Methods of Increasing Labor Productivity in Multistory and Small One-Floor Grocery Warehouses

John C. Bouma and Arnold L. Lundquist

No 310425, Marketing Research Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Program

Abstract: Excerpts from the report Summary: The number of man-hours required in warehousing was reduced an average of 19 percent in 4 multistory and in 5 small 1-floor (less than 40,000 square feet) wholesale grocery warehouses studied, through improved work methods, use of better materials-handling equipment, improved physical layouts, and more nearly balanced work crews. Additional man-hour savings of 36 percent, for a total saving of 55 percent, can be expected after new facilities are constructed for 4 firms and recommended equipment is installed and in operation in 3 other firms. Since warehouse labor accounts for more than 50 percent of the total warehousing cost, methods of increasing productivity are of major concern to warehouse management. During this study, the following objectives were given primary consideration: (1) Evaluation of present methods and development of new methods for use by wholesale grocers for increasing warehouse labor productivity in receiving merchandise, selecting orders, checking, and loading assembled orders; (2) to show the effect of improved methods on warehouse labor costs; and (3) to show by case study analysis the problems involved in determining whether a new warehouse or new equipment should be acquired.

Keywords: Labor and Human Capital; Productivity Analysis; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Research Methods/Statistical Methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 54
Date: 1956-11
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/310425/files/mrr142.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uamsmr:310425

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.310425

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Marketing Research Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Program Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().