MHI Solutions Improving Supply Chain Performance
By Michael Mikitka
Annually, for the past 18 years, the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) has undertaken a benchmarking study, DC Measures, to determine which warehousing and distribution performance metrics are most used by operations managers in facilities nationwide. Conducted every January, the research seeks to eradicate bad warehousing practices by asking respondents to report their actual levels of performance for key operational metrics.
Working together for nearly a decade on this study is our research team:
• Joseph Tillman, WERC Researcher and Founder of T-Squared Logistics
• Donnie Williams, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Logistics/Supply Chain Management and Executive Director of the Supply Chain Management Research Center in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas
• Karl Manrodt, PhD, Professor of Logistics and Director of the Master of Logistics and Supply Chain Management Online Program in the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business at Georgia College & State University
The trio purposely seeks out respondent demographics covering a range of industries, annual sales figures, number of locations, types of goods handled, and customer profiles to yield a broad representative data set. They focus their analysis on two benchmarks—median performance and best practice performance—based on a five-point maturity scale that represents the journey from major opportunity to best practice. The findings are then analyzed and compiled into a comprehensive report available for purchase, as well as a free summary of the highlights (the 2020 editions are available at werc.org/DCMeasures).
How this research benefits you
The findings in DC Measures provides key information to the industry that we believe is not only insightful, but also useful to the many different stakeholders in our field.
DC Measures helps our members, the majority of whom are industry practitioners, to better understand which of 34 key operational metrics help a warehousing or distribution facility best meet the overarching goals of their organization. Some companies also use the DC Measures research to align their corporate strategy with that of their third-party logistics (3PL) services providers.