Most Recent Articles

Recently our own Christine Wheeler and Drew Arnold had the pleasure of attending The 2^nd Annual Pallet Games, hosted and organized by MavPak, Inc. in Plainfield, Indiana. It was a great opportunity to appreciate the kind of mad skills that are in use every day inside your warehouse, as well as a chance to give those teams some exposure and recognition for what they do.

It’s not a secret that battery power has become a key ingredient in the equipment portfolio of the average warehouse. However, for most facilities, batteries are often an overlooked item that is seen as just an “accessory” whose importance is overlooked in the day-to-day operations. But with the growing variety of applications and the complexity of different kinds of battery chemistry becoming prevalent in the mix. Today we’ll look at the best practices involved in charging and maintaining the various types of batteries you currently use – or will use - every day in your facility.

Forecasting needs for space, SKU counts and otherwise daily management of inventory is never a simple task. While the front office staff who design and create new products, forecast the sales and order the inventory for the coming season or sales cycle may have years of experience and a portfolio of modern tools to work with (i.e. software), the team running the distribution center generally is less well-equipped to deal with the operational aspect of those elements in a predictive and flexible manner.

The digital revolution that is transforming the broader economy continues to shape distribution models as well. Increasingly business distribution centers are evolving to serve customers directly in addition to their more traditional roles as distributors for retailers and resellers.

Larger businesses are leading the charge to transform their own warehouses into world-class distribution centers. However, smaller businesses find it difficult to match their efficiency and speed with similar facility and systems investments. This disparity begs the question, “How can smaller companies keep up?” The best way to stay relevant is to outsource these non-core functions to better qualified partners instead of trying to match what large companies are doing.

One area of staff retention and warehouse productivity that is frequently overlooked is the effect of ergonomics on production. Consciously or not, ergonomics pervades every aspect of facility management.

While some managers still look at ergonomics as a form of regulatory burden or reactionary response to a problem, successful leaders understand its ongoing importance. A proactive ergonomic focus helps organizations to maximize productivity and improve employee retention.

Prioritizing ergonomics drives management innovation in numerous ways.

There are a lot of innovations in manufacturing getting press in recent years, but most of them relate to the improvement of productivity through process improvement – continuous improvement, supply chain management, culture and developing talent. But there is one radically innovative technology that is flying under the radar but is already poised to bring the sci-fi future into today’s factories.

While logistics is typically forward-facing, focusing on the details and costs associated with getting items produced and delivered to end users, reverse logistics is concerned with the analysis of products going in the opposite direction.

Moving items backwards in the supply chain is how companies recoup value from products that are not useful in their current state or location, making reverse logistics just as important for effective supply chain management.

Manufacturing is a broad term that is thrown around loosely in the news and in the public domain. 

We've heard for decades about the "decline of manufacturing", but depending on how you measure it, it's not always clear there has been a decline. Frequently a decline of jobs in manufacturing is reported as implying a decline in production, but it is often a result of higher productivity that comes from more automation, improved supply chain logistics and systems. This itself can lead to a decline in employment. 

Reverse logistics is already a fast-growing element of manufacturing and distribution, but lacks the wider understanding it deserves. As a result, many businesses that are unwittingly executing on reverse logistics are missing an opportunity to make it a smooth, efficient and potentially profitable part of their business as they would expect from other process areas.

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