Do it Best touts efficiency
ORLANDO, FLORIDA— In early March, Do it Best created a new position with the efficiency-evoking title of “member operational excellence manager.”
Filling this role is Scott Morrison, an industry veteran whose extensive career includes a similar role held recently with Kodiak Building Partners.
Here at the Do it Best and True Value Spring Market, Morrison highlights some of the key areas where he and his team might reduce inefficiencies and streamline processes, ultimately improving productivity and profitability.
“Efficiency is so important to your operation,” he told a crowd of dealers assembled for an early morning LBM presentation. “What's your number one cost in your organization? It's people. And so what I do and our team does is we work on those efficiencies to help you and help your people improve day after day.”
For lumberyards, one of the key areas of Morrison’s focus is truck turn times, described as the amount of time it takes for a truck to come in the yard, get the next load, and get back out. “What if that truck gets out in 15 minutes or less?” Morrison said. “That’s going to create a lot of opportunities. And now more gross dollars are dropping through because you've got that extra delivery going out.”
Forklift travel is another lumberyard focus, and reducing the vast distances a forklift travels over the course of the year can be a major productivity booster. Morrison pointed to an example of one yard where forklift travel measured 18,000 miles over a two-year period. “And guess what? Their number one product was one of the farthest distances from their loading area,” he said.
“If you think about it, where do I put my most important, my highest volume, my highest-touch items?” he asked. “They’re supposed to be close to where you're staging and loading your trucks.”
Efficient truck turns and forklift loading can also reduce overtime costs, he said.
Beyond operations, Morrison also examines business processes such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, sales, and order entry. He emphasizes the need for a fresh perspective, as business leaders can sometimes become too immersed in daily operations to see inefficiencies. “It's not that you're doing a bad job,” he notes. “It's just that you're too busy. We bring a different point of view and create an actionable, measurable, and accountable plan to help improve your business.”
Manufacturing companies also benefit from Morrison’s expertise. The methodology remains similar, but the focus shifts to identifying bottlenecks in production lines. Whether it's a pre-hung door, a truss, or a wall panel, Morrison and his team assess where delays occur and work to eliminate them. Defects, errors, and the resulting rework are also key areas of concern, as they contribute to increased costs and inefficiencies.
Morrison challenged the common mindset that a business may not need to examine efficiencies. “Every business has waste,” he asserts. “Every operation has inefficiencies, and our job is to identify and reduce or eliminate them. We don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach; we tailor our recommendations to each company’s specific needs and pain points.”
It’s a message suited for the highly competitive field of hardware and building supply.
“If businesses are not evolving and changing, then you're going to fall behind.“
