Execution and Delivery: Making the Plan Happen
What you must know
Execution covers order management, warehousing operations, transport execution, and the handoffs between them. Know the order cycle: order entry, credit/validation, allocation, pick-pack-ship, and delivery confirmation - and that order cycle time is measured end to end from the customer's view. Understand warehouse flow (receiving, put-away, storage, picking, packing, shipping) and why slotting and pick-path design dominate labor productivity. In transport, know mode selection, consolidation, load planning, and the trade-off between frequency and cost.
Traps
Questions often blame the warehouse for a delay actually caused upstream by allocation rules or inaccurate inventory records. Distinguish order cycle time from transport transit time - improving one does not fix the other. Watch for answers that maximize picking speed while ignoring accuracy; mis-picks generate returns and erode service. Also be alert to the assumption that automation always pays: it depends on volume stability and SKU profile.
Worked example
A DC ships 1,200 orders/day; 30 are mis-picked. Pick accuracy = 97.5%. Each mis-pick costs $45 in return freight and rework, so error cost = 30 × $45 = $1,350/day. An accuracy program costing $900/day that cuts errors by 60% saves 18 × $45 = $810 in direct error cost - less than its cost. But add avoided lost-customer risk and the case may flip. Rule of thumb: quantify the direct benefit first, then justify the remainder with explicitly stated service assumptions.