Welcome to the Fortna Library

South Africa’s economy has seen rapid growth in its middle class resulting in more disposable income and opening the country up to world markets. Fortna took a step forward in its own global expansion with the acquisition of LGA,  a material handling and distribution services firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa. If you have plans to expand further into the EMEA region, you might enjoy reading this short article on the different thinking required when building a distribution center in South Africa.

Read about how L.L.Bean improved its inventory management, reduced storage space and avoided the need to build an additional DC. This article from Supply Chain Quarterly talks about how Fortna’s analysis of their distribution network was instrumental in helping the retailer get a better handle on its product lifecycles and improve forecasting. As a result L.L.Bean is able to fulfill customer orders across sales channels with little or no excess inventory.

You continue to add new products to attract new customers and increase sales.  But more SKUs add complexity and cost to your distribution operations.  And strained capacity can impact customer service and productivity.  This article will help you assess the full impact of SKU proliferation and develop a business case for what to do with all those SKUs.

John White, Fortna’s President, speaks with DC Velocity’s Mitch MacDonald on how e-commerce is raising the bar on customer expectations across all industries. John talks about trends - like the demand for smaller, more frequent orders - and their impact on distribution operations. He also gives examples of actions that leaders are taking to put their companies in front of these trends. Watch the video on DCV-TV Channel 4 or read the transcript.

Automated storage systems help distribution operations gain speed and efficiency. Able to handle loads ranging from pallets to totes, these systems improve inventory control, reduce labor, and increase productivity. They also provide better handling that reduces product damage and loss. In this presentation we discuss the types of systems available today and the many advantages facilities can gain by automating their storage and handling processes.

Click to view the replay of this DC Velocity videocast, featuring Fortna's VP of Design Engineering, Brent Tymensky.

Distribution Center projects often require major investment and significant change.  A misguided or poorly planned investment in the design and implementation of your distribution facilities can be devastating to your business.  A proven way to mitigate this risk is to take a comprehensive approach during the facility design process.  This article highlights the differences between the traditional approach to facility design and a more comprehensive and risk-averse approach called Operations Design.

The recent State of US Logistics report suggests continued economic uncertainty. A closer look at unemployment, the debt and credit markets, and the consumer confidence index–all point to the same conclusion. So how do you develop your strategy when the future is so uncertain? In this article, we discuss how Tipping Point Analysis helps leaders understand which strategic moves are right for their company even under changing conditions, and how it helps position them for the uncertain future.

This paper provides a detailed overview of the fundamental financial terms and methods to use when conducting this type of evaluation. This paper has also describes other decision impacting factors that should be considered when developing and presenting your business case. Your business case must be logical, credible, and presented in terms that are important and appealing to executive stakeholders.

Applying "Lean" principles in the DC results in increases in productivity and quality, as well as reduced costs. Hear Ed Kitt, Sr. VP of Operations, talk about Penske Logistics' organizational excellence process that produces bottom-line results with minimal capital investment. This case study illustrates the concepts and results of a successful, people-focused program. Listen to the presentation or download the slides.

Building a new DC or retrofitting an existing facility? Hear Gary Jordan, ASICS' VP Operations/Chief Supply Chain Officer, talk about a proven path for integrating processes and eliminating silos. Using this approach in a recent DC retrofit project, ASICS was able to avoid cost and schedule over-runs, missed deliverables and finger pointing. Listen to the presentation or download the slides.  

In this white paper, we discuss the principles of facility design and special considerations related to order picking, automation, space allocation and technology. For more about laying the foundation for an effective and efficient facility design, see part I of this white paper series.

Proven strategies for successful supply chain transformation are highlighted in a recent Supply Chain Brain interview with Fortna President, John White.  White talks about what causes projects to succeed -- or fail, and the types of projects that industry leaders are focusing on for the near future relative to their supply chains.

View the Video: "Keys to Successful Supply Chain Transformation" or click for a transcript of the interview.

Designing a distribution center is no simple matter. And implementing expensive distribution systems doesn't guarantee success. This white paper discusses the principles of good distribution design and what it takes to build a high-performance distribution center. Topics include the importance of data analysis and how to select the best storage media to meet your needs.

Independent competitive research firm, wRatings Corporation recently completed a report stating that companies partnering with Fortna over the past ten years have out performed their direct industry peers in terms of economic profit and customer advantages. Based on a year-over-year analysis, the competitive strength of Fortna’s clients began to surpass their direct industry peers in 2006 and significantly widened the gap in 2007. The sizable gap has been maintained and as of end of September 2010, the advantage for Fortna Customers is 9.0%.

"With the toughest recession behind us now, we can now separate the companies that merely survived from those that truly thrived," said Gary A. Williams, CEO and founder of wRatings. "We found that building competitive strength through supply chain solutions offered by Fortna allowed companies to leap frog into the thrivers group."

David Farmer, Fortna Group VP Sales, is quoted in DC Velocity article, “Eight Steps to Successful Systems Integration.”   Click here to learn what he has to say and tips for keeping your systems integration project running smoothly.

Expanding your Distribution Network?  Consider these questions before you add a new DC. Multi-site distribution environments can be complex.  These eleven thought-provoking questions will help you understand the issues to consider and the stakeholders to involve when expanding your distribution network.

Have you outgrown your single DC?  Moving to multi-site distribution adds a significant layer of complexity.  A multi-facility network requires new processes that were not necessary for a single-facility network.  Existing processes upstream and downstream of the distribution operation must be reviewed and revised.  And the implementation of the facility itself must integrate many different work streams. 

Fortna again sponsored this year's wRatings report on Most Competitive Retailers and Manufacturers.  Several Fortna clients are included in the top listings, due in part, to their supply chain efficiencies.

This interview was conducted at the annual WERC conference in Anaheim, CA in May 2010 between Senior Editor of Supply Chain Brain, Bob Bowman, and John Giangrande, senior account executive from Fortna Inc.

We invite you to read Fortna's white paper that outlines proven strategies for tactical / within the four walls plus strategic / outside the four walls improvements.  In this interview conducted at the 2010 WERC Annual Conference, you will learn proven tips for assessing your operations for low hanging fruit, strategies to analyze your supply chain network and a roadmap for organizational excellence that can help reduce costs, increase productivity and enhance customer service.

Visit www.supplychainbrain.com to view this video interview.

To enable growth, improve profitability, enhance customer service, and build distinct competitive advantages, organizations must change and evolve over time. Often, Supply Chain Leaders are responsible for delivering on the business case for organizational transformations. Unfortunately, major business transformations are notorious for not delivering on the original intent of the change, and supply chain programs are not immune to these challenges. Riddled with cost and schedule overruns, critical projects often miss delivery results, negatively impact service, and directly affect profits. This white paper delves into the specific approaches, issues, and challenges of three companies (names are withheld to protect the wounded) that implemented large-scale, business transforming programs.

Doing More with Less.  Learn the six secrets of success to applying lean principle to your distribution operation.  Companies are being asked to do more with the same or less resources.  Applying lean principles to your distribution operations is one way to combat these pressures and see immediate results.

Independent competitive research firm, wRatings Corporation recently completed a report stating that companies partnering with Fortna over the past ten years have out performed their direct industry peers in terms of economic profit and customer advantages. Based on a year-over-year analysis, the Fortna Customer Group has built superior customer strength over Non-Fortna Customers of 15% and 13.2% on average over the past three and five years respectively. This growth parallels the 2007 expansion of Fortna's supply chain service offerings.

This article focuses on how a distribution center ultimately is in the business of shipping orders. More than focusing on how fast you pick, sort, pack, and build pallets, you must also look at how quickly and accurately you can process a complete order.

Learn how Organizational Excellence is the key to success even during tough times, thus leading the way to increased prosperity when the economic climate improves. It is not always about equipment and software. Rather, it is about sound business principles.

RILA and Auburn University's annual study of the State of the Retail Supply Chain brings together the country's leading retailers to delve into the year's current trends, leading practices and key issues that will have the greatest impact on strategy and planning for retail supply chain executives now and in the near future. Learn about hte key characteristics of today's best-in-class retail supply chains and how they are building competitive advantage.

This paper explores the external partner sourcing strategy of a cross-functional, supply chain project from strategy through implementation. The tenet behind this paper is that external service providers with an "integrated delivery model" provide supply chain leaders with an opportunity to more effectively manage the time, cost and risk of such projects. These partners have the skills and experience to lead and integrate the lion's share of cross-functional responsibilities throughout the project. And, their approach guards against siloed, functionally focused communication and accountability, which is symptomatic of a poorly executed project. In essence, the integrated delivery model offers a faster, easier and better approach.

This white paper talks about how waveless processing offers multiple financial and operational advantages over traditional wave-based systems. It is a proven means for optimizing order selection by dynamically controlling tasks and anticipating unexpected events. Pickers work at a more even pace, and the system is able to manage and resolve unexpected events in real-time. Tools and expertise exist today to analyze and create an effective waveless system for you. Waveless processing will positively impact your bottom line by providing higher throughput, increased overall labor optimization, and enhanced customer service.

Can you avoid the dreaded productivity drop off that commonly occurs with any operational change following a new system implementation? This drop is called the "J-curve," named for the unplanned drop to lower than pre-system productivity levels before the targeted new levels are reached. Yes, it is possible for your go-live day to be considered a "non-event" and reach financial and operational targets on schedule. Check out this roadmap for a highly successful system implementation when extensive planning, testing and training led to an easy go-live and dramatic business results at Fox Racing…50% reduction in labor, picking accuracy at 99.995%, doubled number of lines picked per hour…and more!

There are two ways that distribution operations can increase a company's bottom-line: 1) increase sales, and 2) decrease costs. In order to achieve either of these goals, supply chain professionals must finely tune interdependent areas of focus: processes, people, inventory, facility and systems. Part Two of this two paper series outlines the seven steps for a successful operations improvement project - from developing a mission statement and goals to developing and analyzing options. It also addresses an approach to estimating resources needed to ensure the project is a success.

There are two ways that distribution operations can increase a company's bottom-line: 1) increase sales, and 2) decrease costs. In order to achieve either of these goals, supply chain professionals must finely tune interdependent areas of focus: processes, people, inventory, facility and systems. Part One of this two paper series discusses the specific business goals achievable through a properly-run operations improvement project and outlines an approach to "fine-tuning" each of the areas of improvement and understanding their interdependencies.

The buzzword intent of flow path design is to raise the level of both awareness and analysis to a more strategic level in designing your supply chain. By taking a more strategic view than traditional approaches, organizations are better suited to invest more wisely in infrastructure and prevent deteriorating levels of performance in spite of the best of intentions. While not a panacea, flow path design provides a compelling alternative approach to propel your organization to supply chain excellence.

In some cases, the most effective means to increase efficiencies across both replenishment and picking operations is through the proper sizing of pick locations. Technology can be a huge investment in time and money and also may not address more easily corrected factors affecting productivity. However, an analysis and implementation of the proper size of pick and reserve media for your distribution center will yield information that can dramatically improve replenishment and pick productivity.

Few supply chain decisions will dramatically impact your day to day business, overall company financial health and customer relations more than selecting and implementing a warehouse management or supply chain execution system. Today, the lines between traditional "ERP" and "WMS" vendors are blurring. This white paper offers real-life suggestions for determining the best value for your supply chain execution system dollar. It offers a roadmap to evaluate your existing ERP's warehousing management module vs. best of breed supply chain execution systems.

Many of today's distribution professionals use the terms "profiling" and "slotting" interchangeably. While these are definitely complementary activities, they are different in terms of scope and value to the overall operation. This white paper is designed to clarify the intended purpose of each activity and explain how continuous optimization of your picking operations can occur when the activities are used in conjunction.

The design of any supply chain must take into account the balance of customer service and cost. On the surface this might seem to be a simple task. However, design decisions are complex due to multiple, underlying variables. Likewise, the balance of these variables must also take into account a view of future needs and alternatives that will drive various options in how best to develop a flexible, cost-effective, service oriented, "implementable" supply chain design.

To be successful in today's challenging business environment, it is vital to understand the inter-related nature of all supply chain improvement projects. Central to any undertaking is the need to avoid addressing issues singularly – in a vacuum – and to focus on balancing your processes, systems, people and assets. This white paper provides real-world examples on how to optimize your distribution center by profiling your inventory, selecting the most appropriate storage media, and reducing labor costs by designing efficient processes within a well-organized facility.

This white paper is a proven roadmap for a superior distribution network design and strategy that will enable your company to minimize operating costs and tax burden, maximize customer service, and improve flexibility to adjust to changes in business strategy and growth.