Years ago, direct-to-customer fulfillment was a niche business, dominated by catalog companies. Most distribution was mostly retail-oriented, with pallets of items shipping to store locations rather than to millions of front porches. Sometimes, retail brands would allow customers to order at stores and have their purchases shipped directly to their homes, but it wasn’t all that common. Today, as retail distribution has declined and ecommerce fulfillment grows every year, the speed from order placement to shipment has become a more and more important. Let’s get into some ways you can improve this critical warehouse metric.

Read the rest of this entry »

In this installment of our  Shoptalk video series, Amanda reviews how we helped Educational Development Corporation meet high order volumes and increase customer service with a new order fulfillment system in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Read the rest of this entry »

The shift from traditional retail to ecommerce is accelerating, and with that growth there are both challenges and opportunities for order fulfillment operations. Companies that spent decades perfecting retail distribution (large, bulk orders to a network of stores) are shifting toward direct-to-consumer shipments that are orders of magnitude more difficult to manage.

Among other things, this means that ecommerce companies must focus on optimal packaging. At Modex 2018, an industry expert panel including Hytrol’s Boyce Bonham discussed these issues.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you run a warehouse or distribution facility today, it’s likely that you are busy — really busy — and scrambling for time. E-commerce has changed the game, as customers demand more, faster, better. Managing a warehouse has always been a battle for time and the pressure never seems to subside. When we talk to warehouse managers and operators, here are some of the issues they face on a daily basis.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you run a distribution center, factory or warehouse, it’s not news to you that labor is in tight supply. Demands is up, and workers — particularly skilled, motivated, productive ones — have more options than ever. E-commerce has transformed the business, with constantly-escalating demand for pickers, packers, assembly workers drivers and general warehouse labor. With the unemployment rate below 4%, many other industries are competing with you for the same labor pool. What can you do to cope with these issues?

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the best things about warehouse automation the way it helps your labor force become more flexible.

With the right automation strategy, you can add new people without long training curves. This allows you to expand, hire temporary workers as needed and juggle shifts. When it comes to safety, though, there are behaviors you must account for, no matter how much conveyor or how many robots are at work to simplify the work. Let’s break down the ways you can work to keep people safe near conveyors.

Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to loading and retrieving pallets from a rack bay that could be 30 feet or more off the ground, there is some risk of product damage or falls. These things occur when drivers are busy, under-trained or just have a bad moment. Here are some things you can do to reduce these risks.

Read the rest of this entry »

The annual DC Velocity/WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) DC Metrics Survey is out for 2018, and as with previous studies, offers us insight into what measurements are most critical according to DC managers. Last year’s study saw a shift in the top concerns, and this latest version keeps with that trend with labor metrics accounting for 5 of the top 12 .

Read the rest of this entry »

When you consider the various storage media and order picking methods, it’s critical to understand why some items are better picked in a variety of storage media, and accessed by the right type of picking authentication. The following table is a visual comparison of these alternatives.
Read the rest of this entry »

Order picking operations in today’s rapid, ecommerce-driven market are faced with increasing demand and customer expectations on one side, and a fluid labor pool on the other. This isn’t dissimilar to the labor challenges experienced by fast food companies. What can you do to cope with this?

Read the rest of this entry »