Modern Materials Handling articles from March 2007

Modern Materials Handling archives from March 2007

60 seconds with...(Glenn Schlau)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... By Staff Glenn Schlau on developing a packaging strategy that considers cost impact on operations. We're just at the beginning of this right now. Now all packaging decisions are marketing and product team driven-how the package...

Motors basics.(induction motors in materials handling systems)
March 1, 2007... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large While not glamorous, motors are the workhorses that keep inventory moving in automated materials handling systems. Without question, motors are the power behind the scenes when it comes to...

Do best practices matter?(Editorial)
March 1, 2007... By Gary Forger, Editorial Director Best practices in materials handling and the supply chain are a funny thing. On the one hand, the idea seems so straight forward. Here's the best way to do whatever. On the other hand, what works as...

Hoist improves efficiency, reduces strain.
March 1, 2007... By Noel P. Bodenburg, Managing Editor With an intelligent assist device, Porclain Hydraulics convinced workers to stop manually lifting heavy loads. For Porclain Hydraulics, the challenge was to find a hoist that would get workers to...

Top 20 systems suppliers.(Company rankings)
March 1, 2007... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor Modern's annual ranking of the largest materials handling systems suppliers shows 2006 was a strong year. The materials handling equipment industry grew at a healthy rate in 2006, and that growth is...

Automotive trends: Top practices, issues and metrics.(use of materials management equipment in automotive industry)
March 1, 2007... By Gary Forger, Editorial Director Operations managers at car companies and their suppliers have somewhat different priorities than industry in general. Automotive industry operations managers are faced with many of the same pressures...

Winds of change.(Lockheed Martin's inventory management techniques)
March 1, 2007... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large After hurricanes damaged its Orlando warehouse, Lockheed Martin adopted lean in a new facility designed to support 300% higher throughput with more than 40% less inventory on hand. In business, you...

Pallets.(wooden pallets is the trend)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... By Staff It's been estimated that 2 billion pallets are in use every day in the United States and that 90% of them are made of wood. While some place the number higher and others lower than 2 billion, it's clear that wooden pallets are...

Which picking methods work?
March 1, 2007... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor Researchers say pick-to-light and other technologies really do improve picking speed and accuracy, helping to reduce labor costs. In theory, automated picking technologies improve picking accuracy,...

Automated case handling on the rise.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... By Staff Demand for automated case handling systems is growing. Cases, of course, have been around for years, but they've traditionally been moved in unit loads or manually picked by workers building mixed pallets. The following are...

Passive RFID for asset management.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... By Staff Traditionally, the market for industrial radio frequency identification (RFID) has consisted of two distinct camps: Inexpensive passive tags , like the Gen II tags favored by Wal-Mart, were used for one-time, disposable...

Focus on supply chain executive software.
March 1, 2007... By Staff Manage transactions across a multi-enterprise network Staff Supply Network Gateway version 6.0 manages drop shipment and vendor-managed inventory replenishment to customers within a multi-enterprise network. The...

Product showcase.
March 1, 2007... By Staff Integrated system built on Microsoft.NET Staff Integrated Logistics Solutions software provides mid-size to tier 1 companies a flexible and easy-to-use solution of supply chain execution capabilities at a lower...

Buy pallet standard online.(mhiastore.org)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... By Staff Copies of the MH1 pallet standard are now available for sale at mhiastore.org , the online store of the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA). The standard-revised and published in 2005-was previously available through...

Automation in food handling.(Survey)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... By Staff The traditionally low-tech world of food and beverage handling may be moving toward greater automation, according to a recent survey of 104 food logistics executives. Third-party logistics provider Saddle Creek Corp. (...

Process that order now or later?
March 1, 2007... By Staff While so many orders are pushed onto the DC floor to "see" what needs to get done, patience is actually a virtue. That's according to Jim Apple of The Progress Group in his latest Modern column. Apple says it's better to match...

Robot sales down 30%.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... By Staff North American robotic companies had a record year for sales to non-automotive customers in 2006, but it wasn't enough to offset the drop in orders from the auto industry. Overall North American robot sales totaled 12,765 robots...