-
Full of cold air: The potential of cryogenics and liquid air
Andrew Gaved Distribution & WarehousingA coalition of researchers and commercial concerns called the Liquid Air Energy Network has published a report called "Liquid Air on the Highway" detailing how the use of liquid air engine technology could transform transport.
-
Building your warehouse team for automation — your coach needs a new…
Bob Thompson Distribution & WarehousingCompanies are on the path to manufacturing production and warehouse storage efficiencies through the use of ever more sophisticated automation. This may include robotic picking, laser-guided vehicles, miniload systems or large cart- or crane-based automated storage systems.
-
Developing dashboards: The right data for warehouse managers
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingLike the dashboard on your car, your business system should be designed to provide the essential information that warehouse managers must have in order to know exactly how their operation is performing. But many systems are "data rich, information poor," also known as DRIP.
-
Improve your warehouse by using what you already have
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingThe process of warehousing is essentially a management of space and time. Before we spend excessive time and money committing to high-tech applications, why don't we find ways to better use the things that we have right now?
-
Warehousing and transportation: Creating a perfect marriage
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingThe value of a foot of space in a trailer, boxcar or plane is always higher than the value of a foot of warehouse space. Therefore, carriers must try to load a maximum amount of cargo into the vehicle. In general, the longer the trip, the greater the incentive to maximize cubic space use in the transport vehicle.
-
How to implement a 5S system at your facility
Jeannea Jones Facilities & Grounds5S was established in Japan as five pillars of progress to create a lean methodology for inventory management: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, shitsuke. These Japanese pillars have been identified as one of the techniques that enabled "just in time" manufacturing, and they have been translated into several American versions with various "S" themes.
-
Give the trucking industry a chance
Matt Chase Distribution & WarehousingDuring Richie Henderson's keynote address May 20 at the ALK Technology Conference in New Jersey, he focused on new drivers and retention problems. Henderson, J.B. Hunt Transport's senior vice president of administration and technology, also discussed wages and the new hours-of-service rules and regulations.
-
Maintaining a productive relationship in the supply chain
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingTwo of the dirtiest words in supply chain management are commoditization and disintermediation. In fact, they really refer to the same thing — the ability of the buyer of logistics services to destroy the vendor's effort to create a unique value proposition.
-
Automation and innovation in the warehouse
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingFull automation of materials handling in a warehouse exists only in the imagination of the technocrat. Just as the perfectly-safe airplane is too heavy to fly, the fully-automated warehouse is too expensive to buy and usually too risky to operate.
-
Don’t overlook the human element of systems implementation
Ken Ackerman Distribution & WarehousingNearly all of the emphasis on implementation of warehouse management systems (WMS) and other software is directed toward functionality and technical aspects. Often overlooked — or discovered too late — is human resistance to change.
All Distribution & Warehousing Articles