The Material Handling Blog

As we gear up for 2022, experts at Adobe predict we will be facing the first ever trillion dollar year in ecommerce sales – it’s never too soon to prepare for an uptick in sales year-round.

It’s no surprise that peak season is no longer just Black Friday. The ecommerce and retail markets have changed to show increased demand throughout the year. That increase means added focus on supply chain quality and efficiencies. Material handling automation and software solutions can help offer answers across industries to tasks like picking and packing, manufacturing, on-site storage, product movement, and so much more. As markets change and adjust, even during this traditional holiday peak season companies are striving to win over current and potential customers. Customer trust is key and maintaining that makes a big difference on customer success. This starts with building an internal culture that is customer focused, building lasting partnerships through teamwork, collaboration and trust.

How do you determine when it’s time to integrate an automated vehicle solution in your DC (distribution centers)? Discover how these automated systems can help you navigate your warehouse confidently and take your operation to new heights.

Safety first. That can’t be stressed enough.

Festive season 2021 is expected to bring numerous opportunities for retailers and ecommerce companies. The excitement with festive promotional sales offers will create massive online traffic, impact product sales and company turnover, and put enormous pressure on companies’ supply chain processes.

Si ha formado parte de una empresa que haya acometido planes de adaptación o transición, conocerá los retos que se afrontan al desarrollar un proyecto con las operaciones en marcha. En Bastian Solutions vemos cada año muchos proyectos con operaciones en marcha, como los de mejora o modernización de las operaciones existentes. Esos proyectos son mucho más complicados que los que se ejecutan en instalaciones flamantes o existentes que aún no se encuentran operativas. Cuando se emprenden proyectos de adaptación en operaciones existentes, los directivos de la empresa deben esforzarse para mantener las operaciones cotidianas en marcha con poca o ninguna interrupción para no debilitar el servicio al cliente. Las reconfiguraciones, cuando un nuevo sistema se instala online en una operación directa, también debe manejarse con cuidado para reducir los tiempos de inactividad y las interrupciones en general.

In today’s global market – facing an acceleration in ecommerce and managing the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic – flexibility is not only key, but a necessity. The flexibility to scale up or down and use automation where it fits best in order to help to maintain a leading edge in the industry markets. Facilitating greater speed, agility and adaptability in warehouse distribution and order fulfillment, Tompkins Robotics’ solutions are designed to allow customers to be more successful in dynamically changing environments. In 2019, Bastian Solutions added Tompkins Robotics’ autonomous mobile robot (AMRs) solution to our growing portfolio of automation capabilities. We talked to Mike Futch, the CEO and President of Tompkins Robotics, for a deeper insight on the technology and future of DC automation development.

With continuing growth in ecommerce sales and mobile device usage, companies will need to master the art of fulfillment in minutes to meet same-day delivery requests.

By now, we all know the headache that is the world of grocery ecommerce. Between a global pandemic, supply chain issues, product shortages and changing consumer demands, many grocers are scrambling to make the best decision for their customers and their bottom line. The industry transitioning from “how a grocer is going to automate the instore fulfillment process?” to “how are they going to optimize the whole process, including last mile delivery?” Brick Meets Click data showed that online grocery sales for pickup or delivery were $6.6 billion in April of this year. That’s down from the $7.1 billion in grocery e-commerce sales in March of this year, but up from $5.3 billion in April 2020. Reducing the labor spend for filling orders in the store is the first step; what follows is a strategy that can help reduce the overall cost of getting orders into the hands of customers, regardless of the hand-off location. Being a high-volume and low-margin industry, grocers need microfulfillment automation and technologies that are proven, scalable, dense, fast AND have a quick, high return on investment, like these:

Real estate is a hot item right now. Coupled with changing consumer grocery and ecommerce buying habits and frozen goods growth, cold storage is in demand. Whether a metropolitan location, to satisfy microfulfillment and hyperlocal needs, or as a regional distribution center, commercial real estate availability has dropped according to Real Capital Analytics. Cold storage industry growth, however, is projected at 4.5% by 2023. This means storage providers are faced with the challenge of optimizing facilities while handling increased inventory volumes and speed. How can cold chain supply professionals effectively prepare for this expected growth? By eliminating inefficiencies and leveraging the right material handling automation.

Serving more than 80,000 customers in both Canada and the United States, Richelieu aimed to increase customer satisfaction with faster, reliable order fulfillment. As an international importer, distributor and manufacturer of specialty hardware, Richelieu manages over 110,000 SKUs. In addition to a faster and more streamlined order fulfillment approach, Richelieu was able to consolidate external storage by leveraging their Montreal facility. They looked to Bastian Solutions to advise and implement the right combination of automation technology to add to Richelieu’s facility longevity and implement a system that helps them reliably maintain strong customer service.

As industrial robotic technology has improved over the years, so has related simulation software. So much so, that a majority of the upfront programming for a robotic system is typically now completed in simulation software first before being implemented in a physical robot. The sophisticated software programs used for robotic simulations replicate real world robotic conditions within a 3D virtual environment. These tools allow for detailed customization providing a reliably clear view of how a robot will operate before its built and integrated. This gives customers peace of mind of how their investment will support their operations.