The use of robotics and automation in factories, warehouses, and other material handling operations is not a new concept; however, the evolution of the technological advances in the field of robotics is difficult to ignore, and we’re seeing an undeniable advantage in the implementation of cloud-based robotics. This is a trend that you will definitely want to follow!
Part of the challenge of running a successful business is the ability to “predict” the trends that are coming down the road. Why is this important? If we can accurately understand the curves that our industry will take – and our customers’ likes and dislikes – we can shape our company to be responsive and able to pivot when necessary.
Everybody in the warehouse business is after one thing: The fastest possible throughput with the least amount of errors. It’s why we spend inordinate amounts of time and money designing our warehouses (and their processes) to make the most sense for how to move things in and out in the smoothest, fastest and most productive way. There’s actually a word …
Remember the days when we had skilled labor beating down our warehouse doors for a job? How about when we could easily rent or buy new warehouse space when we needed more room for storage? People didn’t need or want a large variety of goods and products, heck there weren’t a large variety of goods and products invented or available. …
Inventory in a material handling or distribution center warehouse can be the annual task we all dread the most. For some of us, it means directing our scant-enough resources to a possible week-long task, while a skeleton crew manages the normal day to day. It can mean hiring additional workers and equipment, expenses we don’t need in these inflationary times.
It’s time to reflect on the year just passed and make plans for getting the most out of the one that’s coming. For those of us in the material handling and warehouse industry, our reflections may follow a certain path and answer some important questions.
Was your material handling or distribution center operation ready for the e-commerce boom? Believe it or not, e-commerce started sometime in the early 1980s. In 1994, Amazon launched and e-commerce took another (giant) step forward. By 2018, e-commerce was raking in $513 billion and those are numbers that make people perk up. But it wasn’t until 2020 that everybody in …
As a business owner, you strive to find the best ways to optimize your processes. In the material handling and distribution center warehouse industries, smooth and well-oiled operations are what we all shoot for in our daily activities. But the nature of business is that we’ll see fluctuations, peaks and ebbs, and constant change. How quickly and easily you can …
In the material handling and distribution center warehouse arena, we can divide our main tasks into three pieces of the pie: receiving, storing and shipping. In those pieces of pie lie a multitude of supporting functions that keep us on track and keep our operations running smoothly and profitably. If anything gets kinked up in the system, the ramifications can …
In the material handling and distribution center warehouse world, we all deal with the ebb and flow of busy and slow seasons. If you’re like most of us, you are currently gearing up to tackle the busiest season of the year – the December holidays. Holiday shopping was primarily done in person before the pandemic: people still went out shopping …