Archive for Material Handling
The Importance of Design for Logistics
· CommentsI recently spoke with Ralph Rupert, Director for Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech. If you are not familiar with what a unit load is—I must confess, the term was new to me too—a unit load is “a single item, a number of items, or bulk material which is arranged and restrained so that the load can be stored, picked up, and moved between two locations as a single mass.”… Continue reading
We all remember the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, where one bed was too soft, one was too hard, and third was just right. When it comes to warehousing technologies for food distribution, I see the same thing.
In grocery, most store shipments are composed of mixed-SKU pallets. The layout of a grocery distribution center (DC) generally mirrors a store’s layout. So, if fruits and vegetables are… Continue reading
In the last annual survey done by WERC, the average warehouse’s turnover was between 9.4 and 15 percent. This is too high, and turnover is expensive. How can companies perform better in this area? Could the composition of the workforce make a difference?
In recent research conducted by the Pew Research Center, they comment that “the American work force is graying—and not just because the American population… Continue reading
A few months ago, a client asked me to help him put together a short list of best-of-breed warehouse control system (WCS) vendors. Here is the problem he faced: his company uses a warehouse management system (WMS) that worked well when it was initially implemented. Over time, the company added various material handling systems, each with its own interface and “island” of control logic. The company now wants to upgrade… Continue reading
Microsoft Xbox and Other AS/RS Killers
· CommentsI read an article by Bob Trebilcock in Modern Materials Handling titled “Automation: Grocery giant Kroger changes the distribution game,”and I was amazed by what Kroger has accomplished, and the risks the company has taken.
Kroger implemented an automation system “that can receive and put-away full pallets, then break them down and rebuild them into store-ready mixed pallets according to how they will be put away on the… Continue reading
When I think of a warehouse, I visualize a facility with racks. But in industries that sell commodities (e.g. fresh produce), “bulk” warehouses without racking are more prevalent. What you are likely to see in these warehouses are painted lines on the floor where pallets are stacked. Oftentimes, a worker has to move a stack of pallets out of the way in order to select the pallet(s) containing the products… Continue reading
Across a wide range of supply chain projects and processes, poor data quality is a recipe for failure. Today, I’m focusing on dimensional data. Do you have accurate weight and dimensional data for your products? For the cases, inner packs, and pallets those products are shipped in? While data quality is one of the least sexy topics I can imagine, it’s also a costly one for companies with poor dimensional… Continue reading
Intriguing Logistics Products
· CommentsI’ve come across three logistics products and services in recent months that intrigued me.
The first product is called the “TruckTrainer Warehouse on Wheels System” by Demountable Concepts. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I recommend that you watch this video on Demountable’s website to fully understand what this product/system is about. Briefly stated, two “detachable trailer bodies” are mounted onto a Demountable Concepts semi-trailer… Continue reading
