A little over a year ago I wrote a post entitled New Warehouse Layout, Inventory Zones, & Efficiency where I explained our new “inventory zone” system. Prior to implementing that system, packing slips would just print out items in alphabetical order, potentially sending one of us all over the warehouse to pull the products for [...]
Archive for the ‘Efficiency’ Category
Work Blitzes
Back in January I wrote about how I planned for 3 productive hours per day when developing. Things were a little different then…I was busier, and there was a little more pressure to get LockerPulse done quickly. These past few weeks things have really calmed down for me, to a level I don’t think I’ve [...]
My New Laptop
Last month I finally decided to upgrade my laptop. I’d been running the old Toshiba since 2007. At the time it was a powerhouse. It still served me well right up to the end, when a BSOD finally forced my hand. I probably would have upgraded in the next few months anyway. I’d been window [...]
Managing Out of Stock Products
Back when we were several magnitudes smaller, managing out of stock products was easy. If a customer ordered the product, we’d just send them an email and discuss with them whether they’d rather substitute a different product, get a refund, or have us hold their order until we got the product back in stock. If [...]
Not All Email is Created Equal
Despite getting less email with our recent changes, I still get a decent amount of email. Some of it needs a reply from me, some of it needs to be looked at and reviewed by me but doesn’t require a reply, and the rest of it isn’t very important at all. I’ve written before about [...]
15 Productive Hours
I’ve instituted various time management and task management “systems” for myself over the years. I’ve almost always had a daily task list with automated reminders for routine things like “remember to check on backups”. I’ve grown into being very strict with how often I check and answer my email. Those things are pretty steady. But [...]
Productivity and Side Projects
As I’m sure you know by now, I’m a huge believer in side projects. They stimulate the mind, they open up new opportunities, they give you time to express a different type of creativity. They also have less at stake, so you can build things that don’t have to be profitable right away (or ever). [...]
How We Communicate
One of the best arguments against having partners is that you avoid miscommunication. Not only miscommunication about the simple things (did that order get entered into inventory? did someone de-activate that product we sold out of?), but miscommunication about the grander vision of your company (what are our long term goals and why?). Over time, [...]
Making Inventory Better
I think most retail outlets take a physical inventory every few months to know exactly what they have in stock. Those numbers then get plugged into accounting systems and are used to calculate a true cost of goods sold since the last inventory period, which is necessary to see the real profitability of their business. [...]
Setting Up Employees For Success
These first two weeks with our first employee have been a fascinating experience for us. John has picked up the job much faster than we anticipated. He’s getting more work done more accurately and in less time than we could have ever predicted. Now, a good portion of that is because he’s a very hard [...]
