The annual DC Velocity/WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) DC Metrics Survey is out for 2019. This research is conducted every year and offers us insight into what measurements are most critical according to DC managers. As we know, the only constant is change, and this year showcases how e-commerce pushed accuracy and capacity to the forefront of DC managers’ minds.
E-Commerce Propels 2019 Distribution Center Metrics Study
Tags: distribution center, warehouse, e-commerce, ecommerce
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So You’ve Decided To Automate Your Facility. What Next?
With the rapid increase of the pace of manufacturing and distribution, facilities that automate manual processes will increase their ROI and grow their bottom line. Customer demand is ever increasing, right along with the costs to service that demand. You want your warehouse to deliver faster and more efficient results without sacrificing production. You’re looking at automating components within your facility to produce this change. But how can you really get started?
Tags: warehouse productivity, Warehouse Management, warehousing, Material Handling, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, distribution center, e-commerce
Posted in Automation, E-Commerce, Warehousing, Manufacturing| No Comments »
Making the New Tax Incentives Work for Your Company
The most comprehensive tax reform legislation package in more than 30 years is now law, poised to impact businesses of all shapes and sizes in nearly every industry. There are a number of provisions that will have a significant impact on manufacturers and distributors, making it imperative to assess them and understand their business impact.
Tags: Warehouse Management, warehousing, Material Handling, Manufacturing, distribution center, warehouse
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National Forklift Safety Day is a Chance to Research, Reflect and Improve
The forklift industry will be in Washington, D.C.,  this spring to take part in  fourth annual National Forklift Safety Day. This event, scheduled for June 13 in the nation’s capital and across the country, will provide an opportunity for the industry to educate customers, the public, and government officials about the safe use of forklifts and the importance of proper operator training. Taking the time to ensure that your workforce is aware of these forklift operations and procedures is an important way to ensure an environment of pedestrian safety for your facility.
Cisco-Eagle highlights forklift safety as one of our main objectives towards helping customers achieve safety success. Â To help celebrate National Forklift Safety Day, we’ve lined up some of our previous content so you have an easy portal towards a safer forklift environment:
Tags: forklift, Manufacturing, industrial safety, warehouse safety, forklifts, distribution center, warehouse, forklift safety, Material Handling
Posted in Warehousing, Material Handling, Lifts, Inventory Management| No Comments »
How your 3PL Can Meet Customer Demands
It’s a good time to be in the third party logistics business. 3PLs are in demand with no end in sight as the warehousing industry copes with higher volumes, increasing e-commerce demands and challenging customer expectations.
This gives 3PL operators with a unique opportunity to build lasting relationships with key customers, suppliers, and retailers of their choice. However, this can also lead to an increased demand for quality service from warehouses and fulfillment centers. In order for 3PLs to succeed in this new environment, they must be ready to face increasing levels of customer and prospect expectations.
Tags: 3PL, logistics, Supply Chain, distribution center, warehouse, Warehouse Management, Third Party Logistics, warehousing, Material Handling
Posted in Supply Chain, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Third Party Logistics, Warehousing| 2 Comments »
Planning the Future of Your Warehousing Operation: Don’t be Left Behind
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, internet of things, future
Posted in Warehousing, Robotics, Third Party Logistics, Automation| No Comments »
New Videos: Spiral Conveyors

A video overview of vertical conveying solutions
An excellent way to move products vertically in a distribution environment is through spiral conveyors. You can move materials between levels (pick modules, mezzanines, multi-story buildings) using several methods, but when it comes to carton or tote loads that are so common in order picking applications, the choice tends to be between spiral conveyors, incline conveyors, and package handling lifts.
Tags: conveyor systems, vertical lifts, distribution center, spiral conveyors, Ryson, Package handling, pick modules
Posted in Material Handling, Mezzanines, Video, Conveyor, Warehousing| No Comments »
Innovations in High Density Storage
Ever find yourself wondering how you can get more out of your pallet rack? Do you have goods that take up very little space, but your pick operations don’t call for entire pallets full of the product? Then you might need to look at ways to achieve more density in your storage, and we’ve recently found a gem of a product that can help you out. It’s called Dynamic High Density Storage and it’s made by SpeedCell.
Tags: space savings, storage, industrial storage, distribution center, Warehouse Management, warehousing, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Pallet Rack, order fulfillment, warehouse storage
Posted in Space Optimization & Planning, Pallet and Industrial Racks, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Product Ideas, Warehousing| No Comments »
Top 12 Distribution Center Metrics
As it has every year for the last decade, DCVelocity Magazine has surveyed its readers and members of WERC to  find what industry professionals believe are the top metrics for a successful operation. This is instructive for most operations, and worth taking a look.  The full survey can be found here.
The top 12 metrics, and (category)
- On time shipments (to customers)
- Internal order cycle time (customer)
- Dock-to-stock cycle time, in hours (inbound operation)
- Total cycle time (customer)
- Order picking accuracy (quality)
- Lines picked and shipped per hour (outbound operations)
- Lines received and put away per hour (inbound operations)
- Percentage of supplier orders received damage free (inbound operations)
- Average warehouse capacity used (capacity)
- Order fill rate (outbound operations)
- Percentage of supplier orders received with correct documentation (inbound operations)
- Peak warehouse capacity used (Capacity)
Not everything on this list necessarily applies to every operation, but they are all worth some reflection. It’s worthwhile to have the questions posed, as we all fall victim to the “forest and trees” syndrome.Â
Tags: ROI, metrics, warehousing, distribution center
Posted in ROI, Inventory Management, Warehousing, Supply Chain, Material Handling, Docks & Shipping| No Comments »
A Quick Guide to Reducing Warehouse Costs
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.
Tags: warehouse productivity, labor management, distribution center, product slotting
Posted in Docks & Shipping, ROI, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Warehousing, Material Handling| No Comments »