How can you use Kanban to manage multiple warehouses?

From experience you want a pull system, not a push system for inventory. You have to calculate the usage of the inventory (high volume/low volume usage). There's advanced ways to do this like our grocery stores use computer applications for reorder. For smaller organizations, reorder point Kanban cards work well. Avoid too much inventory of course. Standardize a system to use at multiple sites and always be open to improvements.

When setting up Kanban, I have learned that it is much cheaper to demonstrate the operation through live operator simulation, in the presence of engineers, coaches, and leadership. This can be performed on cardboard setups, or paper cutouts. It can be a good visual to see how things will work, or not work, before moving large machines, or making significant changes. Additionally, it engages the teams into problem solving communication before they actually start running. Many times, figures like OEE, or other assumptions are not well understood, and can cause teams to set inventory levels too low, which can discourage the teams. The goal should always be to drive inventory lower, but that doesn't just happen without systemic change.

Kanban is a popular method of managing inventory and workflow in a variety of industries. When managing multiple warehouses, creating a separate Kanban board for each location can help track inventory levels and ensure that items are in the right place. Assigning inventory items to each board, setting limits for each column, and using visual cues to track inventory levels are important steps in the process. It is also important to use a centralized inventory system to track inventory levels across all warehouses and continuously improve the Kanban process to optimize inventory levels and reduce waste.

One thing that I have learned here is the importance of a good manufacturing plan. When teams take the time to get ahead on the layout of the standard work, amount of machines required, and work combinations, it goes a long way. If our takt is 60 seconds, can our machines run to that? Do we need 1.3 machines, or can we get by with 1, with some technology investment? Are the machines going to be the right size and shape for our standard work combinations? Are they too loud? The more time that we have ahead of them showing up to work these issues the better the chance for success.

One thing that I have learned that is very simple, and yet not always understood is that lead time equals inventory dollars. Example: if I ship 100 dollars per day, and my lead time is 5 days, I must hold 500 dollars per day in inventory, just to protect that lead time. If we can reduce the lead cycle down to 3 days, we can also reduce inventory. Scale this up to large corporations that ship half way around the world and back, multiple times per week, and this becomes millions, even billions, really quickly. There are many levers to pull, when setting up pull, or flow systems, but this one of them.

Effective daily management and a good response system is very important to keeping the system moving. When teams encounter problems, and cannot produce, it consumes safety stock. The longer it takes to reinstate normal, the more statistical variation we have and the higher the inventory levels must be. The goal of an efficient flow system is to reduce inventory, but reducing inventory reveals all the problems that hide behind that inventory, which requires problem solving and quick response. Many companies make the decision to reduce inventory without understanding that for this to be successful, they must solve problems that have been tolerated for a very long time. This is not easy to do, but very rewarding for those who do.

The cultural change of the team during a lean transformation is the most important part. These teams must learn to treat each other with respect, still speak candidly, and solve problems. They must become focused and execute constantly. This takes a lot of investment by everyone involved. The teams should be included in everything. A lean transformation isn't just leadership, it is the whole team. People must learn to work together and believe in the change, but if done correctly yields great dividends.

Kanban is a Japanese ???? word, kanban literally translates to "visual signal." For kanban teams, every work item is represented as a separate card on the board. The main purpose of representing work as a card on the kanban board is to allow team members to track the progress of work through its workflow in a highly visual manner. Deploying Kanban in a multiple warehouse is critical towards productive value chain warehousing and distribution operation, you need to identify the inventory items and processes that you want to manage with kanban, determine the optimal inventory levels and reorder points for each item and process and design and deploy the kanban signals