Estandarización en la recepción de mercancías: impacto en la productividad y reducción de reprocesos

Abstract

This study began with a specific finding at the Kuehne + Nagel Distribution Center in Funza, Cundinamarca. At the end of each shift, some cartons were found physically stored but not recorded in the Warehouse Management System (WMS), and correcting those discrepancies consumed up to 36.2% of productive working time. Based on this, we set out to evaluate whether standardizing the receiving process, supported by operational controls, could reduce rework and improve performance indicators without requiring technological changes. The research took the form of a retrospective, descriptive-analytical case study. We analyzed 32 receiving cycles from the peak-demand period (November-December 2022), historical Non-Conforming Product (NCP) records from 2022, and performance indicators tracked during 2023 and 2024. Since no formal work-study protocol existed at the time, these data are treated as exploratory evidence of the initial diagnosis rather than a controlled measurement. The registration error rate was low, just 0.11% of the total volume received, but correcting it took up most of the non-productive time. After the improvement plan was implemented, the Non-Conforming Product error rate dropped 96.1%, the Dock-to-Stock indicator stayed above 98% throughout 2023 and 2024, and operational productivity reached 92.3% of the target. These results went beyond what we expected, and they point to something specific: a small error rate can have a disproportionate impact on productivity when corrections are concentrated at a single point in the process