In the dynamic landscape of modern supply chains, one of the key challenges is the efficient management of resources to eliminate waste and enhance overall productivity. In this article, we will delve into strategic ways for warehouse managers to eliminate waste, with a focus on not only optimizing the use of cartons and packing, but […]

In 2022, I wrote an article called The Best Supply Chain Company You Have Never Heard Of. The article was about Ferguson PLC, a value-added distributor of plumbing and heating products. Ferguson has an extensive and complex supply chain. When I had an opportunity to catch up with Michael Jacobs, the senior vice president of […]

AutoStore has a lot of buzz surrounding it. This public company (OSE:AUTO) headquartered in Norway achieved revenues of nearly $650 million in less than 20 years. The company continued to grow during COVID even as the industry shrank. And their revenues don’t include services – they work through system integration partners. Medline was the first […]

OTTO Motors’ business is focused on production logistics– as opposed to warehousing and fulfillment. Production logistics has different requirements with respect to variability by operation and integration needs. OTTO Motors focuses on large manufacturing plants with large numbers of vehicles and substantial integration requirements. Large plants such as these are high cost-of-failure environments where […]

GXO Logistics, the former logistics segment of XPO Logistics, is extensively deploying warehouse technology as a key ingredient to its formula for success. About 30 percent of its revenue is from automated sites. Some notable technology implementations include the Exotec System, Swisslog AS/RS, Koerber’s layer picker, and an extensive agreement with GreyOrange for its goods-to-person robotics.

Supply chains around the country are in great need of warehouse and transportation workers. Just last month I noted that warehouse labor productivity was hindered extensively by COVID-19 and that 80 percent of ARC’s warehouse survey respondents anticipate an increase of order throughput volumes in 2021. Furthermore, COVID-19 exacerbated the existing shift from retail store […]

We just completed the new global market study on the Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) market. The market is exploding. In my twenty years of doing market research I have never seen anything like the growth this market is experiencing.