Published on December 04, 2023
Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL) operates in the public utility sector, where it is essential to ensure uninterrupted power supply to end consumers. To maintain a reliable power supply and address emergency breakdowns, it is crucial to deliver accurate materials with the required technical specifications to the field/project engineers at their respective locations. The company receives material from various vendors at the Cen store in Keshav Puram. The material management-store management of Tata Power-DDL is situated in a central location, with a storage capacity of approximately 2,500 types of materials. The stored materials are utilised for network maintenance and project-related tasks, ensuring an uninterrupted power supply to customers. Materials requested by users are delivered to their doorstep daily via trucks.
Following the unloading of materials and document verification, the team conduct quality checks. Upon approval from QC, a Goods Receipt Note (GRN) is prepared, and reservations are received from different users/site engineers. A door delivery number is generated against the reservation, and the material is loaded and delivered to its designated location. It is important to note that quality checks are conducted only during the inward process. There is no QC during the outward process, leading to various complaints from users regarding missing A+B (material in pair) material, technical specification mismatches, and other related issues.
On August 17-18, 2023, Tata Power-DDL’s supply chain team visited BigBasket in Bengaluru. The purpose of this visit was to gain insights into buying practices, last-mile delivery, warehouse operations, and the use of analytics in the supply chain function. This visit was facilitated by Tata Business Excellence Group (TBExG) as part of the quarterly best practices sharing sessions for the group-level forum on supply chain. At the BigBasket warehouse, the Tata Power-DDL team observed rack owners conducting quality checks and organising material in their respective zones. Recognising the potential benefits, the Tata Power-DDL team identified an opportunity to implement similar practices at its Cen store.
In October 2023, Tata Power-DDL introduced significant changes in its operations, specifically during the ‘outward movement of goods’, adopting the ‘rack owner concept’ at its Cen store. This entails assigning specific employees to oversee the shed and bay areas, where they conduct quality checks during the material picking process and maintain their designated spaces. This implementation aims to ensure the right items are allocated for the right job while optimising space utilisation. QC during the outward process is instrumental in preventing multiple logistics trips. As a next step, Tata Power-DDL is also planning to replace its Warehouse Management System (WMS) software in material management store operations with the e-retail software used by BigBasket.
Participant Speak
This relatively new implementation has so far helped reduce 12 logistics trips. Accordingly, saved logistics have been utilised for other activities/locations leading to a reduction in logistics cost by INR 1 Lakh compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, there have been no quality issues from internal customers. Furthermore, the shed/bay assigned to employees helps in space optimisation by approximately 20-30%.
— P. Shine, HOG - Store operations, Tata Power Delhi Distribution