Resilient Supply Chain Podcast: The Hidden Costs of Warehouse and Yard Blind Spots
A missed outbound shipment may originate in a warehouse aisle or trailer yard long before the delivery window closes. In the latest episode of the Resilient Supply Chain Podcast, host Tom Raftery speaks with Phil Newsome, Chief Operating Officer at Lazer Logistics, and Todd Boone, Vice President, North America at Dexory, about the operational disconnect between warehouse inventory and trailer movements. Their discussion examines how incomplete information, physical congestion and poorly coordinated decisions create hidden costs that affect throughput, labour productivity and customer service. The full episode is available at www.resilientsupplychainpodcast.com
When Small Errors Become Supply Chain Delays
Outbound performance is typically measured at the point of dispatch, but the problems responsible for delays may originate much earlier. Newsome describes distribution yards where trailers compete for limited space. A trailer urgently required at a loading dock may be parked behind two others, forcing operators to make several unproductive movements before the necessary freight can be accessed. Boone identifies a similar problem inside the warehouse. Inventory may be placed in an available location rather than its designated slot, creating a discrepancy between the warehouse management system and physical reality.
Both situations share a critical characteristic: the error can remain invisible until the affected stock or trailer is urgently needed. For supply chain leaders, this shifts the operational question from where a delay became apparent to where the failure actually originated.
The Hidden Economics of Inventory Accuracy
Inventory accuracy percentages can conceal substantial operational exposure.
Boone illustrates this with a hypothetical warehouse containing 100,000 inventory locations. Even at 98% accuracy, the remaining 2% represents 2,000 potential discrepancies.
The financial consequences extend beyond locating individual items. An apparently straightforward inventory error may involve warehouse operators, shift managers and inventory control teams. What initially appears to be an hour of labour can become several hours of combined effort.
Boone describes this accumulated inefficiency as "operational drag", a persistent burden that can prevent facilities from improving throughput despite apparently adequate resources.
Similar information gaps affect trailer yards. Newsome explains that a manual yard inspection taking an hour may already be outdated when completed, because trailer movements continue throughout the process. The underlying issue is therefore not simply whether information exists, but whether it remains accurate when operational decisions depend on it.
Why Adding Labour May Not Solve the Problem
Under pressure to improve performance, managers may respond by adding personnel, equipment or capacity. Both guests challenge the assumption that these investments necessarily address the underlying constraint. Newsome argues that additional labour delivers diminishing returns when the yard itself is congested. More operators cannot eliminate the physical inefficiency of repeatedly repositioning trailers to reach those needed for loading.
Inside the warehouse, Boone highlights a related dilemma. Labour shortages can already prevent organisations from conducting sufficiently comprehensive inventory checks, while employees assigned to resolving discrepancies are diverted from moving product.
Seasonal demand amplifies these weaknesses. Boone describes how an unexpected influx of thousands of pallets can lead to improvised storage decisions, creating further inventory problems precisely when operational pressure is greatest.
For businesses handling seasonal products, the consequences can extend to excess inventory and potential write-offs when goods cannot be located before demand disappears.
From Reactive Operations to Better Decisions
The discussion points to a shift from reacting to disruption towards anticipating operational constraints. Newsome emphasises closer coordination between yard managers and warehouse teams, particularly when production volumes or trailer requirements are expected to change. He likens effective yard coordination to "a ballet act on a yard", where individual activities must remain aligned.
Boone considers how more frequent inventory scanning and predictive analysis could allow warehouses to prepare for incoming volume, consolidate stock and reorganise storage before congestion develops. However, technology alone does not guarantee better outcomes. Raftery raises the importance of information freshness and accountability when digital records disagree with physical conditions.
The guests also acknowledge that performance measures must reflect individual operating environments. A realistic trailer-movement target for one facility may be inappropriate for another with different layouts, distances or capacity constraints. The strategic question is whether new information enables better decisions and measurable improvements in freight movement, rather than simply producing additional operational data.
Operational Resilience Begins With the Real Constraint
For supply chain executives, the central lesson is that resilience depends on identifying and addressing constraints across interconnected operations, rather than optimising individual functions in isolation.
Accurate inventory records, reliable trailer information, coordinated planning and clear operational accountability all contribute to more dependable outbound performance. Yet neither additional labour nor greater automation automatically removes the bottleneck.
As delivery expectations rise and capacity pressures persist, the priority is to establish where delays originate, ensure the right teams can act on reliable information, and direct investment towards improvements that strengthen the performance of the entire operation.
