In Logistics Management Magazine’s 2017 Warehouse/DC survey, there isn’t a lot that will surprise people on the front line of order fulfillment, storage, logistics and distribution management. As it has been for a while, e-commerce is driving the train, and its effects cascade into the rest of the business. Â What are the major takeaways?
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
Light-directed picking is the heavyweight champion when it comes to productivity gains, order picking speed, increased accuracy, and ease of operator development.
Because it’s 100% hands-free and requires no headpiece, it’s also highly flexible for many challenging fulfillment operations. We’ve compiled ten ways to analyze your operation to determine if these systems would be a fit for you. Obviously, more specific information will be needed, but this should get you started.
We spoke with Lightning Pick’s Dave Broadfoot about the best ways to ensure you are making a good pick-to-light decision.
Tags: ROI, Order Picking & Fulfillment, pick to light, 10 tips
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
You see them all over the place in warehouses these days – the ubiquitous blue forklift light gliding over the floor ahead of or behind a lift truck as it winds its way between rack rows, down aisles, across docks, and out of trailers. AÂ wide variety of choices are available, including many inexpensive imports with a bewildering number of dense specifications. How can you tell the difference?
Let’s break down the ways you can avoid the “bargain” light that could cost you plenty.
Tags: dock safety, warehouse accidents, lights, spotlights, forklift safety
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
Above: SAS Automation standardized bag-gripper
Palletizing is a standard material handling application for industrial robots, and bag palletizing is one of the most typical applications. Why? Because bag palletizing is simpler and easier than case palletizing. If your operation requires bag stacking/pallet loading – and you want to improve speed, reduce mistakes, and create a more ergonomic system, here are the things you need to know.
Tags: labor, ergonomics, Robotics
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
Companies are utilizing 3PL services for their warehousing and shipping needs more often than ever. Many of the companies who choose to shift their operations to third parties are e-commerce entities that specialize in producing and selling a product and don’t want to run a storage and shipping facility. Others are traditional distributors, retailers, and others who believe that they should focus on core competencies.
If your company is considering a 3PL for its warehousing, shipping and logistics needs, what information do you need to have ready?
Tags: logistics, warehouse storage, warehouse, ROI, Third Party Logistics, ecommerce, 3PL
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
A guest post by Tom Reddon of the National Forklift Exchange.
Driving a forklift in the snow or ice seems intimidating. However, with modern innovation and improvements, outdoor operations have been revamped and revitalized, even in the most trying of circumstances. Whether it’s flurries or a full-scale blizzard, adhering to these practices will prevent the issues that pile up with each snowflake. The outdoors poses numerous challenges, but there are some practices forklift operators can use to drive safer in these conditions.
Posted in Material Handling|
Busy, frazzled, distracted, or plain inattentive drivers whose sightlines are impaired may have accidents. They’ll collide with pallet rack posts, building columns, walls, machinery and a variety of other things. Worse, they sometimes hit people. What can you do to increase driver awareness and the ability to see what’s around them?
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
In manufacturing, maintenance, and machine shop operations, tools, dies, and bits are among the most likely targets for pilferage. Tools fit the criteria for theft we discuss in our white paper, Reducing Warehouse & Dock Area Pilferage (PDF, 1.3MB, opens in a new tab): “items that are a combination of concealable, removable, available, valuable, or enjoyable are prime candidates for theft.” Items with a high perceived “value per ounce” are at risk. A $200 block that weighs 100 pounds is far less of a target than a $200 cutting tool.
Tools are in demand, easy to sell and expensive. Plus, many of the most expensive ones fit in a coat pocket, lunch box or tool box.
The landscape is constantly changing for warehousing, distribution and order fulfillment operations, but it’s rarely changed so quickly as the last half decade — and will likely change even more the next five years. The rapid growth of smart devices, database efficiency, and robotics guarantees that elite storage and order picking operations in 2025 will be different than those of today.
In fact, distribution centers and warehouse operations that want to thrive must change, adapt and think differently.
Tags: warehouse technology, distribution center, Robotics, internet of things
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
A loading dock is like a football center: It touches the ball every play, but gets no glory when things go well.
Almost all warehouses and manufacturing facilities induct and ship out almost everything through the dock area. Your shipping and receiving areas are the conduit between your operation and the world beyond. Finding ways to improve operations in the dock area can yield positive results for almost any business. Whether your operation processes 10 pallets or 10,000 packages a day, you can improve the entire operation by optimizing dock operations.
Tags: customer service, labor, ROI
Posted in Docks & Shipping|
