The Next Best Step in Practice
The Next Best Step in Practice (2 of 3)
In the last post, I introduced the idea of identifying the next best step. It sounds simple, but in the middle of a growing operation, it rarely feels that way.
I was brought into a distribution operation that had found lightning in a bottle with its produce offering. Demand had scaled quickly. What looked like success from the outside felt very different inside the building.
The floor was gridlocked. Orders were missing SLAs. Storage space was gone. Product locations relied on tribal knowledge. Operators had little room to work, which created friction everywhere.
The team was not the issue. The DC manager was a strong leader, but the operation had outgrown its original design. Systems, layout, and process had not kept up with the pace of growth.
Everything felt important. It would have been easy to focus on process changes, add labor, or look at new systems.
Instead, the focus was on the next best step.
In this case, it was not software or headcount. It was space.
The first move was to use the vertical cube of the building and redesign the layout. The goal was simple: create room to move, stage inbound product, and establish dedicated areas for packing and shipping. Without that, nothing else would hold.
That decision set the work in motion. Racking was designed and specified. A vendor was selected. Procurement and installation were managed. At the same time, equipment needs were evaluated and a lift was sourced, including the lease versus buy decision.
All of this happened while the operation was still running. Product, workstations, and workflows were moved in sequence. Timeline, budget, and day-to-day execution had to stay aligned.
At the same time, the work was not just physical restructuring.
The DC manager was being prepared to lead in this new environment. We worked through the “why” behind each decision, how to manage the operation at scale, and what it would take to sustain the improvements after the project was complete.
Once the layout created breathing room, the next best step became clear.
With space in place, the team could measure and refine core processes: receiving, putaway, picking, processing, and shipping. What had been constrained could now be improved.
The results followed.
With the same number of people, throughput increased from 230 orders per hour to more than 400. Order accuracy improved dramatically. Just as important, the work became more manageable. There was more space, fewer unnecessary touches, and better flow between steps.
There was resistance along the way. That is part of any change. What shifted the team was seeing that the work became easier and more effective. When people experience improvement directly, alignment follows.
This is what the next best step looks like in practice. It is not about solving everything at once or even solving the loudest problem. It is about making the right move that allows the next improvements to happen.
And even here, this was not the end. There were still more steps to take.
Knowing what to do next is one thing. Doing it consistently, especially as conditions change, is where most teams struggle.
In the final post tomorrow, I will break down a practical way to identify the next best step inside your own operation.
