Ask most distribution and fulfillment (D&F) operators when they conduct most of their optimization processes and you’ll probably hear something about the peak season. It’s the most critical time of the year — especially in the current economic environment — and it’s putting most operations we’re hearing from under more pressure than ever.

Peak is still the time of year that drives most short-term equipment readiness efforts. But what does it really mean to be in peak anymore? Many operations managers are telling us they’ve been running like it’s peak most of the time since 2020.

In a recent On The Move webinar, we discussed some of the most effective ways to get your operation in shape for peak. But we also looked at a bigger picture: easy and cost-effective steps you can take to thrive during the other 10 months of the year.

The Belts We’re Tightening Aren’t Just on the Conveyor Line

Budgets are tight. Vendor demands are rising. Good talent is hard to find (and even harder to keep). Yet operations that plan are rising above all these challenges to achieve realistic and measurable goals without breaking the bank. They’re boosting throughput, uptime, productivity and order accuracy while optimizing headcount — becoming more profitable in the process.

How are they doing it? By preparing effectively for peak, then keeping the momentum going at a steady and sustainable pace.

Whether you do it yourself or work with experts from Honeywell Intelligrated’s Lifecycle Support Services (LSS) team, the journey begins with fundamental steps that get you to healthy and reliable equipment — including many of the steps you may already be doing to get your operation ready for peak. That gives you a baseline to progress toward operational excellence, but it doesn’t stop there. When you keep the momentum going, you can start planning for the long term, finding ways to do more with fewer resources.

During the live webinar, we focused on some of the key steps along the way, including:

• Ensuring you have the parts on hand you need to prevent unnecessary downtime
• Strategies to boost your team’s skills and fill competency gaps, while increasing employee engagement and retention by up to 50%
• Why a short-term maintenance labor augmentation can be much more than a quick fix
• Where to turn when you need expert support
• How to move beyond quick, short-term wins and start making real progress toward larger goals

We’ve seen this process transform many operations for the better. Although their specific goals have varied, they all have one thing in common: following a strong optimization plan has made them more independent by building up their internal capabilities, technical competency, and more.

Discover the Optimization Road Map That’s Working for Top D&F Operations

If you missed the live webinar, you can still catch the recording online to learn more about proven strategies that will help you assess the current state of your operation, set realistic goals, fill gaps in your capabilities, and overcome other hurdles that may be holding you back. You’ll also get a complete road map for creating the kind of optimization plan that’s helping today’s most successful operations achieve greater productivity, profitability and independence. “Achieving More With Less: Operational Optimization When You Need It Most” is available on-demand.

To subscribe to the Honeywell Intelligrated blog and get exclusive communications and updates, click here.