1. Labor Planning & Scheduling
decision/analysis partners offers practical labor planning and scheduling
AT A GLANCE: solutions to help postal organizations optimize their labor costs while meeting
customer demand and service standards. Our approach promotes the adoption
D/AP OFFERS POSTAL AND of standardized processes and tools and the establishment of a corporate-wide
SHIPPING ORGANIZATIONS AN
INTEGRATED APPROACH TO framework.
PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
LABOR REQUIREMENTS: Framework for Integrated Labor Planning & Scheduling
1. CREATE A UNIFIED Postal organizations struggle to determine the right amount of labor required to
FRAMEWORK ACROSS THE process their specific mail volume, and meet service performance. The key is
ORGANIZATION
the adoption of an integrated framework, processes and tools for labor planning
2. IMPLEMENT AGILE LABOR and scheduling. Starting with a quick audit of practices, d/ap helps
PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
organizations develop an enterprise-wide framework for labor planning and
ADAPTING TO PRODUCTION
DEMAND AND PERFORMANCE scheduling, under prevailing labor agreements and with complete alignment to
REQUIREMENTS the organization’s own strategic plans. We then define and develop processes
3. REPORT ON LABOR and tools for labor planning and scheduling, and we ensure their alignment to
UTILIZATION TO SUPPORT corporate standards and their integration with corporate IT systems.
CORPORATE AND
SUPERVISORY DECISION
MAKING
Integrated and Agile Workforce Planning & Scheduling
Processes for workforce planning and scheduling tend to be broken and
D/AP HAS DEVELOPED A NUMBER inconsistent: Headquarters set workforce targets based on financial goals;
OF PRACTICAL TOOLS TO HELP plants organize their workforce according to production requirements and/or
POSTAL OPERATORS MANAGE
LABOR: staff availability; Unions, on the other hand, establish collective bargaining
agreements based on labor priorities.
STANDARDIZED WORK
ASSIGNMENT TEMPLATES decision/analysis partners offers an approach to implement integrated and
agile workforce planning and scheduling. Using an incremental design-and-
WORKFORCE PLANNING evaluation cycle:
OPERATIONS-DRIVEN We define processes that account for all stakeholders needs and
WORKFORCE SCHEDULING requirements;
We develop proofs of concepts for workforce planning and/or
scheduling;
We seek consensus from stakeholders about the tools we devise;
We then implement an integrated framework based on corporate
standards, existing IT platforms and commercial tools.

2. 90
80
100%
Labor Reporting and Decision Support
70 80%
Our approach develops labor reporting scoreboards focusing on key
% Active Operators
60
Operators
50 60% Part-Time Operators
40 Full-Time Operators
30
20
40% Required Operators
Operator Utilization
performance indicators to help manage and reduce operating costs. Labor
20%
10
0 0% information is reported in multiple views to enable end-users to analyze
7:30
8:30
9:30
0:30
1:30
2:30
3:30
4:30
5:30
6:30
10:30
11:30
12:30
13:30
14:30
15:30
16:30
17:30
18:30
19:30
20:30
21:30
22:30
23:30
Recalculate
Results Dashboard
workforce information and relate it to budgets, production requirements,
Total
566.25
1272.00
Full-time Part-time
840
Total required staff-hours
432 Total applied staff-hours
performance standards, and craft levels. Data is presented by business process,
705.75 Total unused staff-hours
0.00
Total Staffing by Shift
Total unfilled labor demand in staff-hours
Total Staffing by Craft
plant, region, and craft; as well as by day, week, and quarter.
Day Evening Night Total Craft 1 2 3 Total
6 57 42 105 Full-Time 63 21 21 105 Full-Time
48 24 36 108 Part-Time 75 27 6 108 Part-Time
54 81 78 Total 138 48 27 Total
About decision/analysis partners
OUR EXPERIENCE:
decision/analysis partners is an independent technical and management
advisory services firm offering operations management, business strategy,
DECISION/ANALYSIS PARTNERS
market analysis and technology consulting services in the postal, shipping and
HAS SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE
mailing industry.
ASSISTING AND TRANSFORMING
Our approach uses sound and proven analytical methodologies to develop,
POSTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND
evaluate, and help implement viable business solutions. Our team includes
SUPPLIERS OF POSTAL
technical and management consultants, systems engineers, business architects,
SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES
postal technologists, and postal operations managers. We have led major postal
WORLDWIDE. and logistics enterprise transformation initiatives.
Our company is based in Fairfax, Virginia, outside Washington, DC, and in
Brussels, Belgium. We deliver advisory services worldwide.