The Material Handling Blog

As a fundamental element, supply chain and logistics requires delivering a quality product to the consumer. The details behind quality product and on time delivery are complex and filled with complexities such as distribution center locations, advanced automation technologies, product specifications, throughput goals, and software support. And, while selecting the right automation equipment is important for a company’s competitive advantage, sustainable growth is most centered around the people. Lean supply chain management and the operational success is a product of the strength of your human resources. How do you create and foster sustainable human resource growth? While COVID-19 has forced companies to shift priorities and adjust manufacturing processes to deal with changing consumer demand and new safety precautions, the fundamentals continue to hold true for employee development: clarify goals and direction, identify the challenges, promote learning, and put that learning into practice.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has penetrated every industry and forced changes throughout. Business processes have required accelerated reviews for the safety of the workforce and to adjust to changes in consumer demand. Supply chain and logistics has been in the spotlight with concerns about how shipments will get from one location to another, replenishment changes due to ecommerce trend acceleration, and demands for same day deliveries. This leads to process and management decisions.

As we close the door on a year of tremendous challenge and change, it’s a good time for distribution center (DC) leaders to pause and reflect on how to apply the hard-won learnings of 2020 in order to make course corrections for 2021 and beyond. Despite how early it may seem, now is the time to prepare for the second half of 2021, by which time the COVID-19 pandemic may be substantially behind us. As you chart your distribution operation’s path forward consider a few key questions that take into account your business needs, workforce, trends and technologies. Not only will this help prepare your operations for a smoother process but will help you assess your capabilities as external factors continue to change.

As the global effects of COVID-19 continue to play out, demand for contactless shopping via eCommerce is increasing putting pressure on fulfillment. Businesses are scrambling to identify opportunities to increase supply across their distribution networks. Many are seeking support from automation systems integrators (conveyor, robotics, software, controls) across several fulfillment sites at once. While multi-site implementations can be challenging, when executed successfully they can achieve greater results than single-site implementations.

The two weeks at the beginning of a project take just as long as at the end of a project. The difference between the beginning and end, is that the beginning is usually less stressful than when a project is getting close to a deadline or a hard Go Live date. It can be easy to let precious time slip! By being efficient during the negotiation stage and clearly communicating the project timeline and milestones at the beginning of the process, you can help your projects run smoother.

With large-scale projects, proper planning is required for success. This is where having a good site supervisor makes all the difference.

Change is not easy and not everyone adapts well. Fortunately, with effective change management, successful transformation can be reached with minimal issues.

Successful warehouse projects require collaboration between the individuals possessing engineering and analytical knowledge and those with a deep understanding and expertise of the operation itself.

All projects, large and small, have many moving parts that need to come together in time to meet your deadline. For projects to run smoothly, it's important to have one person who knows your system inside and out, making sure it all goes smoothly - a site manager.

In today's fast-paced, demand-driven world, material handling system modifications are almost guaranteed and required to keep up with competition. To ensure a smooth project and successful go-live, whether a brand new system or modification, follow these five steps.

Conveyor equipment can be dangerous if not used in the proper manner and with necessary safety precautions in place. To prevent injuries and accidents, OSHA has outlined several conveyor safety standards, which we'll review and expand upon. Read: Understanding OSHA Safety Standards for Conveyor

Supervisionar uma instalação de equipamentos como em outras áreas requer atenção, paciência e obviamente o conhecimento técnico necessário, tanto para lidar com os técnicos como com o cliente. Leia o Artigo

Material handling system drawings are a key tool when proposing a new system to a customer or vendor, so if they don’t make sense, it can hinder proposal discussions and the final outcome of the system installation.

Communication is key in any business! We're often managing meetings with people in various locations and time zones, both internal and external resources. Each employee's communication manner directly impacts the image of both the employee and the company.

Project management is a critical piece to any successful automation system implementation. From the development stage to go live, the project manager must ensure all is going as planned and as the customer needs it. Here is an overview of what a good project manager should cover.

A customer who is ready and willing to take ownership of their new automation system is more likely to be successful

When selecting a material handling integrator, remember to consider who you are, where you are, and where you are going.

A turn-key material handling solution is the complete design, build, and installation of material handling equipment. This type of solution allows you to work with one company to ensure your project exceeds expectations from start to finish. Here's what you should expect during the three phases of your turnkey project...

One of the most important considerations when selecting an integrator to supply a material handling system should be the quality and engagement of the integrator’s project management. This is why in 2015, all robotics project managers will need to be PMP certified...

The role of the project manager is of critical importance when running a large project. Their performance impacts the success of a project more than any other team member involved. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the individual appointed to the role possesses the necessary skills and abilities to run a project successfully. A talented project manager will possess the following defining qualities.

All project managers are NOT created equal. Some are more schedule-focused, while others are more budget-driven. Some spend more time on procurement management, and yet others concentrate on ensuring scope creep doesn’t occur. Regardless of what a project manager emphasizes, I’ve found all good project managers have these 3 essential traits

March Madness is finally here, and there's a reason it's called "madness." The unexpected often happens - which is very exciting in sports, but not so much with a mission critical project. To reduce the "madness" that can often overwhelm and impede project success, follow this simple outline. As a result, you will save time, effort and money over the lifespan of the project.

Project management is more or less the art of making things happen, or moving a project forward to completion. Sounds simple enough, right?

In this day and age, it's absolutely crucial to develop a sound request for proposal, or RFP. There are several key advantages to taking the time and effort to do so, but this isn't a how-to on on RFPs. Instead, it is key information that you should think about as it relates to your projects.

It's always puzzled me as to why so many companies spend months and years planning and designing a project and only give the material handling integrators two weeks to bid. It's also been suggested that tight timelines provide the end user with the best price possible. In my opinion and past experience, this statement couldn't be further from the truth. Read More >>