Case Studies
Meet the Apprentice: Himanshu – GXO Logistics
Meet the Apprentice: Himanshu, GXO Logistics
GXO Logistics help customers get the most out of their supply chain by improving the
flow of goods from e-commerce fulfilment and flexible distribution to warehouse and
reverse logistics. We have worked closely with GXO Logistics on operational
improvement by providing an effective lean course for their key employees in the
form of apprenticeships. We caught up with one of their apprentices, Himanshu…
What’s your current role and what was your apprenticeship?
My name is Himanshu Patel, Dispatch Manager for GXO Logistics. I started my Improving Operational Performance (IOP) apprenticeship two years ago with CQM Training and Consultancy which I have now completed. I’ve found this lean course to be really engaging and worthwhile.
What has been your biggest takeaway?
Personally, I think the idea of Lean Six Sigma and doing the lean course has been brilliant, it has completely changed the way I look at things. I think everyone should do a lean course, it’s not just about your working life but also your personal life. I am using tools that I have learned from this every day, I now look at the data in everything before making a judgement. I also believe the culture change that this lean course has brought about will stay, as we all look at tasks differently.
Can you tell is a bit more about your operational improvement
project?
We recognised a possible operational improvement by packaging with larger boxes for our end customer. Before my apprenticeship we were using small boxes for shipping and although these boxes were cheaper and seemed like better
value, we could only fit a fraction of the number of products as we could ship with larger boxes. We forecast that increasing the box size would return a saving of around £50,000 each year.
We also trialled this in terms of storage and have reached the conclusion that we can also fit more stock in the warehouse too. After working out the numbers we forwarded our idea to our end customer that would also have to adapt for the change to large boxes, but the end goal would be to save money for them too, as the savings can be passed down the line.
The only issue we faced was our customer would need to contact their suppliers and make sure they were set up for the change, as they would need the resources to adapt to the larger boxes. It was also high on our priorities that this change would not cause any health and safety issues at their end.
“The team have been extremely engaged, with a strong can do attitude and the support from Conor has been great, he communicated regularly with myself to make
sure everything was on track.
The projects changed with the learning process, the idea was that we don’t just stick to one plan and now the apprenticeship has finished we will be revisiting some of
these other ideas that we didn’t focus on. We are already seeing new operational improvement projects coming through.
We also plan on using our people that have gone through this lean course to teach others within the business for a solid culture change.”
In addition to the £50,000 cost saving, were there any other benefits of your operational improvement project?
We also adjusted the layout of the warehouse, this allowed us to increase the number of boxes we scanned each hour by 5-10, which over time adds up to a significant improvement as well as being more consistent. We recognised this possible improvement by assessing the process step by step, and when taking a closer look, we realised that some of these were duplicated, so we removed these also.
Working together
The dynamic collaboration between GXO Logistics and CQM T&C has delivered dramatic results, both financially, and in behaviour and culture. We work closely with all our partners to deliver guaranteed return on investment, as they strive for Operational Excellence. While the Improving Operational Performance Level 2 apprenticeship framework is no longer deliverable, we do specialise in lean six sigma, with multiple lean courses available through our apprenticeships and training programmes.
All of us at CQM Training & Consultancy are pleased to see the fantastic results of this Improving Operational Performance Level 2 cohort and would like to congratulate Himanshu on completing his apprenticeship.
If you’d like to find out more about the Improvement Technician Level 3 (Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt) apprenticeship please click the button below or contact us.