Industry News

Anyone who has watched “Tiny House Hunters” knows that going small is one of the hottest trends in the real estate market. A similar trend is taking place in the distribution market, especially around e-fulfillment. While the typical DC featured in Modern Materials Handling is 500,000 square feet or more, retailers and e-tailers are looking at smaller footprints to get nearer to their customers.

Best Buy knew it needed to make some big changes if it was going to survive. It wanted to become more efficient, improve its supply chain and figure out how it could compete in a different way, Bass said.​

Mayor Andy Cook, IEDC Executive Vice President of Business Development Jim Staton and Japanese Consulate General Naoki Ito joined leaders of Bastian Solutions and Toyota Advanced Logistics for a grand opening of the company’s new advanced manufacturing facility in Westfield, IN.

The Bastian Family Scholarship will be given annually through the Material Handling Education Foundation to encourage future engineering leadership within the industry.

Bastian Solutions, an Indiana-headquartered material handling division of Toyota Advanced Logistics, has launched a new robotic handler that features 3D printed parts. Developed in collaboration with Chicago-based advanced digital manufacturing company Fast Radius, 45% of the final bill-of-materials (BOM) for the Shuttle System robotic picker have been produced via additive manufacturing.

Bastian Solutions debuted the Bastian Solutions Shuttle System, a robotic materials handler with unparalleled efficiency and flexibility made possible with parts designed and built through additive manufacturing.

Bastian Solutions debuted, today, the company's own robotic shuttle system, a robot-equipped materials handler with unparalleled efficiency and flexibility made possible with parts designed and built through additive manufacturing.

Bastian Solutions will showcase the latest version of its goods-to-robot each picking technology integrated with an order fulfillment system at ProMat booth S1603.

The manufacturing supply chain is increasingly benefiting from the industrial internet of things (IIoT). High-tech connected devices and systems, advanced data management platforms, and integrated MRO service offerings are improving supply-chain processes and outcomes from end to end.

Take a look inside Bastian Solutions client Amazon India and the order fulfillment system that allows them to deliver ecommerce packages in less than 24 hours.

The latest technologies offer powerful ways to boost speed and accuracy in warehousing and distribution facilities, but in the face of e-commerce, the Amazon effect and fierce competition, the most important metric is uptime. As the circulatory system of a facility, conveyor systems are already playing a critical role in the transformation to “smart” operations.

Inventory management in an on-demand world isn’t easy today, and it doesn’t seem poised to get much easier anytime soon. In fact, real tension exists between the brick-and-mortar side of the house and the e-commerce side.