The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify possible losses in the working method of material handling in a customer-controlled manufacturing warehouse. Based on this study, proposed measures will be developed to streamline the working method with focus on reducing lead times for material extraction in the supply unit in the warehouse.

Thus, two issues have been raised which read:

1.      What losses can be identified regarding the internal material handling between goods receipt and material supply unit?

2.      How can the cycle times for picking materials be reduced?

To create a basis for improvement proposals, work routines and working methods at the company’s warehouse have been observed and compiled. Through in-depth study of relevant theories, an increased insight into approaches and analysis methods has been obtained about the problem area. With the collected data through the observations and theoretical framework, the study has arrived at proposed measures that theoretically contribute to more efficient material handling.

The result shows losses in the form of unnecessary movement and transport when extracting materials from stock. With various tools within Lean, figures have been produced to prove the identified losses. The root causes of the waste have been linked to a non-standardized method in material placement and an illogical warehouse layout. 

Kitron’s total stocking consists of three different warehouses, all of which store different types of materials and use different stocking methods. The warehouse that the study is about is a high-rise warehouse that stores materials that are used for the production department where the customers’ end products are manufactured. This type of production consists mainly of mechanically manufactured parts and articles that have some form of processing before it arrives to Kitron.