We love it when a plan works out. In logistics, a good plan is one that can be adapted quickly and flexibly. Because only then, you can respond well to sudden changes. Only then, you can remain profitable when processing unexpected peaks in demand. Be it because an influencer is promoting a beverage or the Olympic Games are taking place. Or because a pandemic creates chaos in your processes. The workforce management tool must provide the necessary ability. But what does agile workforce planning really mean and how can you benefit from it? We show you, based on the example of EDEKA, one of our customers.

Agile workforce planning …

… saves time creating plans

EDEKA employs full-time and part-time workers as well as students. The latter are hired primarily for peak periods such as Christmas and Easter. This diverse personnel structure adds a certain level of complexity to labor planning. In the past, the planner had to contact many people, find out who is available and when, deal with different personal requests, and manage everything in Excel sheets. Changes at short notice such as sick leaves made this planning process even more difficult. Thanks to redPILOT, plans are now created with just one click precisely where and when needed. Since the personnel required can be determined so precisely, the quality of the planning process increases tremendously.

… enables communication through the app

Shift plans can be viewed in teamAPP. Also if a worker unexpectedly cannot work a shift, this open shift is posted on the app. Colleagues can see on their smartphone when they can apply for a shift. Only employees with the right competences receive the information and can apply directly via the teamAPP for this shift. The planner only needs to accept the change in redPILOT. Thus, the entry is automatically saved and the plan updated.

… boosts employee motivation

Employees’ competencies are managed transparently in redPILOT and are automatically taken into consideration when shift plans are created. This means that employees are primarily and justifiably assigned those tasks that best suit them. This boosts average performance along with employee satisfaction. What’s more, legal and operational framework conditions (e.g. maximum number of working hours, job rotation) are integral parts of redPILOT and automatically taken into consideration.

… increases performance

redPILOT constantly alerts the people responsible at EDEKA if bottlenecks or overcapacities in the warehouse arise and where they are. All warehouse system’s data is constantly analyzed. redPILOT also suggests alternative strategies to the
people responsible. This way, planners and shift leaders can quickly and easily decide which operator should be reassigned to work at which system component. Bottlenecks are managed optimally, while overcapacities and idle times are eliminated. This continuous online optimization raises the overall performance of the warehouse.

… decreases operating costs

Shift models can be created more flexibly and planned to meet specific requirements. Excessive planning for unexpected fluctuations becomes almost unnecessary or is even completely eliminated. The quality of the planning process is improved as well as personnel allocation and system utilization. This naturally translates into reduced operating costs.

… supports decision making

Managers always have an overview of the efforts for each process step, allowing them to work towards sustainable improvements. Potential for savings can be immediately identified thanks to integrated, end-to-end activity-based costing. How much does a pick cost at which work station? This is not a theoretical calculation, but one that is generated automatically based on the processing time needed in real life.

… leverages cross-site learnings

EDEKA has many locations with similar logistics applications; the processes can be perfectly compared in terms of numbers, data and facts for improvements in best practice approaches that are supported by the system.

… enables variable supply in perfect timing

The system at EDEKA is designed to be operated efficiently year-round and to flexibly respond to peak periods. This helps our longstanding partner sort the returned empties in a timely manner and to supply them by beverage producer.