The Material Handling Blog

In the dynamic warehouse operations and logistics industry, a prominent issue consistently arises in corporate discussions and daily floor operations: the challenge of labor shortages and high employee turnover. As supply chain, operations, and production leaders, you know how these labor issues strain daily operations and threaten long-term growth and efficiency. The current scenario presents a stark contrast – while there's a booming demand for logistics and warehouse services, finding and retaining skilled labor to meet this demand has become increasingly more difficult. Frequent turnover amplifies these issues, leading to operational delays, escalating costs, and a decline in employee morale.

Peak season has come and gone. Happy New Year! As we close the door on a busy holiday season, it’s a good time for distribution center leaders to pause and reflect on how to apply the learnings of 2023 in order to make operational course corrections and define capital investment needs for 2024 and beyond. The 2023 holiday season demonstrated continued sales growth, most notably in online sales, whether for BOPIS (buy-online-pickup-in-store) or ecommerce purchases, according to Bain’s recent report.

Growth. Striving for a $2 billion annual revenue goal, SMC Corporation needed a facility and automation technology solution that could meet them where they were and easily support their vision for growth. As a global leader and manufacturer of automatic control equipment, SMC had grown to over 80 subsidiaries and joint ventures around the world. They serve customers in a variety of industries and had grown to 30% of global market share in the pneumatics industry.

From a mechanical standpoint, a goods-to-person system certainly can attain the tote delivery rate advertised on a vendor’s website.  However, these advertised rates do not consider the primary determinant for the throughput rate that is actually realized at a goods-to-person work station – the pick cycle time. 

In today's dynamic and competitive business landscape, companies are constantly seeking ways to improve their operational efficiency and achieve sustainable growth. While automation solutions can offer significant benefits, true success lies in building long-term partnerships that go beyond simply providing equipment.

In the dynamic landscape of warehouse operations, efficiency is the cornerstone of success. As businesses strive to streamline their processes, there's a unique opportunity for warehouse operators to revolutionize material handling with conveyor systems. Warehouses are undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the need for streamlined operations and increased productivity. Recognizing this evolution is the first step for businesses looking to stay ahead in an ever-changing market. Labor costs, inventory management complexities and navigating seasonal peaks are common hurdles. In this blog post, we'll explore how businesses can identify and leverage conveyor opportunities to elevate their operations.

When people hear the term 3PL, they might ask questions such as: “What is a 3PL?” A 3PL or third-party logistics is a business that provides logistics operations to other business. These value-added logistic services include:

Sales are on the rise again this holiday season and consumers are shopping in an omnichannel way. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and sales before and after the Thanksgiving holiday marked at least a week of special discounts and sales. It also marked a year over year increase in retail activity in the United States, spending an estimated $9.8 billion during Black Friday alone, according to Adobe Analytics. Originally a single day of sales, discounts and deals came early extending the sales period before Black Friday, potentially easing the Friday sales bump. In-store sales increased by 1.1%, while ecommerce sales rose by 8.5% year over year, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse. Final totals are still being tallied but reports from MasterCard SpendingPulse, Adobe Analytics and various consulting firms indicate that most likely due to the country’s inflation and economic pressures, consumers actively took advantage of the season’s special discounts, searching for the best deals. They are buying “closer-to-need” according to TD Cowen analysts.

The festive or peak season is one of the busiest times for companies, especially those in the e-commerce and retail industry sectors. With the holidays here, consumer demand for products significantly spikes both in volume and quick fulfilment requirements. With continuous festive promotions and sales, it is understandable that there is an increase in orders with more customer expectations, so it is crucial to have efficient and reliable warehouse material handling systems in place to handle the festive season demand. Determining the specific requirements of your business during the festive season is essential to ensuring a smooth and successful operation.

The fog of peak season. Does this sound like a similar experience to all warehouse operations team members? It’s earlier than usual and you know you have a very long day ahead of you. The building pulses with an electrifying energy but it's a frenetic, anxious feeling that everyone has in the pit of their stomach. The team knows that its “go time” as the customer order volume is going to be 3X the norm. As you walk out of the office and into the warehouse you are met with the sound of conveyor belts humming and the ceaseless beeping noise of forklifts darting all over the building. What is normally an orderly row of neatly stacked goods near pack out, now resembles a maze, as your team scrambles to locate items with urgency. Every corner of the warehouse is in motion, every aisle alive with the chaos of associates picking, workstations loaded with boxes for packout, and trailers are everywhere.

The fascination with automation has been amplified by the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) and the emergence of seemingly self-driving cars. This trend has made “automation” an ubiquitous term worldwide. Manufacturing and warehousing facilities are at the forefront of adopting automation due to the numerous advantages it offers, including waste reduction, increased production efficiency and a compelling ROI (return on investment). In fact, technology like self-driving vehicles isn’t new to the warehouse environment but it has come a very long way since it was first introduced. In this post, we’ll dive into how advanced technology is being leveraged to complement warehouse operations and how you can plan for successful integration.

The ongoing labor shortage crisis is being felt across various sectors, with warehousing being no exception, and its impact threatens efficiency and productivity. The question being asked today by most manufacturers and distributors is not “Should I automate?” but rather “When and how much should I automate?” To best answer those questions, it’s crucial to first understand common material handling and automation considerations.