Suggestions for inventory/stocking levels of supplies at animal shelter

[Zeus-cat]

My wife is on the board of directors for a small animal shelter. The shelter is closed on Sundays and Mondays and she goes in on Monday to take care of any issues since the manager has the day off. A recurring problem has been inventory, or more precisely, lack of inventory.

On Monday she found out that they were nearly out of kitten food. She found this out from one of the workers. The manager is supposed to keep a month's supply of kitten food on hand, but the manager is not ordering stuff in a timely manner. This has been an issue for a while. Any good ideas on how to monitor inventory in a simple and quick way that prompts someone to order supplies? I'm thinking some sort of visual system.

Basically, they need to keep in stock:
Four kinds of dry cat/kitten food (different kinds of food for special requirements)
Three kinds of canned food (cat, kitten, cat and kitten) (flavors is not a concern)

 

[dhbarr]

https://www.uline.com/BL_2166/Inventory-Control-Cones ?

 

[Peartree]

I've seen places that taped a red paper sign that said something to the effect of "Reorder NOW" on shelved supplies once the quantity behind the sign was a certain minimum, such as you mentioned, a one month supply. Then, whomever pulls food from the shelf, and either reveals the red sign or has to pick up the food with the red sign attached, absolutely KNOWS that they need to tell somebody to order food.

If, however, the person responsible for ordering food is being told, but is still not ordering it in a timely manner, then either a) someone else needs to be given that responsibility, or b) it's time for that person to be replaced.

 

[dr wogz]

KANBAN inventory system / control.

basically, teh cat food bin is divided into two compartments. The divider is the reorder card.

The forward compartment holds enough for a typical time period, say a week. Once that stock is used, the card / divider is visible. Pull the card, give it to purchasing to re-order stock.

This opens up the 2nd compartment, which has enough stock to last (typically) until the order has arrived. (Say, a week)

When the replenishment order arrived, it is put behind the current stock, separated by the divider card. (The 2nd compartment is now teh first compartment, and teh new stock is teh 2nd compartment..)

and repeat..

you have two compartments in one bin, and as one is used up, the card / divider triggers a re-stock order. The divider goes back in the bin to separate the old & new stock..

Mind you, this does depend on the employees understanding it, and not 'dipping into' teh back up supply..


And, having sat in the purchasing chair, I am constantly amazed at workers who come to ask you for more .. screws. "Sure I'll put it on order, and you'll have then in a few days."
"But this is my last one..."
And when did you realize you were running out?!?!?



https://www.smartsheet.com/understa...ement-and-its-uses-across-multiple-industries
https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/articles/kanban/

 

[KevinT]

Yes exactly. What dr wogz says

A simple 2 bin Kanban system. Keep it simple.

 

[KevinT]

Your bin size is equal to your demand d (how much food do you use per day) times the lead time LT to order and get more food in plus some safety factor SG amount for mishaps.

Bin size = d x LT + SF

 

[KevinT]

sorry SG should be SF

 

[KevinT]

The signal to order is when a bin is empty

 

[Zeus-cat]

Thanks everyone. I'll probably go to the shelter Thursday with my wife and look at the storage area and see which idea we can implement.

 

[Sandy H.]

I like a lot of the ideas above. I assume part of the issue is supply chain related, but maybe it is just management.

One of our cats has a pretty specific dietary issue and so we don't have lots of options that have proven successful. During a portion of the pandemic (can't remember exactly when - the last 3 years have run into a blur for multiple reasons. . . ) the store shelves were empty for a few weeks as far as what we needed. Recently it hasn't been an issue, but I imagine it could be.

If it is supply chain related, my gut feeling is that safety stock that only your wife knows about could be the only insurance policy. I like the idea of implementing the bins and labels etc., but if the truck shows up and doesn't have the stuff on it, maybe being able to dip into the safety stock and then go in 'emergency sourcing mode' is the safest method.

I hope you find a solution. I like pets and always rescue directly or through a shelter.

Sandy.

 

[Ez2cDave]

My wife is on the board of directors for a small animal shelter. The shelter is closed on Sundays and Mondays and she goes in on Monday to take care of any issues since the manager has the day off.

The manager is supposed to keep a month's supply of kitten food on hand, but the manager is not ordering stuff in a timely manner. This has been an issue for a while.

The "manager" needs to be "re-trained" . . . once.

It needs to be made "crystal clear" that there will be a new manager, if protocols are not followed.

If the manager screws up again, fire them on the spot for incompetence and insubordination ( to help fight unemployment claim ).

Dave F.

 

[Zeus-cat]

It's the manager not doing her job. My wife is always complaining about her not doing various aspects of her job, but there is not much they can do about it. If they fire the manager my wife would get stuck taking over until they get a replacement. No one else on the board would step up to help run the place.

 

[dhbarr]

It's the manager not doing her job. My wife is always complaining about her not doing various aspects of her job, but there is not much they can do about it. If they fire the manager my wife would get stuck taking over until they get a replacement. No one else on the board would step up to help run the place.

This is, unfortunately, how these things usually go. The finest system in the world won't make up for people not using it.

 

[Arnie]

The problem is in the supply chain. Try ordering cat food from Chewy Walmart or Amazon and finding any Friskies wet cat food shreds, Friskies' most popular brand. The same problem exists on all big box cat food shelves; no Friskies products; limited availability of other brands

 

[dr wogz]

This is, unfortunately, how these things usually go. The finest system in the world won't make up for people not using it.

"you get the service you pay for" comes to mind..

and I believe we all know a person or two who like the label / title / position, yet are incapable of the work & responsibility required..

 

[Peartree]

It's the manager not doing her job. My wife is always complaining about her not doing various aspects of her job, but there is not much they can do about it. If they fire the manager my wife would get stuck taking over until they get a replacement. No one else on the board would step up to help run the place.

Assuming that, like most shelters, it is fairly small but not tiny. Following that line of thinking (ie. guessing) there are probably a small handful of employees, most are part-time, and the vast majority of staff are volunteers to the point that a significant part of the manager's position could be described as "volunteer coordinator" (which sometimes describes my job as well).

If that's true, or even close, here is my suggestion... incrementalism.

If the manager's job is to order food and he/she isn't able or is unwilling to do it in a timely fashion, pass that responsibility to the assistant manager, or to a regular part-timer, or even to a regular volunteer that comes in, perhaps for an hour a day, but almost every day.

Then, if the manager isn't able to regularly keep up on important responsibility b) (whatever that task might be), move that over to the "can do" person that will get it done. If the pattern persists, eventually you simply swap titles and pay and the assistant becomes the manager (because you have, incrementally, trained them to do the job) and the manager becomes the assistant (or quits). Other possibilities are that the "manager's" responsibilities are eventually is split between two people and some of the manager's raises go to the assistant to compensate them for the extra duties they've taken on, or the manager realizes that the assistant is "taking over" their job and gets busy doing what they are supposed to do.

Of course, every circumstance is different, and I obviously don't know all the details, and the personalities, and the politics, but this, or something like this, might be worth trying. Obviously, you are already at a point where *something* needs to be done so that you don't run out of important supplies.

 

[Zeus-cat]

It is a small shelter, the full-time manager and three technicians. The technicians clean the shelter daily, feed the cats, give medications, etc. One of the technicians MIGHT be able to handle some of the manager's duties, but the other two could not. But my wife really wants the manager to do her job. If the manager used simple time management techniques things would run smoothly.

The board of directors doesn't have much depth. My wife (highly competent), the accountant (highly competent) and the rest. When the manager is out my wife almost always fills in as the rest can't handle it or have jobs and families. The accountant is a young guy with a full-time job who helps the shelter in his spare time.

If the manager quits or gets fired my wife will have to take over until a replacement is hired and she absolutely does not want to do that. It took months to find the current manager.

We are just trying to implement simple management techniques that make things run more smoothly.

 

[Ez2cDave]

If they fire the manager my wife would get stuck taking over until they get a replacement.

BUT, if you fire the "Manager", you won't be paying a "slug" to sit around on their butt and not do their job . . . Terminate !

 

[Zeus-cat]

Firing the manager is not realistic as then there would be no manager and my wife would have to do the job. Not going to happen. My wife is just leaving to go the shelter as I type this to check on the repairs to the HVAC system. My wife has overseen million-dollar construction projects at a military base, so she knows how to deal with stuff like this. She probably spends 10 to 20 hours a week doing shelter stuff that falls outside the manager's job. She won't add another 40 hours a week on top of that.

And to be fair, the manager does some things really well. She deals with the public far better than my wife does or wants to do. All cat adoptions require an application to be filled out, and they check references, call the veterinarian, verify rent or own, call the landlord, etc. They reject applications on a regular basis. She handles that type of stuff well. It is the daily process stuff she isn't doing well and that is what we are trying to make easier.

 

[Ez2cDave]

Firing the manager is not realistic as then there would be no manager and my wife would have to do the job. Not going to happen.

Then appoint another employee as the "Inventory Specialist". They keep track of stock levels ( daily ), check off items as they are used, and place items on a "reorder list", when a given level is reached. Whenever a "reorder list" is generated, all the "manager" would have to do is sign off on it. Unless the "manager" needs a "nap", he/she would then reorder the items. If unwilling or unable, then the "Inventory Specialist" would be authorized to place approved orders.

Dave F.

 

[MidOH]

7 items?

Should be a nice clean spot for these seven items. Labeled properly. Staple a pic of the products label to the shelf. There's no excuse, other than supply issues, for failing to keep track of seven measly items.

Two clicks, and let the UPS guy take care of it. Lol.

 

[Ez2cDave]

7 items?
There's no excuse, other than supply issues, for failing to keep track of seven measly items.

Only 7 items - REALLY ? . . . This "twit" of a manager is a "joke" !