by Alpine Supply Chain | Jan 28, 2020 | HR Solutions
Alpine is growing again! We are proud to welcome Brenda Stoltz as the leader of our new
Human Resource Solutions Practice. With her operational leadership background and recent experience heading up HR at Target Distribution, Brenda brings real-world experience to the talent needs of warehouses. Ensuring high-end compliance and execution of work responsibilities, she excels in the areas of staffing, employee relations, performance management, payroll/compliance, training and development, organizational restructuring, workforce planning, and change management.
Brenda Stoltz is a Human Resources Leader and an experienced Operations Manager instilled with the practical knowledge of strategic leadership and management. She holds a strong sense of business objectives and strives to develop a positive culture that promotes constructive growth. As a dynamic leader with robust interpersonal skills, she holds experience in leading highly proficient teams comprising of HR Specialists, HR Business Partners, and operations managers. She aims to develop a healthy workspace environment that nurtures new talent and helps operational partners meet their goals.
Brenda’s greatest source of inspiration comes from witnessing the growth and development of team members & operations partners. She admires working with others and helping them identify, analyze, and solve complex business issues through strategic leadership and teamwork. Besides this, she is an outdoor enthusiast who loves spending time in the company of her husband and two wonderful toddler boys.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Jan 16, 2020 | Supply Chain Consulting
To choose cost or customer service can be difficult. Alpine makes it so you don’t have to! Alpine Managing Principal, Michael Wohlwend, is featured in the current issue of Inbound Logistics in the “Good Question” section. When posed the question, “When choosing a logistics provider, what’s more important: cost or customer service?” Alpine makes it so you don’t have to choose.
Michael responded “Why must you choose one? Why not have both?” Customer Service is vital in a partnership to ensure the right product gets to the right place, at the right time, and on value! Today with the volatility of the order profile changing, and the new metric of next-day delivery, it is extremely important that you and your selected logistics provider perform a detailed design session to align on the key metrics of success, and on how when volumes go up, so does the price.”
More About Michael:
Managing Principal, Michael Wohlwend spent six years with SAP running the Mid-West Services business, where he was the executive sponsor on 3 SAP EWM installs. Michael also spent seven years with Manhattan Associates where he was involved in over 30+ installs. In addition, his responsibilities included RFID in a BOX. Prior to that as a member of consulting and software firms, he provided supply chain solutions for more than 30 top companies including Technicolor, Warner Brothers/Elektra/Atlantic, Sargento Foods, Johnsonville, IKON Office Solutions, Depuy, Schwarz Pharma, Long’s Drugs, Ross Stores, QVC, eLuxury, Alliance Beverage and Churchill Distributors.
In his 25 years of experience in the supply chain industry, Wohlwend has authored numerous articles for trade publications and has presented more than 70 seminars and speeches at key industry events. These events include National Conference of Operations & Fulfillment (NCOF), Warehouse Education Research Council (WERC), Council of Logistics Management (CLM), ScanTech, Distribution Computer Expo and ID Expo. He has been a board member of WERC since 2008 and Past President in 2014.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Jan 10, 2020 | Supply Chain Consulting
We are pleased to announce the successful completion of a distribution optimization project for AMS Fulfillment, a third-party logistics service provider specializing in e-commerce and business-to-business fulfillment.
For AMS Fulfillment, Alpine helped to:
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Improve the use of their space, equipment and labor
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Decrease replenishment costs
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Increase Units Per Hour, Lines Per Hour, and overall slotting optimization.
AMS Fulfillment’s Vice President of Operations Marco Pelaez said, “Alpine worked side by side with our team and helped us make incredible gains in productivity.”
More About AMS Fulfillment:
Advantage Media Services, Inc. (AMS) is a full-service order fulfillment company operating as a third-party resource for Order Management, Warehouse Management and Fulfillment Services.
AMS Fulfillment sets itself apart from others in the Fulfillment Industry with Pro-Active Support that strives to make our clients successful and years of Experience to guide our decisions. We support a variety of businesses and program types, with a core service of providing both Business-to-Consumer (B-2-C) and Business-to-Business (B-2-B) fulfillment for an array of branded consumer products.
The AMS team is a cohesive group of professionals with many decades of order fulfillment experience in both B-2-B and direct-to-consumer operations. We rely upon an advanced Technology Platform and proven operating methodologies to function as a proficient partner for the clients we serve. Our formula is simple – give the client your thought, energy and effort as if it were your own business, because when the client succeeds, we succeed!
Our unique philosophy has led us to seek and gain certification as a B-Corporation. 1) We are centered on understanding the administrative and operating nuances of each client, 2) We work proactively with the client to ensure they receive tremendous service at the lowest cost impact, 3) We uphold the social goals of our community by hiring the underserved and educating and training employees and and the community, and 4) We uphold the environmental goals of our community.
It’s a philosophy that has served us all quite well as we continue to develop long-term, friendly and successful business, employee and community relationships.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Jan 9, 2020 | Supply Chain Consulting
In the current issue of Inbound Logistics, Alpine’s Michael Wohlwend shares his thoughts on technology innovations and process insights for enhancing the value that 3PLs bring to shippers.
Many 3PLs continually invest in warehouse, transportation, and labor management systems. “Those are real-time execution systems to help plan labor and equipment and maximize space,” says Wohlwend. “Slotting optimization is also popular to support a 3PL customer’s lifecycle.” In addition, many 3PLs are looking for e-commerce capabilities.
Short excerpts from the Inbound Logistics article:
Indeed, many 3PLs continually invest in warehouse, transportation, and labor management systems. “Those are real-time execution systems to help plan labor and equipment and maximize space,”says Michael Wohlwend, managing principal with Alpine Supply Chain Solutions Consulting. “Slotting optimization is also popular to support a 3PL customer’s lifecycle.”
In addition, many 3PLs are looking for capabilities, such as the ability to pick and fill online orders and provide next-day service, that will enable them to help clients more effectively navigate a market increasingly ruled by e-commerce.
(In regards to streamlinging e-commerce): The growth of online ordering has enhanced the value 3PLs can provide. Customers’ increasing expectation of next- or same-day delivery adds to transportation complexity. Many 3PLs have gained experience in tight delivery deadlines and omni-channel distribution, and companies in other industries are leveraging that expertise.
“Companies are focusing on their core competencies and letting companies that specialize in logistics manage the distribution,” Wohlwend says.
by Alpine Supply Chain | Dec 11, 2019 | Warehouse Management
Business Intelligence is all the rage these days, and Alpine now offers a WMS Advanced Reporting solution that can give you data for days, including:
-Key Performance Indicator (KPI) analysis
-Financial performance tracking
-On-time and In-Full performance
-Function-specific cycle times
To determine if your operation could benefit from an advanced reporting solution, reflecton these questions:
- Do I rely on base GUI screens for business insights into my WMS?
- Do I have to export data from my WMS into Excel and run macros and pivot tables in order to get the information I need?
- Are my supervisors spending unnecessary time after every shift calculating UPH metrics or other necessary KPIs?
- Can I quickly provide my team with easy-to-read visuals that quickly show how effectively each team member is performing?
- Are there parts of your operation that fall into the “black box” category, leaving you guessing why the WMS is behaving in a given manner?
If you answered any of the above questions with a less-than-favorable response, it maybe time to step up your business intelligence (BI) game!
If you want more in-depth, actionable data from your JDA, see our white paper, “Operational Efficiencies Realized Through Business Intelligence” to learn how need-based reporting can breathe life into a stagnant WMS.
