Over at the Operations & Fulfillment site, Curt Barry has written a brief, informative piece on reducing warehouse costs. In particular during a difficult economic climate, cost reduction is at the top of mind for distribution operations.

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We have published a 2010 Cisco-Eagle Full Line Catalog, with 132 pages of ideas, concepts, and equipment for industrial, warehousing, manufacturing and commercial productivity. You can ask us for a print copy or choose to download PDF copies of the book, by section.

All of the listed catalog files below are PDF files and open in a new window.

• Systems & Services (p. 1-15)
• Conveyors (p. 16-38)
• Carton Flow Systems (p.39-44)
• Storage Racks – Pallet, stacking, cantilever (p. 45-55)
• Industrial Shelving (p. 56-70)
• Containers, Bins, Totes (p. 71-79)
• Shop Equipment.Workstations (p. 80-85)
• Security Equipment, Cages, & Lockers (p. 86-95)
• Safety & Ergonomics (p. 96-99)
• Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms (p. 100-104)
• Lifts, Balancers, Jib Cranes (p. 105-110)
• Dock Equipment (p. 111-115)
• Carts & Trucks (p. 116-120)
• Casters & Wheels (p. 121-132)

The catalog in its entirety is a very large PDF (12MB) download, and also available.

Please note that the catalog does not list prices. Almost every item in it is priced on this website, with extensive details, specifications, photos, and in many cases video. See our online catalog for comprehensive information.

Conveyors, like any capital investment have multiple costs. The amount on your invoice is hardly the last time you’ll pay for that conveyor. If a conveyor is correctly specified and designed for future use, significant cost savings can be realized.

The three costs a conveyor system carries:

• Initial costs – the easiest to understand and quantify. This is the cost of equipment, installation, and controls.
• Operational costs – electrical usage  & pneumatics usage
• Maintenance costs – Spare parts, replacement parts, & labor costs

All of these costs are spread over the conveyor’s useful life, so a formula that might best express what your conveyor will cost is: TCO (total cost of ownership) = IC (initial cost) + OC (operational costs) + MC (maintenance costs)/ useful life of the system.

Higher initial costs may be recouped in lower maintenance and operational costs over time if the right decisions are made when the equipment is specified and ordered. The initial cost savings can be eaten up by higher operating and maintenance costs, but neither of those is as expensive as a system that cannot do the job it was deployed to do. Long term costs can easily outstrip the initial costs. What are the real, long term costs and what can you do to control them?

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Just a quick tip of the hat to the The North Texas WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) Chapter. They are planning a 1-day convention on Thursday, September 23, 2010. Even if you’re not a member, you’re welcome to go. Cisco-Eagle will be there, so come by and see us if you attend. Besides our booth, you can visit 8,000 square feet of exhibit showroom and attend four educational presentations with a total of 12 topic options. For an inexpensive, quick, but informative day, it’s hard to beat. There will be raffles, continental breakfast, a hot lunch, and excellent networking opportunities.

The conference is sponsored by TCU and DCVelocity.

• Where: Grapevine Convention Center, 1209 South Main Street, Grapevine, TX 76051
• When: Thursday, September 23
• Cost: $20 to WERC Members, $25 to non-members. Free to students & faculty with ID’s (must submit info prior to the 23rd).
• More information: Visit the North Texas WERC site