On Wednesday, February 7, EMAT 3450 Students went to McLane Company, which is a nationwide distribution center for convenience stores, for a field trip.

On this page, you are going to find notes about this trip (notes, reflections, photos, etc.)

Some Stas/Background	Mathematics Ideas/Connections
Desired characteristics of employees	Employment Practices Involve
Desired characteristics of employees	Photos
Students' Reflections After the Trip

 

Some Stats/Background:

• Philosophy: Keep the people we hire (provide many opportunities, such as ESL training, etc.)
• Goal: To be the premier logistic company in the world.
• 106 years old; owned now by Wal-Mart.
• Number one distributor to convenience stores (to almost every zip code, and to Brazil, Taiwan)--85 to 90% of goods in convenience stores is there via McLane.
• 10,000 employees
• $15 billion in sales
• Our employees have good morale, strong work ethic, commitment to customer
• 260 employees at this center (i.e., Athens, GA): 205 work in the center (most on floor; some in sales or administration); 55 are truck drivers
• Central merchandising center in Temple, TX (only a small group locally)
• Utopia = an empty dc (JIT=just-in-time inventory)
• Trucking is different than distribution-in trucking you never want to run an empty mile, while in distribution sometimes you have to.

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Desired characteristics of employees:

• Must show up on time (#1 reason for termination of employees is not showing up on time)
• High school diploma
• Truck drivers = ambassadors (well paid! $100,000)
• Teach life skills and basics-reading, writing, arithmetic (esp. counting)
• Comprehension of instructions
• Team work-communicating both orally and in writing
• Problem solving skills
• Attention to detail
• "Self starters"
• Positive attitude
• Must be able to fill out an application!
• Drug free
• Must be accountable for actions
• Should be able to manage money
• Must be versatile, able to deal with change

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Employment Practices Involve:

• Entry-level training (classroom work, buddy trainer)
• Growth for advancement from within
• Educational assistance
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Must be shown larger picture/context, how employee plays a role in the whole organization(part of training)
• Streches during the work day to avoid carpel tunnel syndrome, etc.

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Mathematics Ideas/Connections:

• Predicting trends, projections for budgets
• Routing--the traveling salesman problem (but with lots of variables!)
• Spatial problem of packing the totes (there are a couple of different sizes) and then packing the trucks (note: packing is evaluated by industrial engineers from TX)
• Data set:

Year	% Turnover, McLane	% turnover, Dist. Center Only
1996	62.8	90
1997	38	42.44
1998	29.9	35
1999	19.5	22

• Number and codes
• Rates (e.g., 350 pieces per hour are moved in some areas; 550 pieces per hour in other areas; 1100 pieces per hour in still other areas)
• Ordering on shelves (organized by how fast it moves out-stuff that moves the most quickly is at arm level to avoiding unnecessary bending, stooping, etc.)