Modern Materials Handling articles from March 2008

Modern Materials Handling archives from March 2008

What's next with WMS?
March 1, 2008... By Col Alan B. Will, Chief of Staff, 2d Marine Logistics Group, Camp Lejeune What's being learned in the world's trouble spots is making this technology better. The warehouse management system (WMS) is the most revolutionary and...

Engaged by the ungauged.
March 1, 2008... Tom Andel, Editor in Chief After writing this month's feature on the automotive industry (p. 51), I got to thinking about how car buyers tend to feed their wants while industrial equipment buyers lust after need fulfillment. Car buyers...

3PLs: Can't We Just Get Along?(third party logistics provider )
March 1, 2008... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large Order fulfillment or reverse logistics? Maybe both? Whatever you expect from a third-party logistics provider, you have to bring something to the table. Several years ago, a leading automotive...

Sortation basics.
March 1, 2008... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor Today's plants and distribution centers have a range of options for automatic product sortation, from simple pushers to sophisticated crossbelt sorters. Automatically sorting products as they move...

The automotive industry: A turn for the better.(Ford Motor Co.)(General Motors Corp.)(Toyota Motor Corp.)
March 1, 2008... By Tom Andel, Editor in Chief U.S. car makers and their suppliers are developing best practices to combat rising oil prices, a struggling economy and global competition. American auto makers have had it. Perhaps the last straw came at...

The go-to workers.
March 1, 2008... By Tom Andel, Editor-In-Chief Electric sit-down counterbalanced lift trucks are the go-to workers for load handling, transport and lift activities in dock areas and for dock-to-stock applications. 1. Check tires during inspection....

What's ahead for the materials handling industry?(John Nofsinger chief executive officer at MHIA)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor John Nofsinger, CEO of MHIA, shares his expectations for NA 2008 and beyond. In preparation for NA 2008 (www.nashow.com ) in Cleveland's I-X Center next month, Modern spoke to John Nofsinger about his...

Green DCs: Easier than you think.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... By Corinne Kator Building an environmentally friendly DC isn't as difficult or costly as you might think. That's according to Chris Joyce, manager of the new eastern region DC for the outdoor gear and clothing company REI. Joyce...

More RFID benefits for the DC.(radio frequency identification )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... By Corinne Kator The University of Arkansas' RFID Research Center (itri.uark.edu/rfid ) recently demonstrated two advances in RFID technology that, according to center director Bill Hardgrave, offer tremendous benefits to warehouse and DC...

Sam's Club gets serious about RFID.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... By Sean Murphy, Supply Chain Management Review, Modern's sister publication Sam's Club, the warehouse club owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, has unveiled a plan to use RFID tagging on every level-pallet, case and item-by the fall of...

People to know.(Norbert Dawalibi appointed at AIM Group PLC)(John Martin appointed at International Foodservice Distributors Association)(Charles Gruber appointed at Motorola Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... By Staff AIM Global elected three new members to its board of directors: Norbert Dawalibi of Sirit, Matt Schler of Datalogic Scanning, and Rick Schuessler of Motorola-Cannon Equipment appointed Charles Gruber president-Brad Wall was named...

The power of one.(Toyota Motor Corp. spends on maintaining its handling equipments)
March 1, 2008... By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor This Toyota auto plant reduced costs by tens of thousands of dollars and cut downtime by consolidating hoist and crane maintenance under one contractor. The Toyota Motor manufacturing campus in...

Just the right blend.
March 1, 2008... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large A new inventory management system allows whisky maker John Dewar & Sons to track the location of casks used in blending its prize-winning scotch. Time moves slowly in the whisky business. Alcohol...

Tracking casks in real time.(Dewar Elevator Co.)
March 1, 2008... By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large Dewar's new warehouse and data collection design saves storage space and speeds up retrieval. Dewar's Glasgow facility, the first of the new warehouses to go live, is a warehouse in the original sense...

Time to upgrade your WMS?(warehouse management software)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... By Staff According to a report from Aberdeen Research (www.aberdeen.com ), nearly half of companies running a warehouse management system (WMS) have a version that's at least 5 years old. 'Best in class' companies, however, are almost...

Acquisition market heating up.
March 1, 2008... By Staff The year just started, but industry leaders are already busy making strategic acquisitions. Tompkins Associates (www.tompkinsinc.com ) has acquired strategy consulting firms Supply Chain Executive Advisors and Technomic Asia....

Intermec renews focus on printers.(Intermec Technologies Corp.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... By Staff Automatic data capture equipment maker Intermec (www.intermec.com ) is attempting to reassert itself in the industrial printing market. Intermec used to be the country's largest provider of thermal printers, says Tom Roth of...

Tips for building green.(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... By Staff Considering building a new DC and applying for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council? Then Chris Joyce, manager of a new LEED-certified DC for the outdoor clothing...

Is handling in your DNA?
March 1, 2008... By Duane Pape I have been in industry for 39 years. Early in my career I received excellent training in materials handling analysis. Unfortunately, I don't think young people entering this field have the same opportunity. Much of what I...

NA 2008: Showtime.(Atlas Material Handling )(GMR Safety)(Hyster Company)
March 1, 2008... By Staff The I-X Center will be the material handling world's version of opening night on Broadway-or at least Downtown Cleveland's Playhouse Square. On these pages, Modern gives you the early reviews on some of this industry's...

Show preview products.(4Front Engineered Solutions)
March 1, 2008... By Staff Mobile showroom for dock equipment Staff To showcase a variety of loading dock and door solutions, a custom 53-foot mobile showroom semi-trailer will be equipped with a full line of dock levelers, vehicle restraints,...