Loading and unloading pallet conveyors with forklifts is an everyday, all-day task.

Done right, it’s fast and efficient. Done wrong, product damage, collisions, injuries, and workflow bottlenecks happen. I’ve seen it in dozens of warehouses, even in highly automated operations, and most of them tend to bridge the shipping dock and the end conveyor lines with forklifts (these days, AGVs and AMRs often do this work). Pallets are large, heavy and in motion when they’re transported on conveyors. That combination of size, pressure and movement can result in damage or injuries when not properly controlled.

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For this employee spotlight, we sat down with Christine Perry, Cisco-Eagle’s Employee-Owner of the Year for 2024-2025.

Christine is renowned not only for her professionalism and commitment to excellence but also for her dedication to supporting her colleagues and promoting the values of employee ownership.

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Just how many pallets can you store in a 100′ x 100′ area? It can range from not that many–X with selective racks that let you pick or place any pallet at any time–or “Y” using incredibly dense, using pallet flow or drive-in systems that restrict how and when you can access pallets. The balance between storage density and selectivity is always critical, but there are other factors in play: cost, efficiency and safety.

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You may have noticed that at Cisco-Eagle, we say “employee-owner” rather than “employee.” This is something we do with great intention as an ESOP. When we recognize our employee-owner of the year, for example, we’re recognizing someone who isn’t just a great employee, but also embodies the spirit of ownership.

For 2024-2025, that someone is Christine Perry.

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It started with a simple question: What’s your biggest operational challenge?

We didn’t expect leaders in manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution to respond with such clarity, but they did. And what we heard wasn’t vague. It was precise, urgent, and reflective of a sector that’s evolving in real time.

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As we’ve discussed previously, labor is hard to find these days – and it will get harder every year. Cultivating your labor pool eases the need (and high costs) of hiring, training and retaining workers. One of the best ways to do this is to optimize as much as possible for ergonomics.

As the saying goes, what you appreciate appreciates.

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As we mentioned last month, you can expect increases in 2025 shipping costs and fees, particularly in the heavy package sector. What else can you expect in 2025 in the manufacturing, warehousing and distribution spaces?

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Meet Ross Adams, an Account Executive in Arkansas, whose dedication to building relationships, solving customer challenges, and love for travel drive his success at Cisco-Eagle.

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Above: Belt conveyors hang from the ceiling of a busy e-commerce distribution center, feeding shipping operations from a pick module while leaving the space below for traffic and shipping activities.

Conveyor systems transform picking, transport, assembly, and more, but occupy space in fixed positions. Tight layouts, low ceilings, facility structures and equipment compromise and compete for that square footage.   Don’t worry, though—there are creative ways to work circumvent those limitations–and in some cases make them strengths.

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