Yard & Delivery Operations Workshop - West Des Moines, Iowa
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 9:00 AM - Wednesday, November 6, 2024 3:00 PM (CST)

The Yard & Delivery Workshop is a fantastic opportunity for anyone in your organization to learn the essential workings of the operations leg of the business. Those who work in the yard daily will find tips, tricks, and key takeaways to make their jobs easier, more productive, and boost their job satisfaction. Even those with 20+ years of experience find takeaways they plan to implement when returning to the yard. For new hires and those less seasoned, come prepared to take notes. You will leave with many ideas to work smarter, not harder!

Those who work in other legs of the business (Sales, Finance/Admin) will gain a deep understanding of how the operations team is the “backbone” of the organization and integral to its success. Too often, Sales and Operations have an adversarial relationship rather than the deep partnership they must have to deliver world-class service to customers. The Delivery Team returns from job sites with critical project updates. Developing a system to gather that information and effectively manage projects is crucial. Is your organization looking to improve your OTIF (On Time In Full) score, customer satisfaction, and/or employee morale? Owners, managers, sales managers, and salespeople would all benefit from attending.

The Financial/Admin leg will gain a deeper appreciation for the logistical challenges the yard faces. Typically the reporters for Safety Documentation, you need to understand how danger lurks in every aspect of their day. Working together to understand how everyone’s job interrelates is critical to a healthy organization. It allows us to define, redefine, and keep improving our processes to achieve Organizational Excellence.

I facilitate this workshop in a roundtable format. Participants are encouraged to bring real-life challenges they want to overcome. You will find we are all much more alike than different, and sharing those common pain points helps us build resolve to overcome them once and for all!

If you are ready to elevate your operations game, this is the workshop for you!

Class Overview

The Yard & Delivery Operations Workshop, led by Emily Overson, is a two-day event designed to help key yard personnel, dispatchers, managers, and business owners understand the need for high operational standards within your company’s yard and delivery operations. Attendees will be challenged to evaluate your company’s processes to gain efficiency and improve your bottom line. The workshop will conclude with a walk-through at a host retail location where key class topics will be reviewed. Students will be asked to perform a Yard & Delivery Workshop Challenge for their company.

Who Should Attend

• Key yard and delivery team members who need to understand the importance and benefits of an organized yard and delivery system
• Foremen/Managers
• Dispatchers
• Owners are encouraged to participate in this class along with team members to develop best practices that can be implemented in their yard.
• Sales Managers and/or Sales Representatives can also learn how crucial the Operations team is to growing their sales volume, especially if they are measuring OTIF (On Time In Full) delivery.

Topics Discussed

• Setting the pace using the Operational Excellence Methodology
• Material handling
• Inventory shrinkage
• Receiving best practices
• Cost of lost/damaged inventory
• Best practices for high-performance delivery service
• Maximizing your customer’s experience
• Role-modeling and creating a winning team

One past attendee, Chuck, shared his experience: “Hearing other yards' issues and success and how they handle them along with giving them ideas on how we make things work. The interacting was great!” Another attendee, Shawn, mentioned, “I absolutely loved everything about this class. I look forward to doing as many as possible.”

About the Instructor
Emily Overson is an accounting professional who has spent over 20 years focused on the LBM industry in management and finance roles. She is aware of the challenges facing independent retailers and is passionate about the industry and sharing her knowledge to strengthen it. To learn more about Emily, visit Emily Overson's website.