Quality in logistics – what is important?

Logistics differs from sector to sector: in mechanical engineering, a low error rate during order picking and the ability to pick very small parts and a wide variety of quantities are important. In bike logistics, on the other hand, the professional storage of bikes and safe transport without damage play a major role. All sectors have quality requirements – albeit different ones. However, quality plays a special, even more important role in medical technology logistics. Here, flawless quality must be ensured at all times in order to guarantee the functionality and safety of medical equipment.

Quality management is of great importance in logistics

Quality is delivered by those who fully fulfil customer requirements.

Schäflein AG takes over part of the production process in the manufacture of dialysis machines and delivers the finished housings to the customer’s production line. Inspection equipment is a constant companion during the assembly of the highly sensitive medical products: with the help of templates and other sensitive measuring equipment, the employees check whether the components have arrived from the supplier in the right quality. No recess, no thread must be missing, even minimal paint damage must be recognised. The company’s own work steps are also constantly monitored with the help of checklists. They are integrated into a complete checklist structure that creates transparency and certainty for all steps in the process chain.

In production supply, the credo is: the right parts in the right quantity at the right place at the right time. As part of this service, Schäflein assembles 10,000 different components at the Röthlein site to meet the specific daily requirements of a mechanical engineering company in Schweinfurt. Extreme care is required here, as errors can bring entire production lines to a standstill.

Cooperation and security for more quality in logistics

However, it is not just about minimising the error rate, but also about making the details of the infrastructure more efficient and effective. And this requires observation and the active involvement of all employees and managers – only in this way can the quality of logistics be permanently ensured and further developed.

Safety at the site and at the workplaces in the logistics halls also plays a decisive role. Is a pallet in the wrong place, is something lying around, are the workstations tidy? Disorganisation and non-compliance with structures lead to errors. It is therefore important that daily work in the logistics halls is subject to certain processes that must be strictly adhered to.

In order to continuously ensure quality in order picking, delivery and storage, these processes must be carefully thought out and adhered to by people, machines and systems. However, these processes are designed with several aspects in mind: While the lowest possible error rate and the safe storage, removal and loading of goods are of course always prioritised, the safety of employees plays the most central role. Hazardous situations must therefore always be avoided from the ground up in the Schäflein logistics centres.

Different goods – different requirements

While logistics for small parts often requires a high degree of transparency in order to fulfil the customer’s logistics quality requirements, there is often a higher risk of damage with large unit loads. The removal and delivery of screws, gaskets, workpieces and other small parts must therefore be precisely controlled, especially during order picking, using various techniques and systems such as weighing and machine learning.

The storage and delivery of large palletised goods requires a sense of care and accuracy – especially when they are picked, packed and loaded using special forklift trucks. At the same time, a certain speed must be ensured, especially when demand is high. It is therefore important to find a balance between damage-free and safe movement of the load and speed. This is precisely why it is so important that logistics service providers can rely on specialised personnel who know how to operate the relevant equipment. In addition, transport routes and removal processes in the logistics hall itself must be well organised, safe and efficient. This prevents accidents and delays.

Overall, processes, technology and, above all, employee expertise play the key roles when it comes to quality in procurement logistics. These three pillars ensure that customers’ goods are stored, removed, picked and delivered correctly so that production processes run smoothly.