Miguel Marengo Canales

blog/operations

operations · measurement · moving averages

Beyond the Data: Why World-Class Logistics Demands Measuring Reality in Real Time

Long-term averages tend to “smooth over” problems, hiding critical inefficiencies under a layer of historical data.

long-term average 10-day moving average 10-day window 60 days agotoday daily performance
the 10-day rulethe long average “smooths over” the drop; the 10-to-14-day window reveals it in time · illustrative data
in 30 seconds
  • Long-term averages (30, 60 or 90 days) tend to “smooth over” problems.
  • We use 10-to-14-day moving averages and traffic-light boards on the operations floor.
  • In Quality Circles, every proposal must come with an impact number.

In an industry where yesterday is already ancient history, the best decisions are made with the operational truth of the last ten days.

In the logistics industry, there is a constant temptation to look in the rearview mirror. Many operations are managed on the basis of monthly or quarterly reports that, while useful for accounting, are usually irrelevant to day-to-day operational agility. Relying on a "good average" from last semester to evaluate today's efficiency is like driving a vehicle while looking only at what we left behind: dangerous and inefficient.

The reality is that our clients gain nothing from knowing how fast we were six months ago; they need the certainty that their supply chain is running with precision today. Ambiguity and outdated data are the real enemies of operational excellence.

That is why at Silodisa we have adopted a dynamic, transparent measurement philosophy. We do not manage based on "past glories," but on the current operational truth. By radically changing the time window we analyze and democratizing access to that information, we turn uncertainty into a tangible competitive advantage for our business partners.

The End of Static Averages: The 10-Day Rule

The first step toward real improvement is to define with surgical precision what we are measuring and, more importantly, when we measure it. We found that long-term averages (30, 60 or 90 days) tend to "smooth over" problems, hiding critical inefficiencies under a layer of historical data.

To counter this, we implemented the use of 10-to-14-day moving averages.

This time window gives us the perfect balance: it removes the statistical "noise" of a single bad day, yet it is short enough to reveal current trends. It is a practice similar to the one tech giants such as Amazon use to stay agile: last year's performance does not matter; current execution capability does. By focusing on this span, we ensure that our Loading Time, Unloading Time and Inventory Accuracy indicators reflect the living reality of the operation, allowing us to react before a trend becomes a problem for the client.

Radical Transparency: Visual Management on the Operations Floor

Valuable information should not stay trapped on servers or management laptops. For a high-efficiency culture to permeate the whole organization, data must be visible to the people who do the work.

We have deployed Visual Management Boards at our Guadalajara and Huehuetoca distribution centers and across our national distribution network. These boards are not decorative; they are active work tools. They show the results of recent days against our 10-day target average, using a simple traffic-light system.

When the indicator is green, we celebrate consistency. When it is red, we do not look for someone to blame, but for immediate solutions. This transparency fosters healthy competition between shifts and aligns the whole team behind a single purpose. MIT studies suggest that companies where frontline employees understand and visualize their KPIs outperform their competitors by up to 3.5 times, and we live that reality every day.

From the "Good Idea" to Quantifiable Improvement

Making data visible is only half of the equation; the other half is what we do with it. This is where many companies fail, getting stuck in complaint sessions or vague brainstorming.

At Silodisa, we draw on Toyota's Kaizen philosophy, but we add a crucial component of mathematical rigor. In our weekly Quality Circles, proposing improvements based on intuition alone is forbidden. Every proposal must come with an impact number.

We do not accept "we are going to improve the loading process." We implement actions defined under the premise: "This change in step 3 will reduce loading time by 30 seconds per unit." If we are talking about inventories, we define exactly what percentage of accuracy we will recover. This requirement to quantify the improvement before implementing it ensures that our resources (and our clients') are invested only in actions that move the performance needle.

visible board weekly circle impact number action implemented “step 3” −30 s per unit before implementing
from the “good idea” to quantifiable improvementno proposal enters the circle without its impact number

The Real Impact: Certainty for the Client

All this internal engineering (the 10-day averages, the visual boards and the quantified proposals) has a single purpose: our clients' peace of mind.

This obsession with precise measurement is possible because we operate on three pillars: optimized processes that provide structure, the best technology that turns data into actionable insights, and a work environment where the truth is used to build, not to tear down.

At the end of the day, this translates into more predictable deliveries, reliable inventories and the responsiveness today's market demands. When a client entrusts their logistics to Silodisa, they are not just hiring transportation or warehousing; they are hiring a system designed to pursue mathematical perfection in every movement.

Conclusion

Logistics excellence is not a destination where you arrive and rest; it is a daily discipline of confronting reality with data. By rejecting the comfort of old averages and embracing the clarity of real-time measurement, we make sure we are always one step ahead.

At Silodisa, we understand that what is not measured precisely cannot be improved effectively. And it is precisely that culture of continuous improvement, based on hard data and transparency, that allows us to offer not just logistics services, but operational certainty.

Interested in how logistics based on real data can transform your supply chain? Let's talk about how to bring this precision to your operation.

operationsmoving averageKaizenvisual management

Comments

comments · I answer every one. If you disagree, even better: say it with numbers.

  • loading…