Mallory Jones
CUR/528
January 18, 2021
Siddeeqah Johnson
Purpose
In recent months, the company has decided on a phased implementation of a new application to replace the existing warehouse inventory system currently employed by our distribution division. The inventory database application is responsible not only for managing inventory levels, but also for processing orders. Order information is entered into the system by Wave Clerks who interact directly with customers, which then filters down to numerous departments that must process the orders correctly based on the given requirements. In the South Hill Distribution Center (DC) alone, the system needs to manage an inventory level that can reach as high as ten million units in stock. Additionally, the system must accurately receive and ship a monthly volume that can exceed a million units during peak operations. As the existing application is rapidly approaching its end-of-life and will no longer receive vendor support by 2023. This will of course entail training existing personnel to integrate the system into their daily duties. It will also involve preparing any new-hires to begin their careers with the company. Before such a curriculum can even enter the design phase, a needs assessment (NA) should be performed in order to establish the project requirements.
Needs Assessment
As the NA will inform the curriculum design for the training course, three key elements must be considered: the goals of the NA, the main participants, and the overall project plan. The data collected during the NA will dictate not only which training modules the company will need to invest in but provide a rough estimate of how long the training will require per DC.
Goals
The primary objectives of the NA include determining the structure of the training course, establishing exactly which employees will benefit most from the retraining, and understanding the timeframe and budget constraints for the project. The new application’s vendor will of course provide training materials and instructors, but OJG needs to determine which of the course modules are to be included to meet the company’s needs as defined.
Participants
This project will affect the entire distribution division and will have an impact on any employee that regularly interacts with the database. Associates use hand scanners loaded with the database to receive goods into stock, locate goods to the storage racks, and assign them to orders for shipping, while Team Leads, Supervisors and Managers use the system to monitor inventory levels, address issues that arise with order processing, and monitor worker productivity. For the purposes of this assessment, the stakeholders will include both those mentioned above, and the appropriate OJG executives.
Project Plan
The main focus of this NA is a fact-finding project to be conducted in-house by company employees to drive the project requirements for a new training course. As a result, it will consist of a survey generated by the company, to be distributed to company employees via the company Intranet. The survey form will be emailed to each facility’s Operations Manager, who will them print and distribute them to their Managers and Supervisors. The subjects will return the completed forms to their Ops Manager, who will then have them scanned and emailed back to the project leader. The project leader will then analyze the data and present the preliminary results to the stakeholders to get their feedback before drafting a final report. Due to Social Distancing restrictions, the presentation should employ as much virtual technology as possible.
| Budget | |
|---|---|
| Labor | |
| Produce survey handouts (2 wks) | $2,320.00 |
| Collect data for five Distribution Centers (1wk) | $7,200.00 |
| Analyze data for five Distribution Centers (1wk) | $1,200.00 |
| Provide preliminary results to stakeholders (1wk) | $1,200.00 |
| Distribute formal results (1wk) | $1,200.00 |
| Resources | |
| Office Supplies | $50.00 |
| Videoconference expenses | $400.00 |
| Total | $13,573.00 |
| Timeline | |
|---|---|
| 02/01 – 02/05 | Establish NA parameters |
| 02/08 – 02/12 | Design methodology/tools |
| 02/15 – 02/26 | Collect/analyze data |
| 03/01-03/05 | Prepare report |
| 03/08 | Issue preliminary results |
| 03/15 | Issue final results |
Methodology
In order to determine requirements for the training program, a survey of Distribution Supervisors and Managers will be distributed via the company intranet with a deadline for responses. The survey will be emailed to each DC’s Operations Manager, who will then produce handouts to be distributed to the remaining Managers and Supervisors. The Supervisors will then complete the surveys and return them to the Operations Manager. The survey will take the form of a brief questionnaire that will consist primarily of questions that can be easily quantified such as yes/no and scaled opinion ratings. It will also include at least one section for additional feedback.
Once the response deadline has passed, the project leader will integrate all available response data into a presentation to be delivered before a review committee. Said committee will then begin to formulate the requirements for the new application training course. The careful collection and review of data will allow for the training course to proceed as efficiently as possible, without undue capital expenditures or wasted time. Once the curriculum’s requirements have been defined, the results will be passed to the vendor to begin the process of customizing the training courses. The courses themselves will be taught at only one location at a time, with feedback from each set of learners being assessed to make adjustments for the next session.
Inventory Database Training Survey
One Jeanswear Group
Name: __________________________________
Position:________________________________
Location: ________________________________
Email: ___________________________________
Phone: __________________________________
The following questionnaire is designed to assess only those personnel that access the Inventory database in the course of their daily duties, including:
- Supervisors
- Team Leads
- Auditors
- Clerks
- Material Handlers/IVO drivers
- Warehouse Associates
It does not apply to Maintenance and Custodial personnel. Please complete the survey and submit it to your Operations Manager by end-of day on Friday.
Please mark only one answer:
- On average, how many full-time associates fall under your supervision?
a) 1-5
b) 5-10
c) 10-15
d) 20 or more - How many Team Leads fall under your supervision?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4 or more - How many of your associates were hired within the last twelve months?
a) 1-5
b) 5-10
c) 10-15 - How many of your subordinates have access to a dedicated workstation?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4 or more - How many of your subordinates have access to a hand scanner?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4 or more - Name the database application feature you find most helpful:
- Name the database application feature you find least helpful:
- Name the database application feature your department finds most helpful:
- Name the database application feature your department finds least helpful:
Please rate the following tasks in order of importance as they pertain to your department. Mark only one. - My department(s) generate snapshots.
0 – Almost never
1 – Only monthly
2 – Only weekly
3 – Only daily
4 – Hourly
5 – Several times an hour
11. My department(s) consume(s) LPNs.
0 – Almost never
1 – Only monthly
2 – Only weekly
3 – Only daily
4 – Hourly
5 – Several times an hour
12. My department(s) palletize for shipping.
0 – Almost never
1 – Only monthly
2 – Only weekly
3 – Only daily
4 – Hourly
5 – Several times an hour
13. My department(s) receive goods/palletize for inventory.
0 – Almost never
1 – Only monthly
2 – Only weekly
3 – Only daily
4 – Hourly
5 – Several times an hour
14. My department(s) transport palletized goods from one location to another.
0 – Almost never
1 – Only monthly
2 – Only weekly
3 – Only daily
4 – Hourly
5 – Several times an hour
Mallory Jones 