The Bastian mission statement says, "...dedicated to helping customers compete in their respective markets by providing the best material handling system solutions and technology..." Someone on the outside might ask what exactly a material handling system is.

An automated material handling system very simply moves (handles) something (material) from point A to point B; an item is going from here to there. Items might stay somewhere for a while on a shelf or on a pallet, but the idea is to move them. That simple concept, moving something from point A to point B, is fascinating if you stop and think of the different ways a company can apply this concept and to what extent you can apply material handling.

Would Santa Claus be more efficient with a conveyor system? If Santa had an automated material handling system, would he finish his gift-giving faster and make it home at a decent hour?

An automated material handling system can be applied in different situations besides the obvious: baggage claim at the airport, sorting trash at a recycling facility, assembling a piece of machinery, filling warehouse orders, even filling boxes of chocolates (the Lucy and Ethel method is so much more advanced today!). Think of the grocery store. The cashier scans your box of cereal, sets it down on a short (three feet long maybe?) conveyor belt, and the box moves down to a smiling teenager who bags your groceries.

The elves could build the toys along assembly lines that lead to a gift wrapping area, void fill, and ultimately to the loading dock for "the sleigh." There could be distribution centers (DCs) in strategic cities throughout the world for Santa to swoop down and climb into a preloaded sleigh. Yes, the reindeer switching would be a logistics issue, but Bastian would figure that out, too.

Santa really should look into this. With all the work he's been doing fulfilling wishes for thousands of years, doesn't he deserve faster, more efficient operations? We think so.

Author: Robin Kochis