BUS 305 Module 6 Formal Business Report Example

Reducing Warehouse Overtime at Tallgrass Logistics: A Formal Report

Student Name

Business Administration Program, Aspen University

BUS 305: Business Research and Communications

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Reducing Warehouse Overtime at Tallgrass Logistics: A Formal Report

Executive Summary

Overtime at Tallgrass Logistics' Kansas City warehouse reached 14% of paid hours last year, costing about $412,000 in premium pay. Analysis of twelve months of timekeeping, shipment and scheduling records shows that 61% of overtime hours fell on Mondays and Fridays, and that most were caused by late-arriving inbound trucks and uneven outbound order release. Three changes could cut overtime roughly in half: extending dock appointments to inbound carriers, releasing outbound orders in waves, and shifting two part-time positions to Monday and Friday peaks. Together they would cost about $38,000 in the first year and save an estimated $190,000.

Introduction and Scope

The chief operating officer requested this report after overtime rose for three straight quarters. The report examines overtime among the warehouse's 64 hourly employees from July through June. It does not cover drivers, whose hours are governed by separate federal rules, or office staff. The purpose is to identify the causes of overtime and recommend changes that reduce it without hurting on-time shipping, which stood at 96%.

Method

Timekeeping records were matched with dock logs and the warehouse management system to show when overtime occurred and what work was being done. Supervisors on all three shifts were interviewed about the causes they observed. Overtime hours were grouped by day of week, shift and task. The analysis was reviewed by the payroll manager for accuracy.

Findings

Overtime was concentrated rather than spread evenly. The table shows overtime by day of the week.

Finding 1: Inbound Trucks Arrive Unpredictably

Outbound pickups now use dock appointments, but inbound deliveries do not. Dock logs show 38% of Monday inbound trucks arrived after 1 p.m., forcing unloading into the second shift's overtime. On days when inbound arrivals were spread through the morning, Monday overtime averaged 40% less.

Finding 2: Outbound Orders Are Released in One Batch

Customer orders are released to the floor once a day, at 11 a.m. On Fridays, when volume is highest, the single release creates a surge that pickers cannot finish in regular hours. Supervisors on all three shifts named this as the leading Friday cause.

Finding 3: Staffing Does Not Match Peaks

Staffing is nearly the same every weekday, although Monday and Friday volume is about 35% higher than midweek. Overtime fills the gap. Midweek, by contrast, supervisors reported idle time on the second shift, and several part-time employees said they would prefer Monday or Friday hours if offered. The mismatch is therefore partly a scheduling habit rather than a shortage of people, which makes it one of the easier causes to fix.

A Note on Presenting the Data

The table reports actual hours alongside percentages, so readers can judge magnitude as well as share. Tufte (2001) warned that graphics can mislead when the visual size of an effect does not match the size of the change in the data, and Few (2012) recommends tables when readers need to look up precise values. For that reason the findings use a table rather than a chart, and each percentage can be traced to the hours it came from.

Conclusions

Overtime is driven mainly by predictable peaks on Mondays and Fridays, caused by unscheduled inbound deliveries, single-batch order release and flat staffing. Because the causes are predictable, they can be managed.

Recommendations

First, extend dock appointments to inbound carriers within ninety days, requiring morning slots for Monday deliveries where possible; cost is limited to setup time in the existing system. Second, release outbound orders in three waves, at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., beginning with a four-week trial on Fridays. Third, convert two midweek part-time shifts to Monday and Friday coverage and add one part-time position focused on those days, at an annual cost of about $38,000. Progress should be tracked monthly against the baseline in this report, with a review at six months. Based on the patterns observed, these changes together could reduce overtime by roughly half, about $190,000 a year.

Limitations

The analysis covers one year, which may not capture unusual seasons, and supervisors' views of causes, while consistent, are not measurements. The savings estimate assumes that overtime falls in proportion to the reduction in late inbound trucks and batch-release surges, which was the pattern on the days when those problems were absent. Actual savings may be lower if volume grows. For these reasons the report recommends a trial and monthly tracking rather than a single permanent change.

Risks of the Recommendations

Each change carries some risk. Inbound carriers may resist appointments, especially smaller ones; offering morning slots first to carriers who book early and explaining the reduced wait time should help. Wave release may confuse pickers during the first weeks, so supervisors will need a short training session and a printed schedule. Moving part-time shifts may not suit every employee's availability, so the change should be offered to volunteers before any reassignment. None of these risks is large, and each can be managed with planning.

Implementation and Monitoring

The warehouse manager should own the implementation, with a start date for each change and a monthly report to the chief operating officer showing overtime hours by day, on-time shipping and inbound arrival times against the baseline in this report. If on-time shipping falls below 95% in any month, the change most likely responsible should be paused and reviewed. A six-month review should decide whether to keep, adjust or expand each change.

Report Design

The report follows a standard formal structure so readers can find what they need: an executive summary for leaders, an introduction stating scope, a method section that lets readers judge the evidence, findings organized by cause with informative headings, conclusions separated from recommendations, and specific actions with costs and a review date. Writing for busy readers means making the structure do some of the work of explaining (Rogers & Lasky-Fink, 2023).

References

Few, S. (2012). Show me the numbers: Designing tables and graphs to enlighten (2nd ed.). Analytics Press.

Rogers, T., & Lasky-Fink, J. (2023). Writing for busy readers: Communicate more effectively in the real world. Dutton.

Tufte, E. R. (2001). The visual display of quantitative information (2nd ed.). Graphics Press.