Introduce a clean workflow with Streamliner

This document provides hands-on guidelines to ensure an efficient and transparent workflow in Streamliner for all stakeholders, involving various departments such as Order Management, Dispatching/Gatehouse and Warehousing and your stakeholders. This document serves as an operational guide to maintain clean, consistent processes within Streamliner.

1. Order management. 

1.1. Monitor for Late or Non-Delivery.

Access the ‘Orders’ overview. In Streamliner, orders are grouped by their foreseen delivery date. By reviewing this daily, you can identify:

1. Order NOT scheduled for delivery. This requires proactive follow-up. 

The third bullet ‘Shipments booked’ is not set. 

Example: 

• Supplier did not take initiative to plan a delivery for order PO_20240401-02
• Carrier did not take initiative to plan a delivery for order PO_20240401-04

You will know in advance that these goods will not be delivered on the expected date.

2. Consult the planned delivery slot for scheduled orders

Orders such as PO-20220915-002 have their delivery slots already defined, allowing you to track and adjust as needed.

Proactive Delivery Planning: Monitor orders not scheduled for delivery so you can initiate discussions and avoid unexpected delays.

1.2. Clean up orders with Past Expected Delivery Dates. 

Address outdated orders: Orders with past expected delivery dates should be reviewed. It’s an order that is too late, delivered without shipment or deleted/cancelled in your ERP. All three cases need your attention. 

• Late Orders: Reach out to suppliers to confirm new delivery dates.
• Delivered without Shipment: Coordinate with operations to create a shipment if a truck arrives without an appointment. This ensures that all shipments and capacity usage are properly tracked and visible. You can set the order to complete if it’s completed in your ERP. 
• Deleted or Cancelled Orders in your ERP: Delete or cancel the order manually in Streamliner.

1.3. Package management. 

Apply the same principles to packages: If your system imports packages instead of orders, ensure that you manage them with the same diligence as orders to prevent issues with deliveries and expectations.

2. Gatehouse operations. 

Ensure that gatehouse procedures are in line with corporate governance and focus on efficient yard management.

2.1. Time management for Truck arrivals

• Define clear rules to manage late and early arrivals.
  • Advice: You configured a specific duration of your timeslots. Typically 15 min, 30 min or 1 hour. Evaluate ‘Too Early’ or ‘Too late’ as: ‘More than 1 timeslot before current time’. 
• Specify who decides if a truck without an appointment, or that is too late/early, may access the yard. And set a clear rule to the limit of the allowed capacity. 
• Advice to handle Early arrivals:
  • Set the arrived timestamp
  • Edit shipment and move to the first possible timeslot before the planned timeslot, respecting the maximum, agreed capacity. 
  • Let truck wait until his planned timeslot if shipment can’t be planned before that timeslot. 
  • Log the issue ‘Too Early’
• Advice to handle Late arrivals:
  • Set the arrived timestamp
  • Edit shipment and move to the first possible timeslot respecting the maximum, agreed capacity. 
  • Communicate new timeslot to driver.
  • Log the issue ‘Too late’ and add comment if appropriate.
• Capacity Considerations: Ensure that the arrival of trucks without an appointment, or trucks arriving outside of their scheduled timeslot, is managed within the capacity limits of your yard. A free gate does not mean that early or late trucks should be admitted.

2.2. Golden rules for a clean workflow

• Prioritize On-Time Arrivals: Ensure that trucks arriving on time are prioritized for processing.
• Create Shipments for Unscheduled Trucks: If a truck arrives without an appointment but is allowed entry, create a shipment immediately to ensure proper tracking.
• Use Real-Time Timestamping: Always log the actual arrival and departure times in real-time to maintain accurate records.
• Consistent Use of "Too Late" and "Too Early" Tags: Be diligent in marking shipments with these issues to maintain transparency.

3. Warehouse operations

The warehouse plays a crucial role in ensuring that all open shipments are properly managed and closed out. 

Daily review: At the end of the day or at the start of the next workday, check for any open shipments. Any shipment left open from the previous day needs immediate action to ensure it is not left unattended. Remember that orders, packages and shipments are SHARED with your stakeholders. Ensure your data is accurate to foster trust and collaboration. 

• Mark as complete: Once a truck has been loaded or unloaded and has left the premises, mark the shipment as complete to close the loop in the system.
• Verify Timestamps: Ensure that the timestamps accurately reflect the actual loading and unloading times. Adjust manually if necessary to maintain accuracy. 
• No-Shows: Mark a shipment as "No Show" and cancel it if the truck did not arrive as scheduled.
• Handling Issues: If there were problems during loading or unloading, document them and cancel the shipment if necessary (e.g., if the truck left the yard without completing the operation).

Conclusion

By adhering to these guidelines, you can ensure a clean, efficient workflow in Streamliner that fosters transparency with your stakeholders and across departments. A well-maintained system enables better communication, trust, and customer success, ultimately contributing to smoother operations.