Innovative Workforce Scheduling for Warehousing Webinar Recap

About the webinar

During the webinar, we explored the robust features of our software and highlighted its seamless integration with existing systems, setting a new standard of scheduling excellence. Moreover, inspiring case studies were presented, showcasing real-world impacts and advantages of our solution. Key topics addressed in the webinar were:

• A presentation on industry challenges
• ORTEC Workforce for Warehousing proposition as a solution for these challenges and hurdles
• Q&A – open discussion

Why You Should Watch

The webinar aimed to demonstrate how our solution can transform scheduling approaches, empowering warehouses to:

• Utilize AI for precise capacity calculations and optimal staff deployment
• Coordinate tasks efficiently from a centralized platform
• Benefit from user-friendly actionable guidance driven by AI
• Bridge the gap between warehouse needs and temp agency resources

Missed the webinar? Watch it now and gain valuable insights into navigating workforce scheduling complexities while increasing warehouse efficiency.

12 Questions answered about Workforce Scheduling for Warehousing

1. We have already tried a different optimizer once, what does this new optimizer have that the previous one didn't?
   The OWW Optimizer is designed to enhance scheduling efficiency on a grand scale. Unlike other optimizers that focus on optimizing schedules within a single department, this one takes a holistic approach. It generates a schedule for multiple departments simultaneously, accommodating hundreds or even thousands of employees. This cross-departmental optimization not only streamlines the allocation of shifts but also strategically manages the borrowing and lending of capacity among departments.
   By considering the organization as a whole, rather than in isolated segments, the Optimizer unlocks potential efficiencies that can only be realized when viewing the entire site's operations. Furthermore, it addresses and eliminates the common challenges associated with decentralized scheduling—challenges such as management fragmentation and the complexities of interdepartmental collaboration.
   In essence, our Optimizer is a comprehensive solution that fosters a more unified, collaborative, and efficient scheduling process across the entire organization.
2. Is there an opportunity in future that OWW does support forecasting using AI, since a reliable forecast is essential to the planning?
   The integration of AI-driven forecasting into OWW is indeed on our radar. We're actively developing a domain for Workload Calculation, which we plan to launch this year and deliver next year. This is a significant step towards incorporating forecasting capabilities. Beyond Workforce Scheduling for Warehousing, ORTEC also specializes in custom-built forecasting algorithms, which could complement OWW if needed tomorrow.
3. What with requirements by law? For example contract lenths, publish period?
   ORTEC's OWW software currently supports labor laws from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. We're committed to adapting to new markets, and for any new customers, we will incorporate their local labor regulations, including contract lengths and publishing periods.
4. How is the employee interaction supported? Is there app for it? How can an employee accept or decline a task which is available?
   The employee interaction is foreseen through our Employee Self Service mobile application which allows the employee to post requests on when to work or not work, requesting leave, applying for additional shifts, Swapping shifts with colleagues. And in all these possibilities the employee will be limited to the rules that are applicable, and the required skills in order to prevent roster changes that we don’t want.
5. What do you consider to be the most innovative part of OWW compared to other planning software Ortec already offers to clients?
   I could give multiple different answers to this question, arguing with different unique characteristics. The most innovative aspect of OWW, in my view, is its centralized scheduling approach, which optimizes staffing across departments. This focus allows for the most efficient use of in-house employees before turning to additional temp workers, which can provide significant cost savings.
6. Can we extract the data to Excel?
   OWW includes default Excel export capabilities for data analysis. More dynamically, our open API permits direct data retrieval for use with advanced analytics tools like PowerBI, offering deeper insights and facilitating long-term planning strategies.
7. Curious if you can run reports or have access to the data over time to gain even more insights. For instance, which skill are you consistently lacking which will be send to the temp agency but might be more profitable over time to train a fixed employee or hire a fixed employee with the skill?
   Answer will be provided soon.
8. Based on the business case presented, how many employees (as minimum) do you need to plan to have a good business case purchasing OWW?
   For businesses with 200 or more employees, OWW presents a robust business case. The complexity of scheduling at this scale becomes cumbersome with manual methods like Excel, making OWW a cost-effective and efficiency-driving solution.
9. Does OWW register all planning relevant data e.g. shifts, working hours, fte%, comptences, etc for each individual? If so, does this require a new administrative data base or can OWW be interfaced with an HR system or a time management system?
   OWW can manage and record all planning-relevant data, such as shifts, working hours, FTE percentages, and competencies, either natively or via integration with other systems through our open API. This streamlines administration without the need for redundant data entry.
10. Based on the knowledge of previous implementations of OWW, how long will a implementation take when e.g. only 50% of data is available (especially on skill registration)?
    If only 50% of the data is available, it's crucial to obtain the remaining data that's relevant for scheduling to fully realize the benefits of automation and optimization. As for implementation, the process is swift since OWW is specifically designed for warehousing scheduling and requires minimal custom configuration. We just need the customer-specific data, parameters, and integration setup.
11. How much effort will it take to manage the skills of employees?
    Managing employee skills is straightforward with OWW. Each team leader has access to a "team skills" feature within the software, which provides a clear overview of the team members and their skills and allows for easy updating of skills and skill-levels.
12. Does this solution change the way of working with my interim agencies? Will I get more control over the entire workforce scheduling process?
    Yes, this solution will indeed transform how you collaborate with your interim agencies, enhancing your control over the entire workforce scheduling process. With our platform, each interim request is matched with the appropriate skills, which are consistently managed and aligned with the task requirements. Moreover, the platform allows you to manage preferences for interim positions, enabling you to guide the selection of temporary workers according to your specific needs and preferences. Beyond increased control, this system streamlines the process, accelerates operations, and fosters mutual understanding of needs and availabilities between you and the interim agencies. This approach ensures a more efficient and effective collaboration.