label on the item, pickers verify the codes by matching the product code mentioned on the item with the corresponding MRP label as mentioned in the pick list.

6 PC6 Verify all items are labelled and packed appropriately.

1.Before picking an item, picker makes sure that there is no physical damage to the packing and product code is there on the packing of the item which he matches with the code given on the pick list. 2. For items which need to be labelled with an MRP tag, Items are picked only after the picker labels them with the MRP tag.

7 PC7 Identify any errors occurring during the inbound picking/storage process suchas damages and misplaced items.

While picking, goods are checked through physical inspection. If picker finds that a particular box is severely damaged and inside items need to be checked then he opens up the box to check whether boxes inside are in good condition or not.

8 PC8 Notify the supervisor of any damages for potential fixes.

1.Any misplacement found are reported to PI Inventory who in turn finds out the exact location of the item in case it is misplaced. 2.In case of damaged items found, Inventory personnel handles the damaged item either by repacking or putting it in the damaged category.3. If repacking, items are handed over to despatch supervisor otherwise damaged

~ 97 ~

goods are moved to the damaged section.

9 PC9 Notify administration for any additional orders that need to be placed to replace misplaced/irreparable items.

1.The PI sections maintains record of all the goods found misplaced/damaged/irreparable. 2.PI sends the report to the client, in response to which client takes the decision according to their requirement.

10 PC10 Verify all items on the pick list are picked and are in deliverable condition.

1.When picker picks all the items then he takes the items to packing area and handover the pick list to supervisor. 2.All the items are verified by despatch supervisor by matching with the pick list 3.After verifying the items, the picked items are handed over to packing personnel.

11 PC11 Fill out appropriate administrative forms as required by the company in case of accidents, damages, errors etc.

1. If any physical damage is found by the picker then team leader is informed who intimates to client about the damaged item. Claim is placed to insurer through claim form in which details about type of damages is mentioned. 2.In case of accidents, the claim is sent to the insurer including all the details of mishappening.

~ 98 ~

12 PC12 Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures in case of fire, chemical hazards, bio-hazards, etc.

1. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near every fire extinguisher. 2. Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an accident. Mobile phone are required to be switched off near Inflammable material area.

13 PC13 Follow organization procedures with respect to security, materials handling and accidents

1. Employees are checked thoroughly when they leave the premises to ensure there is no pilferages. 2. Heavier items are lifted with a forklift, for that a forklift driver is always present. 3. Fast moving items are placed in lower boxes, so that it takes less time to proceed for loading. 4. In a stack, heavier items are placed at bottom and lighter items are placed above them. 5. Up (↑) sign is seen and upper side is maintained as instructed.

14 PC14 Maintain a clean, neat and orderly working area

1. Order in warehouse is maintained by well planning, There are different sections to stock different types of materials as per their categorization. 2. Docks and storage area are kept clean after loading/unloading. A separate cleaning staff is put in place for this task. 3. Two separate areas are dedicated for packing of despatch goods and packing of vendor-type goods. 4. Every worker has a specific task for the day which is given to him as per requirement (loading, unloading, binning, sorting, packing, picking etc)

Any Specific Gaps / Observation :

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1.) There should be improvement in the labelling press. When pickers go for picking the items, due to the human error, they label the wrong item with the MRP tag. This happens because they don't understand the gravity of the situation. Because of this error, sometimes wrong item is supplied to the customer and company has to pay a claim for that. This situation can be avoided if labels are electronically verified (through scanners) rather than doing it manually.

2.) Mix binning: caused by similar looking codes. Product codes normally consists of 8-10 letters. But, pickers identify items by matching only last 3-4 digits. In such a situation, if a product has a variation in its 3rd or 4th letter and rest letters are same then pickers pick the wrong item which again costs company heavily. This situation can also be avoided if scanners are used.

3. Damaged parts: Despite checks at several stages (Ex. sorting, put-away, inventory count, picking), damaged parts are still packaged, this creates claim requests from the customer. The main reason for this is human-error. Pickers, binners, sorters are not aware about the consequences of a damaged part being sent to the customer and sometimes they tend to overlook it. This situation can be avoided by better training and making them aware about the consequences.

NOS. NO. : LSC/ N 0306

S. NO.

PC NO.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA Activity

Happening (Y/N)

REMARKS

1 PC1 Identify any errors/discrepancies in items picked such as damages or misplacement.

1.) Picker places the items in the packing area. 2.) Despatch supervisor cross checks the items, counts the number of items and manually inspects for any misplaced item.

2 PC2 Notify supervisor of any damages for those items that need fixes.

1. If any damage is found then it is reported to inventory team leader. 2. Inventory team leader sends these damaged items to packers for repacking. 3. After repacking, items are handed over to despatch supervisor who hands it over to loading personnel who puts it in the loading bay.

3 PC3 Notify administration for any additional orders that need to place to replace misplaced/irreparable items.

1.The PI section maintains record of all the goods found misplaced/damaged/irreparable. 2.While packing, if items received are in shortage, then PI is informed which sends the report to the client, in response to which client takes the decision according to their

~ 100 ~

requirement.

4 PC4 Identify items that require further packing.

1. Client sends information to despatch team leader about the items which need to be packed. 2. If two or more items are required to be packed in one packing as per offers given by the client company. In such a situation, client sends information regarding type of packing and items which need to be clubbed in one packing. 3. Despatch TL makes a list of those items and get it picked by pickers. 4. A separate section is dedicated for packing in the warehouses. All the items are put in the packing area by pickers. Packing process starts once despatch supervisor verifies the right picks.

5 PC5 Determine type of packing required for item according to nature such as wooden packing, carton etc.

1. Client gives information related to type of packing required to despatch team leader through software system. 2. Despatch TL conveys the information to packing supervisor who in turn conveys it to packing personnel.

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6 PC6 Hand over items for packing to relevant personnel.

1. In packing area, several packers are present at the packing bay. 2. Despatch supervisor hands over the items to packing personnel after verifying the right picks.

7 PC7 Label items according to pick list requirements.

1. Packers are provided with the information related to type of packing to be used.2. Packers are also given any additional information. For example, if any coupons are to be inserted in the packing, if invoices are to be attached.3. If there is any offer on the items, then these items need to be clubbed together. This information is also given to packers by despatch supervisor.4. If warehouse is managed for a home delivery client, a bar code is pasted on the items, this bar code contains all the information about the product. It is given to packers by despatch supervisor who receives it from either client or codes are generated in the warehouse itself by despatch TL.

8 PC8 Assist with loading items into transportation truck or loading bay if applicable/necessary.

1. Once items are packed, it is sent to the loading area through labourers. 2. Labourers use trolleys to take the items to loading area. 3. If there are multiple receivers from one truck's items then one customer's items are placed at the palette in loading dock. 4. Despatch supervisor remains present during loading. He has a list of items to be loaded with him. This list is given to him by despatch TL. 5. Despatch supervisor ticks off the items which are loaded in the truck. Truck attendants are shown quality of the items by

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opening a certain number of boxes as mandated by the client. In some warehouses, a QC person also remains present while loading. This person represents client.

9 PC9 Report the status of inventory that has been damaged/misplaced.

1.Inventory personnel monitors all the damaged/misplaced goods and create a separate section for these items at separate section in the warehouse. 2..PI inventory distinguish the goods in categories- freshly damaged, good , RTO(return -to- order). 3. Incase of any misplaced item, previous stocks of 2-3 days are compared by inventory TL and the location of the misplaced item is identified. This situation arises because pickers, out of negligence, pick the items from a location which is not specified in the pick list.

~ 103 ~

10 PC10 Report the status of inventory that has been successfully picked and stored.

1.Everyday the Inventory TL gets schedule of checking the stock of items from the client. In some warehouses the whole stock is counted everyday and in some warehouse certain amount of items are checked as desired by the client. 2. Inventory TL gives this schedule to inventory supervisor who gets workers to do this job. 3. Every day the amount of stock despatched and received is counted. 4. Incase of any misplaced item, previous stocks of 2-3 days are compared by inventory TL and the location of the misplaced item is identified. This situation arises because pickers, out of negligence, pick the items from a location which is not specified in the pick list. 5. Once the misplaced items are located, their new location is rectified in the system by inventory TL.

11 PC11 Inform the supervisor of any difficulties due to task loads or time limits.

1. Every picker has a target of picking certain items. This target is given to him by receipt/despatch supervisor. It is changed on the basis of PDP (Per Day Plan). PDP is set on the basis of total items to be loaded/unloaded in a day and the tasks are distributed among the workers accordingly. 2. PDP is done by warehouse manager with the help of receipt/despatch/inventory TL.

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12 PC12

Fill out administrative forms and complete all organizational formalities fordamages/accidents that occurred post-picking.

1. Inventory supervisor makes a separate list of those items which are found damaged while counting.2. Then, these items are transferred in a separate section of warehouse.3. If similar items are placed at different locations in small quantities, then Inventory supervisor places them at one location and makes a list of these items and reports to Inventory TL.4. Inventory TL updates the software with the new location of the items.5. In case of any accidents, it is the responsibility of inventory TL to fill out damage claim forms for insurance claim.

13 PC13 Record the inventory details reported in the individual log books.

1. Inventory/despatch supervisor makes entries in the log book related to stock-in, stock-out, relocation of items, damaged items, repacked items, misplaced items, return to order, return to vendor items on every day basis. 2. This log book is overview by inventory/despatch TL.

14 pc14 Comply with safety regulations and procedures in case of fire hazards, biohazards, etc.

1. All the workers and supervisors are given training about how to use fire extinguishers when they join. In addition, a pictorial description is mentioned near every fire extinguisher. 2. Inflammable materials are stored separately to minimise damage in care of an accident. Mobile phone are required to be switched off near Inflammable material area.

~ 105 ~

15 PC15 Follow organization procedures with respect to security, materials handling and accidents.

1. Order in warehouse is maintained by well planning, There are different sections to stock different types of materials as per their categorization. 2. Docks and storage area are kept clean after loading/unloading. A separate cleaning staff is put in place for this task. 3. Two separate areas are dedicated for packing of despatch goods and packing of vendor-type goods. 4. Every worker has a specific task for the day which is given to him as per requirement (loading, unloading, binning, sorting, packing, picking etc)

Any Specific Gaps / Observation :

~ 106 ~