Dansko: Distinctive Distribution

Transcription

PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING
mmh.com
®
October 2013
Dansko:
Distinctive
Distribution
16
THE BIG PICTURE
Big Data: How it can
make a difference 22
EQUIPMENT REPORT
Robotics become
more flexible 30
SPECIAL REPORT
Top 20 ADC
suppliers 38
Mimi Curry,
chief operating officer,
Dansko
Automated Pallet Delivery in a Kit
Material Flow Made Easy
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Learn more about FlexTruck easy - the affordable replacement for manually
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UP FRONT
BREAKING NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Honeywell completes acquisition of Intermec
HONEYWELL ANNOUNCED it has
completed its acquisition of Intermec,
a leading provider of mobile computing, RFID, voice-enabled workflow and
data-collection solutions, and printing
solutions.
Honeywell announced its intent to
acquire Intermec in December 2012,
in an all-cash transaction valued at
approximately $600 million.
“The acquisition of Intermec will
add innovative products and solutions,
as well as deep engineering expertise
and a broad global sales channel that
further demonstrates our commitment to provide
our customers an
increasing array of
Manufacturing employees confident
about career opportunities
THE RANDSTAD MANUFACTURING
Employee Confidence Index
increased 0.9 points to 51.9 in the
second quarter of 2013. In addition,
44% of manufacturing workers say
they are likely to look for a new job in
the next 12 months, rising 18% from
the previous quarter.
“Workers have a real sense of
optimism about the number of career
opportunities,” said Phyllis Finley,
executive vice president at Randstad
U.S. “Figures this high have not been
reported since well before the 2008
recession.”
The number of manufacturing
workers who believe more jobs are
available rose from 21% to 28%. Yet,
fewer employees are confident in
the future of their employers at 47%,
down from 53%.
“Given this environment,” said
Finley, “employers need to deploy
targeted engagement strategies that keep talent from taking
other attractive offers.”
innovative technologies in the highly
attractive AIDC industry,” said John
Waldron, president of Honeywell
Scanning & Mobility.
Intermec will be integrated with
Honeywell Scanning & Mobility,
within the company’s
Automation and Control
Solutions business.
MHI forecasts 7% growth of
materials handling equipment
new orders for 2013
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT orders
are forecasted to grow 7% in 2013 and 11% or
more in 2014, according to the latest Material
Handling Equipment
Manufacturing Forecast
(MHEM) released by
MHI, the Material
Handling Industry (MHI).
Projections for both
orders and shipments in
2013 and 2014 have been
revised upward since
May’s MHEM.
“The fundamentals for
solid growth in the U.S.
economy are in place for 2014 and 2015,” said
Hal Vandiver, MHI executive consultant. “Risks
certainly remain, but these risks are not new.”
In addition, materials handling equipment
shipments are forecasted to grow 5% in 2013 and
10.8% in 2014. Domestic demand (shipments plus
imports less exports) are estimated to grow 5.2%
in 2013 and just more than 11% in 2014.
Identec and Savi expand reach with partnership
IDENTEC SOLUTIONS and Savi
Technology announced they
have entered a worldwide mutual
reseller agreement. Both companies have been leaders in the use
of real-time wireless identification,
location and sensor technologies
and the multi-year agreement
strengthens both companies’ sales
efforts by leveraging market and
geographic synergies.
Savi pioneered the ISO 18000-7
mmh.com
RFID protocol used by
the U.S. Department
of Defense for logistics tracking of assets
and has a strong
footprint within that
market. Identec has
pioneered the development of Intelligent Long Range
(ILR) active RFID technology used
in the maritime, oil and gas, and
industrial sectors.
The agreement helps
Savi gain greater adoption
in commercial markets,
while giving Identec
greater traction in defense
opportunities. The agreement will also help each
company gain a greater
presence geographically, leveraging Identec’s strong presence in
Europe with Savi’s established base
in the U.S.
M O D E R N M AT E R I A L S H A N D L I N G / O
C T O B E R
2013
3
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VOL. 68, NO. 10
®
PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION,
WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING
Mimi Curry,
chief operating
officer, Dansko
JEFF FUSCO,/GETTY IMAGES
COVER STORY
SYSTEM REPORT
16 Dansko: Distinctive distribution
60 seconds with
Richa Gupta,
VDC Research
When Dansko designed a new distribution center, it went for
efficiency, growth and a system as unique as its brand.
20 Optimized storage and fast picking
CHRIS LEWIS
In Dansko’s new 200,000-square-foot distribution center, conventional
full case picking and mobile robotic split case picking come together
for an efficient, ergonomic and unique solution.
FEATURES
BIG PICTURE
22 The big picture on Big Data
It’s early in the game, but the materials handling industry is looking at
new ways to use Big Data to maintain equipment, deliver services and
manage processes.
DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS
3/ Upfront
7/ This month in Modern
12/ Lift Truck Tips: Operator training
14/ Packaging Corner: Alternative materials
44/ Supplement: Warehouses/DCs
54/ Focus On: Conveyor and sortation
60/ Product Showcase
66/ 60 seconds with...
EQUIPMENT REPORT
30 Robotics: Ready for
warehouse prime time
NEWS
As customers navigate an increasingly capable array of robotic hardware
and software, they are learning that results are not automatic.
SPECIAL REPORT
38 Top 20 Automatic data
collection suppliers
9/ CEMA members express concern over
decline in first half numbers
10/ Finelite wins Excellence in Reusable
Packaging Award
10/ New study projects world demand for
packaging machinery to 2017
The ADC market grew incrementally in 2012 amid changing customer
interests and stiff competition.
11/ TZA and Intermec partner to combine
mobile workflow computing with LMS
PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTION
42 Low-speed fans accelerate production
Air currents provide the expected benefit to worker comfort and a
surprise benefit to the manufacturing process.
43 LED lighting eliminates maintenance
headaches
Long-lasting bulbs provide energy-efficient light in workshops
and bulk storage.
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C T O B E R
2013
5
MOVING YOU
FURTHER
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THIS MONTH IN
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MODERN
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ASSOCIATE EDITOR
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Robotics: Entering Phase 2
C
orrect me if I’m wrong, but it seems
as if the robotics revolution is moving along at a methodical—dare I
say healthy—pace in terms of application inside the warehouse and distribution center.
From what we’re hearing and seeing,
Modern readers are keeping an open mind,
learning about the technology’s capabilities
at trade events, digesting success stories
from early adopters, and considering how
the technology can be applied to improve
inventory management, fill orders quickly
and efficiently, and automate strenuous
tasks to improve worker quality of life.
Instead of rushing to meet the touted
“game-changing” technology, the market
appears to have embraced a more disciplined approach this time around, perhaps
still feeling the sting of an earlier burn.
This month in Modern, we offer two
must-read articles if you find yourself in
the midst of that fact-gathering journey
toward applying robotics. To start, I suggest
flipping to page 30 where associate editor
Josh Bond offers a terrific, 30,000-foot view
of the state of robotic hardware and software development and how it’s becoming
increasingly more capable of adding value
inside the four walls.
According to Bond, the cautious,
somewhat skeptical approach to robotics in
materials handling has had much to do with
its consistent acceptance in the market.
“In warehouse and DC management, we
seem to have moved out of Phase 1, where
we were wowed by the bleeding edge,”
says Bond. “The majority of my sources believe we have entered into Phase 2, where
the technology’s capabilities will be expanding and gaining even more acceptance as
adopters continue to push the envelope—
and that’s a great place to be.”
If you’re keen to take the leap and
further validate Phase 2, Bond’s article will
certainly walk you through the necessary
steps to assess your specific need and then
help you pinpoint the best technology to fill
it. According to Bond, one of the biggest
challenges may be re-engineering your processes upstream and downstream from the
robotics application—something that can
be overlooked in the early stages if your not
strategic in your planning.
No one will say that shoe designer and
distributor Dansko dropped the ball on its
robotics strategy. On page 16, executive
editor Bob Trebilcock takes us inside the
company’s new 200,000-square-foot DC
in West Grove, Pa., where it has installed a
mobile picking system for split case orders
instead of a conventional pick module.
Today, the robots deliver inventory goodsto-person were associates pick items for as
many as six orders at a time—a solution that
has cut five to six miles a day of walking per
employee.
“When they were planning their new
DC they wanted to improve customer
service as well as the quality of work life for
their employee-owners,” says Trebilcock.
“They’re now shipping the highest volumes
in their history, they’ve maximized their
order picking, they’re meeting and beating
their customer service requirements, and
they’ve reduced the stress levels of their
most valuable resources.”
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C T O B E R
2013
7
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AUTOMATION
CEMA members express
cautious concern over decline
in first half figures
FORECAST FOR GROWTH REVISED TO SLIGHT CONTRACTION AS BULK
CONVEYOR SALES DIP.
BY JOSH BOND, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
EXECUTIVES REPRESENTING members of the Conveyor Equipment
Manufacturers Association (CEMA)
expressed cautious concern at their
recent Fall Meeting, following a softening of the market after consecutive
record years.
Bob Reinfried, executive vice president of CEMA, recently told Modern
in an interview that as a result of this
softening, the updated forecast is for
a 2% decrease in 2013 shipments,
amended downward from the March
2013 forecast of a 5% increase.
“We were using the info available to us in March, and we find that
there is still some strength on the unit
handling side even as bulk numbers
drop,” Reinfried said. In fact, in the
first six months of 2013 unit handling
orders were up 8.17% and shipments were up 12.2% over the same
period in 2012. Reinfried expects unit
handling to continue to grow through
2013. In the bulk conveying area,
orders were down 16.76% and shipments were down 16.56%.
mmh.com
CEMA historical figures
“That said, some members at the
meeting felt we might still be positive
overall by the end of the year, so 2%
is a conservative estimate,” Reinfried
said. “And, 2% off a record is not a
bad year. Things are just leveling off.
I don’t believe there was anyone who
thought we could see sales continue
at those unprecedented levels.”
CEMA reports that overall industry orders (bookings) for the first six
months of 2013 decreased 3.72%
compared to the same period in
2012, with total orders of $5.21
billion. Industry billed sales (shipments) for the first six months of 2013
decreased 1.72% compared to the
same period in 2012, with total shipments of $5.09 billion.
CEMA tracks new orders and
shipped sales volume in nine classes
of unit handling equipment and four
classes of bulk handling equipment.
Founded in 1933, CEMA is the trade
association of 127 leading North
American conveyor equipment manufacturers and engineering firms.
(Numbers are from the fall of each year)
2008
Orders: 3.87 billion
Shipments: 3.89 billion, down 3.3% W
2009
Shipments: 3.18 billion, down 18.8% W
2010
Shipments: 3.46 billion, up 19.6% V
2011
Orders: 4.58 billion, up 38.28% V
2012
Orders: 5.46 billion, up 22.79% V
2013
Orders: $5.21 billion, down 3.72% W
Shipments: $5.09 billion, down 1.72% W
Source: CEMA, cemanet.org
After the downturn stripped nearly
a billion dollars from the conveyor
market, it recovered with consecutive
record years.
C T O B E R
2013
9
SUSTAINABILITY
Finelite wins Excellence in
Reusable Packaging Award
FINELITE IS THE WINNER of the
Reusable Packaging Association’s
second annual Excellence in Reusable Packaging Award. The winner
was announced and the award was
presented at Pack Expo in Las Vegas
last month.
Finelite designs and manufactures high performance, environmentally sustainable lighting solutions and products for commercial,
educational and healthcare facilities. The company makes pervasive
use of many types of reusables
for storing, handling and shipping parts and materials, including
tarps, straight-wall stackable plastic
crates, plastic collapsible containers
and trays.
By using reusables, Finelite has
achieved:
• 53% ($9,100) cost savings by replacing shrink-wrap with reusable tarps
• 40% ($8,400) material cost
savings and 130 hours of labor by
replacing corrugated boxes with
reusable/collapsible bulk containers
and straight-wall crates
• $10,800 cost savings in packaging material and 350 hours of
labor saved
• eliminated 436 miles/6,000
pounds of plastic shrink-wrap
• eliminated 14,700 pounds of
corrugated cartons
• eliminated 4,200 pounds of
bubble wrap.
Because both the containers and
crates are stackable, vertical storage
of material frees up valuable real
estate. The volume of each straight
wall crate is used in its entirety and
enables 20% more material to be
packaged when compared to the
previous corrugated box packaging.
Empty containers are collapsed,
allowing for efficient storage.
“We will break even on our initial
investment of reusable systems within
two years, and then the savings
continue to accrue long after that,”
said Ana Koo, industrial engineer at
Finelite.
“Finelite demonstrates the innovation of reusable suppliers,”
said Robert Engle, chairman of the
RPA Board and CEO of Otto Environmental Systems North America.
“No matter what the size, complexity or material of the product being
From left: Robert Engle, chairman of the RPA Board; Dean Mayes, director
of manufacturing for Finelite; Ana Koo, industrial engineer for Finelite; Cindy
Doman, recipient of the last year’s award for Herman Miller.
10
O
C T O B E R
2 0 1 3 / M O D E R N M AT E R I A L S H A N D L I N G
handled, reusable suppliers can develop right-fit reusable systems that
protect products, enable efficiencies
in materials handling and deliver
cost savings.”
PACKAGING
New study projects
world demand for
packaging machinery
to 2017
GROWTH IN WORLDWIDE demand
for packaging machinery is expected
to climb at a 4.6% annual pace
through 2017 to $41.8 billion, according to a recently released study
by The Freedonia Group.
The study analyzes the currently
$33.4 billion world packaging machinery industry. It presents historical
demand data for 2002, 2007 and
2012, and forecasts for 2017 and
2022 by machinery type, market,
world region, and for 31 countries.
The U.S. currently accounts for nearly
17% of world demand, but will be
surpassed by China before 2017, according to the study.
The study suggests that an improved business climate—which
will be reflected in expanding fixed
investment spending, manufacturing
output and packaging demand—will
drive increases in equipment sales
through 2017. Machines used in the
packaging of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
will post the fastest sales gains in
percentage terms. Purchases of packaged pharmaceuticals and consumer
goods—and associated equipment
demand—will be boosted by rising
living standards in developing nations.
Food manufacturing is the largest
market for packaging equipment, accounting for about 40% of total sales.
Global demand for labeling and coding equipment is forecast to increase
at a 5.5% annual rate through 2017
to $6.3 billion, an improvement over
the 2007-2012 performance and the
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RIDG-U-RAK
Packaging automation
continues to post some
of the fastest sales gains.
fastest pace of advance
of any major product
type. Sales growth will
be driven by expanding
consumption of labelintensive nondurable
goods, including convenience and singleserving food items, and
by a rising need for
shippers to accurately
track items for safety
and security reasons—
especially in the food,
beverage and pharmaceutical industries.
MOBILITY
TZA and Intermec partner
to combine mobile workflow
computing with LMS
TZA, A TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED company specializing
in the optimization of enterprise labor performance and
operational effectiveness, announced that it has been
selected by Intermec to join its Independent Software
Vendor (ISV) partner program.
TZA will provide integrated solutions for both new and
existing customers by combining its ProTrack Enterprise
Labor Management Solution with Intermec’s mobile workflow computing solutions. The combination is designed
to accelerate workforce productivity improvements and
reduce costs across the supply chain, including distribution, manufacturing, point of delivery and more.
“Many ProTrack customers are expanding the use of
innovative, mobile technologies to optimize labor productivity across their supply chain,” said Steve Simmerman,
senior vice president of business development at TZA.
“Integrating ProTrack’s advanced labor management capabilities and Intermec’s leading mobile computing, imaging,
printing, software and services solutions is a powerful combination for our customers looking to improve workforce
performance, lower cost and streamline work processes.”
”Intermec has a long history of leadership in supply chain
mobile computing solutions,” said Andy Stento, Intermec’s
senior director of global alliances. “We are excited to add
the capability of TZA’s ProTrack to complement our Vocollect voice, imaging applications, and best-in-class rugged
mobile computing and printing solutions. The combination
of our respective solutions and our mutually consultative approach will significantly improve our customers’ bottom line
workforce performance and cost control.” 䡺
mmh.com
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LIFT TRUCK TIPS
Operator training keeps small
errors from piling up
An expert identifies some tell-tale signs that a training
program might be missing the mark.
By Josh Bond, Associate Editor
O
perator training programs
often give the impression
of being effective. It is only
when something goes wrong that
the shortcomings of the program
become apparent. But it does not
have to be difficult to quantify an
operator’s preparedness, safety habits and productivity.
Wayne Wilde, field technical sales
officer for UniCarriers, says the first
step is to establish policies for the
use of equipment and the handling
of loads. For instance, what are the
policies for handling liquid versus
solid loads, or the outdoor use of
electric lift trucks?
“If a manager says someone is
breaking the rules, he ought to be
able to point to the rule in question,”
says Wilde. “Often I ask about policies for materials handling and forklift operation and I get
a ‘deer in the headlights’ look.”
When developing policies, fleet owners don’t have
to reinvent the wheel. The Industrial Truck Standards
Development Foundation (ITSDF) standard B56 is a free
download and contains a user section that outlines correct
operating practices. This can serve as useful supplement
to a training program.
Damage to property and product is a clear warning sign that operator training is lacking. “If they aren’t
tracking that revenue loss, they should be,” Wilde says.
“As business has picked up, the No. 1 concern is getting
product out the door, and some of these losses are seen
as simply a cost of doing business. But they are easily
preventable and trackable.”
To create a culture of accountability, near-misses should
also be tracked by operators and nearby pedestrians.
12
O C T O B E R
“Those complaints must be collected, documented and acted upon
because that can be a huge liability,”
says Wilde.
Bad habits can quickly emerge
around things as routine as a battery
change. Productivity will suffer if an
operator runs a battery to empty in
the middle of a shift, and the same
goes for failure to change an LP tank
on an internal combustion lift truck.
“This goes back to training and what
they’re supposed to be looking for
before that happens,” Wilde says.
For those who train to a kit or
something they found online, it is
critical to be sure that a practical
component is part of any training
program. There are no shortcuts that
can replace real-world training on
the lift truck, says Wilde. It is also
important to standardize the training agenda so that all
trainers and operators are on the same page. “OSHA will
ask about this,” Wilde says. “Lots of people have a training book on the shelf, but the trainers are not sure where
that book is.”
With policies and a standard agenda in place, an
organization should then review the program on a regular basis. “After a year of developing this, you should
check to make sure it’s working,” says Wilde, who
recommends customers use up-to-date resources from
the lift truck manufacturer and give employees and
managers input into training and policy development.
“Nobody but the owner of the forklift is responsible for
approving an operator.”
Josh Bond is Modern’s associate editor and can be reached
at [email protected]
mmh.com
LET THERE BE WORK.
LET THERE BE BLUE COLLARS AND STEEL TOES. LET SWEAT-SOAKED BROWS AND BACKBREAKING FORTITUDE BE THE FUEL
THAT PUTS FOOD ON OUR TABLES, ROOFS OVER OUR HEADS, AND FRESHMEN IN COLLEGE. MAY OUR WORKING DAYS
FOREVER END DRAINED, BUT ACCOMPLISHED. AND MAY WE GREET EACH DAY WORTHY FOR THE WORK AHEAD.
WRANGLER WORKWEAR is a trademark of Wrangler Apparel Corp. and is used under license.
WranglerWorkwear.com
PACKAGING CORNER
No hallucination: Mushrooms form
basis of protective packaging
Mycelium offers an alternative to non-recyclable
foam packaging.
By Sara Pearson Specter, Editor at Large
W
hile there’s been
ongoing interest in
finding sustainable,
molded-cushion packaging solutions among corporations across
a variety of industries, it would be
a strange trip indeed to think that
any would willingly pay more for
product protection or accept a
decrease in performance.
So when Sealed Air unveiled
Restore Mushroom Packaging last
year—offered as an alternative to
non-recyclable, molded expanded
polystyrene (EPS) foam packaging—the company felt it had hit
“the sustainability trifecta,” says
Tim McInerney, sustainable solutions business manager.
“Restore Mushroom Packaging
is made from rapidly renewable raw
materials that are all natural and
completely home compostable,” McInerney says. “Plus, it
protects products through the shipping cycle just as well as
traditional materials, and it doesn’t come with a price penalty. It’s affordable for companies to use in their operation.”
Restore uses mycelium. Not familiar with that ingredient? It’s the vegetative part of a fungus, commonly found
in mushroom roots. And, says McInerney, it grows into
seriously strong packaging.
The mycelium is mixed with regionally sourced, nonfood agricultural byproducts, such as corn stalks that
would otherwise be left in the field after harvest. The
resulting mixture fills custom, thermoformed trays. The
company engineers the forms to create the custom protective packaging shapes that best protect the product
during handling.
14
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“The mycelium grows and binds
all the other natural ingredients
together into a solid cushion in the
shape of the mold,” McInerney says.
“Our engineers design, develop and
test the cushions and their construction in accordance with International
Safe Transit Association protocols
and standards. This process helps us
determine the best way to maximize
the material’s performance and while
using less of it—which is another goal
for sustainability.”
The mixture grows into the final
shape in just a few days without
added heat, light or pressure. Once
it reaches the desired form, a lowenergy, low-heat treatment process
is applied to cease the material’s
growth. In use, Restore
Mushroom Packaging
is completely inert, says
McInerney.
“It behaves much
like corrugated packaging—except that it’s
highly flame-retardant
as a natural property of
the material,” he adds.
“And, because the
material naturally has
anti-static properties, it’s
ideal for computers and
electronics.”
Sara Pearson Specter is an editor at large with Modern and
can be reached at [email protected].
mmh.com
MODERN system report
Dansko:
Distinctive
distribution
When Dansko designed a new distribution
center, it went for efficiency, growth and a
system as unique as its brand.
By Bob Trebilcock, Executive Editor
S
ay the words “distribution center” and adjectives like
different, unique and distinctive aren’t the first descriptors that spring to mind. Instead, we use terms like efficient, cost-effective and lowest cost per touch—terms
that could just as easily describe a table saw. A DC,
after all, is a tool to manage inventory and fill orders as
efficiently as possible.
Efficiency was important to Dansko LLC, a designer
and distributor known for its comfortable and stylish
shoes, when it designed a new 200,000-square-foot
distribution center in West Grove, Pa., but so was the
work environment. As an employee-owned company, or
ESOP, improving the quality of life for associates who
are also owners was at the top of the list. “When we
began thinking about a new DC, we wanted to provide
better service to our customers and create a better quality of life for our employee-owners,” says Mimi Curry,
Dansko’s chief operating officer.
However, those weren’t enough. Dansko wanted
a solution that would set it apart. “We consider ourselves a unique company,” says Curry. “We could have
installed a picking mezzanine to handle our order fulfillment. However, we wanted a distinctive solution that
16
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF FUSCO, GETTY IMAGES
reflects who we are as a company.”
Working with a consultant and systems integrator
(enVista, envistacorp.com), Dansko developed a solution that optimized storage and brought in a sophisticated warehouse control system (WCS) for its conveyor
and sortation system. But, it also included a mobile
robotic picking system for split case orders instead of a
conventional pick module. The robots deliver inventory
to goods-to-person workstations where associates pick
items for as many as six orders at a time.
The solution is efficient. It also significantly reduces
the amount of walking required during a shift, improving the quality of life. What’s more, it allowed Dansko
to put its own distinctive stamp on the system.
Nearly a year after going live, Dankso is shipping
some of the highest volume of shoes in its history while
simultaneously improving customer service levels. “In
the past, if you called me to place a rush order, I’d tell
you that I was five to seven days behind,” says Curry.
“Now, I can get a rush order out the door today—without stress.”
And, Dansko’s employee-owners have embraced the
technology. “They have stepped up to the plate, taken
mmh.com
Dansko chose mobile robots because they were both
efficient and a reflection of the company’s unique
brand, says Mimi Curry, chief operating officer.
ownership of the system, and care about what’s happening in the facility,” she says. “When they ask me why we’re
doing something a certain way, I know they have an idea on
how to improve it.”
Getting the right DC fit
Dansko got its start when wife and husband team Mandy
Cabot and Peter Kjellerup went on a horse buying trip to
Denmark. They were searching for horses, but instead
found a clog in a tiny shop in Europe that made the perfect barn shoe. It was also the most comfortable shoe the
couple had ever worn. Back in the U.S., they shared the
find with their friends, who suggested the clogs to their
friends. With that, a shoe company was born.
Dansko was incorporated in 1990 and began shipping to
retailers in 1991. There have been a number of milestones
along the way. In 1992, the company was awarded its first
seal of acceptance by the American Podiatric Medical
Association. In 1999, Dansko was included in Inc. magammh.com
C T O B E R
2013
17
nies: Its shoes may be known for comfort, but its DC was a tight fit for its
operations. The company ships product
to stores such as Nordstrom by truckloads and also ships product to e-commerce consumers with FedEx and
UPS. “We do a lot of split case picking,” says Curry. “For some of the bigger
department stores, we pack the orders
by store, including split cases, and send
full truckloads to a distribution center
where they are sorted and redistributed. We do small orders that may be
just a pair or two of any given style for
the small retailers that are replenishing
their stocks.”
In 2009, Dansko first looked at retrofitting its existing facility. That was a
temporary solution at best: Processes
could be made more efficient, but it
still wouldn’t accommodate growth.
Instead, the company bought land near
its corporate office. The intent was to
build a state-of-the-art facility for full
and split case picking that would take
full advantage of the size of the lot.
“Instead of starting small and adding
onto a building in the future, we wanted
to put up the maximum size building
we could build and then grow into it,”
Curry says. “The lot would accommodate 200,000 square feet.
At one point in 2009, the company put a moratorium on opening
new accounts because it couldn’t fill
orders in a timely and profitable fashion. “Space was a major concern,” says
Curry. At the time of the moratorium,
Dansko was filling orders from an
80,000-square-foot distribution center.
In addition, inventory was stored at two
smaller facilities about 20 miles away
and in 15 trailers in the lot. “We looked
like a parking lot for freight forwarders,”
Curry says.
Processes were labor intensive.
Although the facility used a conveyor
system for some movement, order
selectors were walking 5 to 8 miles a
day to fill orders in a facility that got
very hot in the summer. That was no
way to treat owners.
Bringing in robots
The first design proposed by the consultant
included pallet rack and
case storage, and a conveyor and sortation system to handle flow and
methodologies for full
and split case picking.
The latter would have
been handled in a conventional pick module.
That was the sticking
point. “We loved the full
case pull solution, the
conveyor and the rack
system,” Curry says.
“But, we wanted to see what else was
available besides a conventional pick
module.”
Part of that was due to the uneven
flow of orders through the facility, based
on the introduction of new products
and seasonal highs and lows. But part
was also due to the company’s personality. “We consider ourselves a unique
company,” Curry says. “We loved the
idea of Kiva’s mobile robots and asked
them to talk to us.”
While Dansko was game to implement robotics, there were challenges.
For one, the solution was designed to
optimize direct-to-consumer order fulfillment. It had never been applied to a
wholesale operation that also included
value-added services and specialized
labeling between the picking and ship-
Order picking lift trucks are used
for carton putaway and picking
(top left). Below, an associate picks
replenishment orders from a mobile
robot (bottom right).
zine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing
privately held companies. In 2002, it
posted 46% growth, sold its millionth
pair of shoes and launched the Dankso
Foundation to facilitate charitable giving. In 2005, it launched an Employee
Stock Ownership Program to celebrate
the company’s 15th anniversary.
Nearly 25 years after its founding,
Dansko is 100% employee owned. In
addition to its legendary clogs, it offers
a selection of footwear that includes
heels, boots, sandals, wedges and flats.
“Our shoes are known for comfort and
style,” says Curry. “Once you put them
on in the morning, you don’t think
about them for the rest of the day.”
Dansko’s success led to a problem
all too familiar to fast-growing compa18
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mmh.com
The units are stored in a central area
prior to delivery to a goods-to-person
workstation for picking.
ping areas. “Kiva is a fast process. It
maximizes how many pairs of shoes
you can pull in an hour and send to the
shipping doors,” says Curry, adding that
the system can look at a group of orders
and tell Dankso how long it will take to
get the work done. “However, we don’t
go directly from picking to shipping.”
In a typical Kiva solution, shelving units, known as pods, store inventory and hold shipping cartons. Mobile
robots deliver pods with inventory to
a picking station, where associates are
directed by lights to pick items from
one pod and place them in a shipping
container on another pod. When all
the items for an order have been
picked, the pod is delivered to a conveyor induction station and the containers go into a trailer for shipping.
However, in a wholesale distribution business like Dansko’s, orders
often have to be customized to meet
the retail customer’s requirements
before they can be shipped.
To address those differences,
Dansko designed a two-part process.
The first is a goods-to-person order
fulfillment process. Pods deliver
inventory to a tilted work table adjacent
to a belt conveyor. The work table can
hold up to six shipping cartons at one
time, representing six orders. When
the pod arrives, an associate may be
directed to pull a case with eight pairs
of shoes. Those pairs, in turn, will be
distributed among the six orders on the
work table. The process repeats until
all the items required from that pod
have been picked. Then, the next pod
is delivered to the work table.
Once all of the product for an order
has been pulled, shipping cartons are
pushed onto the takeaway conveyor,
which delivers them to a processing
area on the second level of the building.
On the conveyor, a license plate bar
code label is automatically scanned and
the case is sorted to one of the processing lanes. When it arrives at a workstation, the associate scans the label.
Based on that scan, the system directs
the associate on how to complete the
order for shipping. Those steps may
include applying a UCC shipping label
to the carton; applying a company logo
to a blank box for a drop shipment or
adding paperwork to the order.
“The process allows us to maximize order picking and still meet our
customer service requirements,” says
Curry. “It’s all done very quickly.”
Most importantly, Curry adds, the
solution addresses the quality of life
issue that was so important. That is
because the work is brought to the
associates rather than them walking through the facility to pick items.
Although some employees were skeptical at first, they have embraced the
robots.
Shelving units are replenished with
inventory by associates.
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C T O B E R R
2013
19
Orders are prepared for shipment
in a value-added services area.
“Early on, one of my employees told
me this system would never work,” Curry
says. “A few months into the operation, I
asked her how everything was going. She
told me that for the first time, she had
the energy to get down on the floor and
play with her grandchildren after work.
She was tired, but not exhausted.”
Employee ownership is key
As an ESOP, keeping employees
engaged in the process was an
important consideration. According
to Curry, employees have not only
adapted to new processes, they
have taken ownership of them.
“Moving into the new building, we had to change most of
our operations with little time for
training,” Curry says. “We shut the
doors on one building on a Friday
and opened in the new building
on a Monday. We assigned people
to their area of responsibility and
asked for their help in setting up
the processes.”
Eight months later, she
adds, many of those processes have
changed—for the better—as employees suggest ways to improve their
work. One example involved a charge
back issue Dansko had with one customer. Dansko was required to put bill
of lading numbers on the UCC label.
Associates were misreading the label
Optimized storage and
fast picking
In Dansko’s new 200,000-square-foot
distribution center, conventional full case
picking and mobile robotic split case picking
come together for an efficient, ergonomic and
unique solution.
eceiving: When containers arrive
at the receiving dock (1), cases
are unloaded onto a conveyor and
delivered to a quality assurance and staging area (2). Once the cases are opened
and the contents verified, they are
scanned by an inventory control associate and palletized 28 cases to a pallet.
A license plate bar code label is applied
and completed pallets are staged for putaway into storage.
Storage: The warehouse management system (WMS) determines if the
R
20
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Dansko LLC,
West Grove, Pa.
SIZE: 200,000 square feet
PRODUCTS: Shoes and promotional items
SKUs: 4,000 active SKUs
THROUGHPUT: 1,500 cartons per day, which equals
18,000 to 20,000 pairs of shoes per day
EMPLOYEES: 70
SHIFTS PER DAY/DAYS PER WEEK: 1.5 shifts, 5 days
per week.
product will be sent to reserve storage
(3) or is needed to replenish the mobile
robot Kiva picking system (5).
• Reserve storage: Storage in the
reserve area (3) is not directed by the
WMS. Instead, an associate scans a
pallet in the staging area, chooses an
open storage location in the pallet rack
and then scans the location bar code on
the rack to confirm the storage location
and completion of the task. The pallet
is now available in the WMS. Some
items are stored in a slow-moving stor-
and putting the wrong shoes on some
pallets. “We sat down as a team and
came up with a new idea,” Curry says.
“We now apply a separate bill of lading
that is larger than the UCC label and
easy to read. The customer doesn’t care
as long as the UCC can still be read by
their system.”
The system went live at the end of
2012. As of this past August, Dansko
is meeting its customer service requirements, filling orders in a timely fashion
and taking on new accounts. “With a
new warehouse control system and Kiva,
our customer service representatives
know where we are in the order fulfillment process and can tell their customers with confidence that a shipment will
go out on a truck today,” says Curry.
“We’re satisfying our customers.
We’re satisfying our employees who are
also our owners. We’re positioned for
growth,” she adds. “And, we’ve greatly
reduced the level of stress.”
That’s a combination that’s as comfortable as a pair of Dansko shoes.
age and picking area (4).
Mobile robotic picking system:
Pallets with product for the Kiva picking system (5) are delivered to a replenishment station (6) and dropped onto
an accumulation conveyor. An operator scans the bar code label on a pallet
and the label on a case. The operator
then places an electronic puck on the
case that communicates with the Kiva
system. The system sends the appropriate storage pod for that case. When the
pod arrives, a laser light indicates which
mmh.com
shelf the case should be placed on
System suppliers
for storage. The operator confirms
Systems integrator and warehouse control
the task by pressing a button on the
system: enVista, envistacorp.com
pod. The inventory is now available
Picking system: Kiva Systems, kivasystems.com
in the WMS.
Conveyor/sortation: Hytrol, hytrol.com
Picking: Just as there are two
ERP: Microsoft Dynamics (Navision), microsoft.
storage processes, there are also
two picking processes: One for full com/dynamics/en/gulf/products/nav-overview.
aspx
case picking from the reserve storWMS: Lanham Associates, lanhamassoc.com
age area (3) and another for split
Lift trucks: Crown, crown.com
case picking from the Kiva picking
system (5).
Mobile computing and bar code scanning:
Motorola Solutions, motorolasolutions.com
• Full case picking: Pick tickets
with storage locations for the cases
Rack: REB Storage Systems, rebsteel.com
required for an order are distributed
to order selectors. Cases are picked
to a pallet from the reserve storage area
• Mobile robotic picking sys(3) and are then dropped at an induc- tem: Orders for mixed cases are filled
tion station (7) for a spiral conveyor. The by the Kiva picking system (5). Mobile
conveyor transports cases to an order pro- robots bring storage pods to a work stacessing area (8) on the mezzanine. Some tion area (9) where order selectors work
items will be picked from the slow-mov- on six orders at a time. Lights point to a
ing storage area (4).
shelf on the inventory pod while a dis-
play indicates how many items are
required for the order. Once a shipping case is complete, the order
selector places it on a conveyor (10)
that will transport it to the mezzanine level for order processing (8).
Processing: Once an order is
complete, cases are sent to the order
processing area on the mezzanine
(8) where cartons are finalized with
any customer service requirements.
Once that is complete, parcel shipments are conveyed (11) to a manifest station (12) where a FedEx or
UPS shipping label is applied.
Orders that are shipped by truck
are automatically taped and then sorted
to one of five shipping lanes (13) based
on the shipping method.
UPS orders are conveyed directly
into a trailer (14). FedEx or truck shipments are manually palletized and
loaded onto a trailer. 䡺
Slow-moving storage and picking
8
4
Order
processing
mezzanine
Kiva picking system
11 Conveyor system
Manifest stations
5
12
3
Reserve storage
9 Kiva workstations
Kiva
replenishment 6
area
10 Conveyor system
Induction 7
14
13
UPS
shipping
Shipping
Quality
assurance 2
and staging
1
Receiving
mmh.com
M O D E R N M AT E R I A L S H A N D L I N G / S
E P T E M B E R
2013
21
THE BIG PICTURE
Where Business Meets Materials Handling
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C T O B E R
mmh.com
I
f you think Big Data is all about Big Brother, it’s time
to recalibrate your thinking. True, Big Data is all over
the news thanks to the National Security Agency. The
concept, however, is about more than monitoring hundreds of millions of telephone calls—or billions of status updates and tweets. For our industry, it’s also about
looking for new ways to use data to maintain equipment,
deliver services and manage order fulfillment processes.
After all, information is ubiquitous. As our interview this month with Richa Gupta and her colleagues
at VDC Research reveals (Top 20 ADC, p. 38), we are
collecting more information, in more ways and from
more nodes in the supply chain than ever before. Are
we doing much with that data at this point? Maybe not
yet, says Gupta, a senior analyst with VDC. However,
she adds, “bar codes and other Auto-ID technologies
are the first step toward enabling a Big Data strategy
because you have to start with data collection.”
The challenge is to translate that data into information that can be used for operational decisions or to
get more from processes and equipment. The ultimate
point isn’t so much Big Data as it is Relevant Data.
By all accounts, the materials handling industry is at
the early stages in the development of Big Data applications. But it is a topic that a number of industry lead-
ers are discussing. Some of that discussion is around
initiatives that are here today, such as smart lift trucks,
and some of the discussion is around what we might do
in the future with the information being collected by
data capture technologies, sensors, PLCs and software
systems. Here, Modern takes a look at the Big Picture
on how a number of industry leaders are approaching
Big Data.
Crown: The connected lift truck
Like other manufacturers, Crown has been installing
sensors on its lift trucks for years. Until recently, that
information was used as a fleet management tool to
track the repair history of a truck or fleet of trucks for a
specific customer. Today, Crown is broadening its view.
“When we began our telematics program, we looked at
the information in a silo,” says Jim Gaskell, director of
global insight products. “A customer got a repair and we
tracked that information for the dealer. No one thought
to look at all of the trucks maintained by that dealer
or across dealers.” Now, Gaskell adds, “we’re aggregating and analyzing data from every customer across the
planet that has our trucks.”
The next step in that equation is to connect the vehicle to the technician who is going to perform service.
“If the truck has a problem, it will send
an e-mail to notify the service provider
that there’s a fault code that needs to
be looked at,” Gaskell says. “That allows
the technician to bring the parts and
tools that will be required for the repair.”
By analyzing the fault codes from
across Crown’s complete fleet of vehicles, the manufacturer can look for
trends and patterns of wear that can
be addressed in a design change in the
next model. “If you think about it, we’re
connecting the truck to the operator,
the truck to the technician and now the
truck to our design engineers,” Gaskell
says. “We know so much more about
the truck than we ever knew in the past,
including the actual repair costs.”
Retail customers transitioning to
e-commerce are requesting live data
from materials handling systems to
track buying patterns.
mmh.com
C T O B E R
2013
23
THE BIG PICTURE
Today’s lift trucks use sensors to
monitor conditions on the truck and
send a fault code to a technician
when a component needs service.
Intelligrated: Big customers drive
Big Data
“Conveyors and sorters have become a
commodity,” says Greg Cronin, executive vice president of Intelligrated. That
doesn’t mean that all conveyor and sortation providers are alike. “The information generated by those systems has
become the differentiator because the
value is in the data that we can collect,”
Cronin says.
As with lift trucks, sensors are constantly monitoring belts, drives, motors
and other key components of conveyors,
sorters and other mechanical equipment for signs of wear that can predict
a problem before a machine breaks
down. The larger and more interesting
trend to Cronin is that customers—
especially retailers transitioning into
e-commerce—are asking for operational
data collected by conveyor and sortation systems to drive internal Big Data
projects. “We have one retail customer
that retains 18 months of live warehouse
data,” Cronin says. “They’re using it to
develop seasonality and buying patterns in their retail stores that they can
By analyzing real-time operational data, a systems integrator can often
determine whether a system is operating as designed or if operating conditions
have changed.
24
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C T O B E R
then apply to the e-commerce business
they’re in the process of building out.”
That retailer is not alone. “We have
another customer that wants to know
how many packages we’re scanning,
how they’re being diverted in the warehouse, and how labor is being deployed
and utilized to fill those orders,” Cronin
says. While he doesn’t always know why
Intelligrated’s retail customers want to
capture the data, the interest is there.
“These types of conversations are coming up with a number of customers. It’s
a whole different world than it was just
a few years ago,” Cronin says.
RMT Robotics: Distribution is all
about the data
In distribution, we often talk about SKU
proliferation. With an increase in the
number of sensors on automated systems, we now have data proliferation.
That change has been accompanied by
a new ability to store and analyze data,
says Doug Pickard, president of RMT
Robotics. “We’ve always had sensors to
detect what’s going on,” says Pickard.
“What’s different is the ability to access
vast amounts of data in real time while a
system is operational. We can look into
a piece of equipment anywhere in the
world and find out what’s going on.”
What’s more, end users have become
far better at figuring out the value in that
data than ever before. “In distribution
today, it’s all about the data,” Pickard
says. “When we talk to a distribution
customer with a number of DCs, we talk
to the data guys before we talk to the
mechanical or electrical engineers.”
At the design stage of an engagement, RMT may look at up to five years
of data to understand the real problem
they’re trying to solve and the situations
that have arisen in the past. That same
data can be used to simulate how the
solution will perform based on realworld operating conditions.
Once a system goes live, real-time
and historical data allows RMT to
determine whether the system is operating as designed or whether the end
user is operating the system differently
mmh.com
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D I S T R I B U T I O N :
C O N S U LT I N G / E N G I N E E R I N G
|
D E S I G N / B U I L D
|
S O F T WA R E
T E C H N O L O G Y
THE BIG PICTURE
Five steps to leverage Big Data
F
or many companies, the question
isn’t whether to launch a Big Data
project; the tougher questions are where
to start and how to create a framework
for using Big Data. “In most instances,
the data you need is in your system in
some form, but it needs to be tamed,”
says Robert Nilsson, vice president and
general manager of software and supply
chain intelligence for Dematic. Nilsson
offers several steps to get there.
1. Use an organized process
to build your analytics solution:
Visualization of the data brings a
quick understanding of where things
stand. For that reason, Nilsson advocates for simple dashboards with
targets to be achieved rather than
spreadsheets.
2. Aggregate consistent data in a
common spot: Information collected
from multiple systems needs to be
normalized so that everyone is using
a common definition. For example: In
one instance, a pick may be counted
by the lines picked. In another
instance, a pick may be counted by
touches or eaches. “This could result
in very different pick rates,” says
Nilsson. Without information in one
than planned. “If a system isn’t performing as designed, we can dig deep
into the data to understand what’s happening and how to get around a problem,” he says. “The ability to do analysis
online and in real time is invaluable.”
Wynright: From reactive to
predictive
A materials handling system is a microcosm of Big Data in a self-contained
area. While a pharmaceutical company
may be tracking data on thousands of
patients around the globe to identify patterns and trends, a materials handling
system supplier can track data from
thousands of sensors, bar code scans and
PLCs within the four walls of a facility.
As we get smarter about analyzing that
data, the industry is evolving from reactive to proactive to predictive maintenance and operations, says John Dillon,
president of client care at Wynright.
In reactive maintenance, a supplier
26
O
C T O B E R
spot and using one definition, it’s
hard to determine root causes and
identify patterns or relationships.
3. Apply analytics: Nilsson urges
companies to start with a statement
of the problem they want to solve.
Once the problem is identified, a
company can apply processes, tools,
a team and the relevant data to fix
the problem.
4. Develop predictive analytics:
“You have to understand why something is happening before you can
understand what is going to happen
next,” Nilsson says. Once a company
is aggregating relevant data for the
problem it wants to solve, that data
can be run through a modeling tool
that allows a team to test what-if
scenarios that might predict what will
happen in the future based on different decisions.
5. It may be Big, but it doesn’t
have to be Complex: “Small projects can provide quick successes
that create momentum to the initiative,” says Nilsson. “For that reason,
it’s important to break a project
down into smaller chunks using a
plan so that the team is all on the
same page.”
comes out once a year to lubricate the
system and check the voltage on the
motors. Otherwise, they are only there
if there’s a problem.
Proactive maintenance involves site
audits, site monitoring with camera systems and e-mail alerts when an anomaly is detected, such as a low battery
level or a scanner read that is below
threshold levels.
The industry has been doing reactive
and proactive maintenance for years. In
predictive maintenance, the system can
track and analyze the performance of
thousands of components of a system in
real time to look for anomalies and patterns that may indicate problems in the
future. “If you think of a motor-driven
roller conveyor, we can track the amperage and duty cycle on every roller in a
facility or across a network of facilities,”
says Dillon. “With that information,
we could build maintenance schedules
around rollers that we believe are going
to have a problem. We’re not doing this
today, but it is something we plan to do.”
As more and more data becomes
available, the real challenge is determining the right data to yield real operational insights and efficiencies. “In a
big system, with multiple technologies,
we could create hundreds of reports
from the data that’s now available. The
challenge to us, and our competitors,
is to find the actionable data that will
Equipment providers capture real-time information off of components, such as
the rollers on a motor-driven roller conveyor, to predict when a part may fail or
need maintenance.
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THE BIG PICTURE
yield results,” Dillon says. “The company that figures that out first will separate themselves from the crowd.”
Raymond: Integrating the operator
with the WMS
In recent years, lift trucks have evolved
from a vehicle to move goods to a mobile
information platform that can collect and
send information about the operator, the
truck and the battery to other systems.
Lift trucks have been sharing data
with vehicle management systems for
a number of years. The next step is to
The next step in Big Data for lift trucks
is to connect operator information
collected by the truck to labor and
warehouse management systems.
integrate operator data from the lift
truck with labor and warehouse management systems (WMS) to drive productivity improvements. “If you put a
vehicle management system on a truck,
you’ll see a 5% increase in productivity
by identifying bad behaviors on the part
of operators,” says Scott Craver, a product manager with Raymond. “If you
combine that with a labor and WMS,
we believe you can see productivity
improvements in the double digits.”
A vehicle management system, for
instance, can provide accurate, real-time
information about the travel distance,
travel time, lift distance and lift time
required by a lift truck operator to complete a task. That results in more accurate labor standards. What’s more, the
system can better capture what Craver
calls activity time. “A typical operator is
moving product about 4.5 hours a shift,”
Craver says. “We don’t know what they’re
doing the other 3.5 hours, which could
vary from sweeping floors to stretch-wrapping to putaway activity. With job coding,
we can identify what they’re doing when
they’re not on the truck.”
Craver has customers who are cur28
O
C T O B E R
mmh.com
rently integrating operator information
with their warehouse software systems
to increase productivity in measurable
ways. “Our savviest users are sharing a
portion of the savings,” he says. “We’re
seeing operators who get a $300 a month
bonus, which is a real incentive.”
channels or geographic markets.
Finally, the data can be used to create what-if scenarios for planning purposes. A wholesaler, for instance, may
compare whether it makes more sense
to receive pre-paid shipments versus
shipments where the wholesaler pays
the freight. “If I’m a wholesaler, I may
find that based on what I’m paying for
freight on some lanes it makes more
sense to let my vendors pay the shipping costs,” says Landau. “All of these
are bigger questions than a WMS or
TMS typically address on their own.” 䡺
Manhattan Associates: The total
cost to serve
Who is your most profitable customer?
What are your most profitable products?
Which are your most expensive transportation lanes? In other words, what is
the total cost to serve a customer?
Those aren’t questions that warehouse,
labor or transportation management systems (TMS) can answer in isolation.
However, when aggregated and analyzed
at a granular level, the data from those systems can provide metrics such as the cost
per unit to deliver a product from the point
of manufacture to a distribution center to
the end customer. That cost can be apportioned in a rules-based way.
“If I’m a pharmaceutical wholesaler,
a container may have crutches, latex
gloves and pills,” says David Landau,
vice president of product management
for Manhattan Associates. “Do I apportion the cost of that shipment across
those products based on weight, volume
or value? I can take information about
that shipment and determine the rules
that are most important to my company.”
A retailer can take that information
to look at the cost to serve each SKU
across all of its different markets or sales
channels. That can allow the retailer to
identify the most profitable products,
Companies mentioned in
this article
CROWN:
crown.com
DEMATIC:
dematic.com
INTELLIGRATED:
intelligrated.com
MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES: manh.com
RMT ROBOTICS:
RAYMOND:
VDC RESEARCH:
WYNRIGHT:
mmh.com
rmtrobotics.com
raymondcorp.com
vdcresearch.com
wynright.com
C T O B E R
2013
29
MODERN equipment report
ROBOTICS:
Ready for
warehouse prime
As customers navigate an increasingly capable
array of robotic hardware and software, they
are learning that results are not automatic.
R
30
O
By Josh Bond, Associate Editor
obots offer an appealing vision of the warehouse of the
future. Repetitive, strenuous tasks like manual palletizing
are instead predictably executed by a tireless robotic arm,
freeing up humans to fill more value-added roles. Instead
of a worker loading and unloading floor-stacked trucks
in sweltering heat, a robot might reliably ferry product
into and out of a facility around the clock. Even picking,
where laborers work to fill a growing number of orders
with smaller line counts, could be handled by a dexterous machine with more accuracy in a smaller footprint.
But as customers and robotics suppliers have learned,
it is not as simple as installing a robot where a human
once stood. The consistency and repetition of manufacturing processes, where robots have a strong foothold,
are nowhere to be found in the dynamic environment of
the warehouse. Palletizing, for instance, is not just a matter of picking things up and putting them down. A pallet must be built with an eye toward stability, preventing
product damage and, increasingly, store-ready sequence.
Meeting the challenge in these applications requires
three elements working in unison: the robot, its endof-arm tooling (or end effector) and software. Recent
advances in each of these areas are building the case
for robotics in warehousing and distribution. “The technology is ready for prime time,” says Terry Zarnowski,
sales and marketing director for Schneider Packaging.
“I think we’re going to see it explode in warehousing in
the next few years.”
C T O B E R
Yet, to be truly successful, a robotic implementation must take into account the processes on either end
of the robot itself. “A lot of times an end-user will call
with a very specific process they want to automate,”
says Alfredo Valadez, manager of business development
and sales for the robotics division of Wynright. “With
labor-intensive palletizing, the answer is yes, we can
automate that, but we should be taking a wider view
of the product flow. Some improvements upstream and
downstream can improve palletizing’s effectiveness.”
Putting the pieces together
Robotic solutions are often viewed as an alternative
to costly manual labor, assuming an adequate pool of
qualified workers is even available. Faced with an aging
workforce, many employers struggle to fill positions
with a notoriously high turnover.
“Sometimes labor is a dollar issue and sometimes
it’s just a matter of keeping a facility staffed,” says Larry
Sweet, chief technology officer for Symbotic. “The
growth in robotics is coming from the meeting point
between pressures outside of a customer’s control and
the more competitive cost and capability of robotics.”
For many users new to robotics, palletizing is a natural starting point. Manual palletizing is ergonomically
challenging, with bending and twisting that can easily
lead to injuries. To maximize a trailer load, an operator
might lift cases overhead to reach an 88-inch to 100mmh.com
time
As their flexibility and capability increases,
robots are rapidly migrating from predictable
manufacturing applications to dynamic
warehousing solutions.
mmh.com
C T O B E R
2013
31
inch pallet height, says
bilities in place. In fact, says
Vision systems
John Schwan, director of
Zarnowski, the software packenable robots to
sales and marketing for
aged with the palletizing robot
react on the fly
QComp Technologies. A
can become the master and
to the random
robot can perform these
work with the WMS to drive
presentation
functions faster and withorder selection, even for tradiof items.
out concerns for injuries.
tional picking operations.
However, a skilled
human is also solving a
Finding the right tool
three-dimensional puzzle
for many jobs
while palletizing, selectOnce cases arrive at a station,
ing cases based on weight
the robot needs the correct
and dimensions. To comtooling to successfully handle
pete, a robotic palletizer
each case. In applications
must be fed by a storage
such as food distribution, this
and retrieval system that
can be challenging due to the
can deliver items in a very
extreme diversity of packages.
specific sequence—and
The tooling may be set up to
fast enough to keep up
automatically configure itself,
with the robot, says Sweet.
swapping heads from case hanWithout forethought, a
robotic palletizer might
build a pallet quickly, but
in a way that creates more
work downstream. Non-sequenced pallets can increase delivery times, fuel
costs and the amount of labor required
at the retail store.
“Palletizing automation is a mature
technology that’s ready to go right now,”
says Earl Wohlrab, palletizing and
robotics systems product manager for
Intelligrated. “The challenge has been
feeding those palletizers from a distribution stream. You can’t treat each area
as an island. You can’t deploy automation in one place and not consider the
process that feeds it and the process
that takes it away.”
Integrated robotic software helps to
visualize the finished pallet in advance,
as soon as the order is received. Software
then communicates to the picking operation the sequence in which each case
needs to be retrieved. Technologies such
as high-end sortation and automated
storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS)
make this happen, and without them
many operations might struggle to properly feed a palletizing robot.
That said, many customers using a
warehouse management system (WMS) A growing variety of end-of-arm tooling (or end effectors) are enabling robots
do already have helpful software capa- to handle more and more types of items.
32
O
C T O B E R
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dlers to tray handlers and even vacuum
heads for bags. “Each time it makes
that change it adds to cycle times,” says
Zarnowski, “but again, the software can
prevent frequent back and forth by presenting product in like groupings.”
Traditional picking processes perform better when working with layers,
since a picker can retrieve a number of
cases at each location instead of traveling between each case. The same is
true for traditional robotic solutions. But
the market for layer-picking solutions is
rapidly dwindling amid a transition to
mixed-case pallets, according to Brian
Keiger, sales manager of general industry
for Grenzebach Corp. and chairman of
the order fulfillment solutions council
for Material Handling Industry (MHI).
For example, instead of eight stock
keeping units (SKUs) in each pallet, it’s
now more common to see eight in each
layer. The resulting uneven surface has
led to a number of robotic solutions that
Robotic palletizing addresses one of the most strenuous tasks in the
warehouse while freeing up workers to perform more value-added tasks.
place one case at a time, in the same way
as a human would. New tooling enables
the manipulation of six cases at a time,
each of which can be adjusted to different heights and orientations, according to
Keiger. At the end of the robotic arm, six
clamping “fingers” can move up, down,
in, out or sideways to simultaneously
THE
WORK ACCESS LIFTS
deposit cases on an uneven surface.
A palletizing robot might also be
combined with other automation technologies for even greater benefits, says
Schwan. One of his customers used a
pallet dispenser to automatically supply
pallets, while a short conveyor transported finished pallets from the robot
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Robot provides 114-year-old manufacturer 55% productivity gain
Robotic palletizing adds flexibility, eliminates many worker injuries and saves floor space.
S
stacked at the old facility.
olon, Ohio-based JTM Products specializes in two lines
The robot rotates to pick up an empty pallet from a
of industrial lubricants, one of which is packaged in 25stack of pre-loaded pallets. On the infeed side of the cell,
and 40-pound pails, the other in cases of quarts and galaccumulation conveyors take up the pails and cases from
lons. When the company moved to a new 70,000-squarethe production conveyors and queue them for the robot.
foot facility, it took the opportunity to eliminate the slow
Depending on the product size and stacking pattern, the
and heavy lifting associated with palletizing and installed a
robot’s vacuum tool picks up one or three pails at a time.
robotic palletizer that could handle both product lines.
Since case patterns require difDan Schodowski, president
ferent placement angles, the
and CEO of JTM, says the old
robot is able to pick two cases at
way was no longer sustainable.
a time, put one down, turn the
“We were faced with having to
second, and then put it down.
keep adding people to manually
When the pallets are full, they are
load the product,” he says. “With
shrink-wrapped by an automatic
the new facility, the idea was to
shrink-wrapper and taken by forknot eliminate any jobs, but we
lift to inventory.
also didn’t want to add personnel
JTM currently uses the sysas the business grew.”
tem at 65% of capacity, leaving
The solution included an
room for continued growth.
integrated robotic palletizing
Schodowski estimates that the
cell (Intelligrated, intelligrated.
cell now handles 75% of JTM’s
com) featuring an articulatedannual business volume of more
arm robot (Motoman, motoman.
than 200,000 pails and 150,000
com) with a vacuum end-effeccases. The robot is rated to last
tor. The palletizer has reduced
20 years, and will produce a
the amount of space needed for
payback within four years – even
its function in the facility while
faster if the company keeps
palletizing as many as 3,300
Robots can enable company growth without
growing without the need for
pails per day—as compared to
removing or adding personnel.
additional personnel.
the 1,800 that could be hand-
to an automatic stretch wrapper. This
eliminated several steps previously handled by forklifts.
Robotic selection
With software directing palletizing, a
robotic system can create predictable cycle
times. For instance, a certain case will
always take precisely 6 seconds to place on
a pallet. Manual picking upstream might
struggle to match this clockwork precision. “Where it really gets interesting is
when robotic picking and palletizing work
together,” says Zarnowski.
With an average grocery order, a good
selector with a double pallet jack and
voice system will pick about 120 cases
per hour, says Sweet. “If you have a facility moving a million cases per week, do
the math and that’s a lot of direct labor.”
Early efforts are already underway
to replace that selector’s traditional pallet jack with a robotic unit that allows
36
O
C T O B E R
a worker and equipment to work as a
team. Taking it one step further, Wohlrab
envisions a future where a robotic arm
could be mounted to the pallet jack to
pick and palletize in one step. “A few
years ago that was science fiction, but
now we talk very seriously about making
that happen,” he says. “That’s ultimately
where we’re headed.”
In the meantime, robotic pickers
might take two forms. If stationary or
rail-guided, a robot could replace a
worker in a goods-to-person setup or a
pick module. Alternatively, instead of
waiting for product to be delivered and
presented to the robot, it could be integrated into an AS/RS to retrieve cases
individually. Such an approach is easier
with case storage systems, but current
machine vision technology can enable
a robot to retrieve a case from a singleSKU pallet, says Zarnowski.
Although robotic pickers are cur-
rently well-suited to case handling, the
industry is transitioning to more each
handling, which is a bigger challenge
for robotic vision and manipulation
technologies. “Solutions are in development for purely robotic bin picking and
they’re gradually coming onto the market,” says Keiger. “We’re seeing a huge
uptick in the need for that, driven by
e-commerce. People don’t order pallets
online. They order pieces.”
Robotics for receiving
As another place with intensive case-bycase handling, the dock is also ripe for
robotic automation. But while conventional palletizing brings the work to the
robot, dock robots must go to the work.
“Before, the operator had to walk 40 feet
or more carrying each case to produce
pallet loads,” says Valadez of one customer. “The customer now uses a palletizing robot on a linear track instead of a
mmh.com
Robotics can extend automation
into the truck, using advanced vision
systems to automatically load or
unload floor-stacked cases.
stationary mount, allowing the robot to
build to multiple pallets simultaneously.”
Robots can also enter the trailer to
retrieve pallets or floor-loaded cases and
present them to a depalletizer or palletizer. Using advanced perception technology, the robot navigates into a trailer while
extending conveyor behind it. The same
vision allows its arm to retrieve one case
at a time and place it on the inbound conveyor. From there, cases might be conveyed to reserve rack storage, a pick face,
or directly to an outbound order. “With
fully automated receiving, we’ve taken
out all the driving around, the review of
the manifest and the decision making as
to where each item goes,” says Wohlrab.
From the inbound trailer to the outbound parcel carrier, robots appear in a
growing number of fully automated facilities. Keiger notes an increase in the number of customers going to fully automated
storage, retrieval and palletizing, with
minimal human intervention. One robot-
ics customer saw a 50% increase in picking rates in the first six months, he says,
before ending up about 20 times faster
than manual picking.
Such facilities are the rarity now, but
Wohlrab predicts robotics will make
inroads fast. “In another three to five
years we should see robotic solutions
installed in distribution centers that are
true working platforms,” he says. “We’re
probably five to 10 years from seeing
robots as widespread in distribution as
in manufacturing.” 䡺
Companies mentioned
in this article
GRENZEBACH CORP.: grenzebach.com
INTELLIGRATED: intelligrated.com
QCOMP TECHNOLOGIES: qcomptech.com
SCHNEIDER PACKAGING EQUIPMENT:
schneiderequip.com
SYMBOTIC: symbotic.com
WYNRIGHT CORP.: wynright.com
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mmh.com
C T O B E R
2013
37
MODERN special report
Top
20
Automatic data
collection suppliers
By Josh Bond,
Associate Editor
38
O
C T O B E R
L
ast year, the global market for automatic
data capture solutions (ADC) used
in factories, warehouses and logistics
applications reached $11.264 billion
in sales, according to VDC Research
Group.
The ADC market includes handheld and stationary bar code scanning
and imaging devices, bar code printers,
RFID solutions for the supply chain
and ruggedized mobile computing solutions for the factory and warehouse.
The global sales figures represent a
3.9% increase from 2011’s comparable
estimate of $10.884 billion, which
was revised down slightly from what
Modern reported last year. The revisions
were due to improved vendor reporting
and VDC data validation efforts and do
not reflect any changes in the market,
according to Michael Liard, VDC’s vice
president of Auto-ID. But while the
market as a whole continues to climb
steadily upward, a look into individual
segments reveals changing dynamics. Examples include the market for
industrial printers, which declined by
more than 2% as a result of tough competition from vendors in the emerging
markets, a 7% drop in rugged mobile
devices and a nearly 13% jump in the
market for RFID solutions.
The 2012 market leaders included
familiar faces. Once again, Motorola
Solutions topped the chart with an estimated $1.348 billion in revenue. Zebra
Technologies again placed second with
$592 million. The top five was rounded
out by Honeywell, which took the No. 3
spot with $529 million; Datalogic, which
claimed No. 4 with $463.8 million; and
Intermec, which dropped one place on
mmh.com
The ADC market grew incrementally
in 2012 amid changing customer
interests and stiff competition.
the chart with $458.8 million.
Going forward, Liard and his colleagues anticipate sustained growth
as a result of new customer interests,
increased competition and opportunities in emerging markets. VDC is projecting a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 7.5% through 2017 for the
overall industry, when combined revenues are expected to reach $16.158
billion.
In addition, Liard expects to see the
continued hybridization of multiple
data collection technologies as a key
driver of growth. “More and more we
are seeing the silos collapse,” he says.
“Both vendors and end-users are looking at business problems, operational
inefficiencies and what can address
them, whether RFID or bar code.” In
addition, companies are looking to
reduce the number of vendors involved
in providing those solutions, he adds.
That notion is reflected in the continuing consolidation of suppliers. Next
year, following the recent completion of
Honeywell’s acquisition of Intermec, the
jointly reported numbers could position
Honeywell in second place. Next year
will also reflect Motorola’s acquisition
of Psion. Other notable changes from
last year’s list include an adjustment of
Avery Dennison’s overstated revenues
for 2011, although it again claimed 10th
place.
Collecting the data
This is Modern’s 12th-annual look at
the leading manufacturers of ADC
mmh.com
hardware and solutions. Because the
industry includes public and private
companies, this is the fifth year in a row
that VDC Research Group compiled
our data—since they are covering this
technology every day, they are closest to
this market.
To make our list, companies must
sell in North America, though the chart
includes worldwide revenues. Modern
does not include resellers, systems integrators or other companies that do not
manufacture ADC hardware. Since our
readers are primarily focused on supply
chain solutions, we do not include companies whose primary focus is the retail
checkout counter or non-industrial settings like hospitals, libraries or resorts.
Nor do we include companies that only
manufacture consumables like bar code
labels and RFID tags.
Market by market
The Auto-ID market is made up of
three distinct industry segments, each
with its own distinct dynamics—mobile
computing, scanning and printing, and
RFID. Here are the most important
developments in each market.
Mobile computing: The market for
ruggedized mobile computers reached
$2.803 billion in 2012, says David
Krebs, vice president of VDC’s enterprise mobility and connected devices.
Those figures include handheld/PDA
devices, wearable mobile computers
and lift truck-mounted devices used on
the plant or DC shop floor or in port
and yard applications.
Krebs estimates the overall market
for mobile computing devices will grow
by a CAGR of 1.7%, reaching about $3
billion by 2017. As with 2011, transportation and warehousing continued to
drive investment in mobile computing.
And, while 2012 saw a continuation of
the recovery that started in 2010, Krebs
is expecting some changes in 2013.
“The rugged handheld market is in
the midst of a fair amount of change,”
says Krebs, who says market conditions have not been good from a top
line perspective. “We saw contraction
last year and expect it again this year.”
One factor is macroeconomic, such as
struggling European markets that have
caused some tension in terms of investment strategies, Krebs says.
The second factor is technical, with
disruption in industrial mobile computing increasingly defined by consumergrade equivalents. “These technologies find their way into an enterprise
through the back door, with things
like ‘bring your own device’ programs.
Enterprise-deployed programs, while
they do happen, are not the norm,”
Krebs says. The availability of consumer products makes it difficult for
traditional rugged vendors to compete,
but the lack of support tools is leading
to decreased acceptance of consumer
devices for enterprise-level data access.
“The pain threshold is also difficult
to overcome in the event of failure of
these consumer devices,” Krebs says.
“At the end of the day, customers want
something as reliable as possible, and
C T O B E R
2013
39
Top 20 automatic data capture suppliers
Total 2012
revenues North American
(in millions) Headquarters
2012
Rank Company
1
Motorola
2
Zebra
$1,348.6 Schaumburg, Ill.
$592.1 Vernon Hills, Ill.
Web site
Bar code Handheld Stationary
Mobile
printers scanners scanners RFID computers
motorolasolutions.com
zebra.com
X
X
X
X
X
X
3
Honeywell (LXE)
$529.7 Morristown, N.J.
honeywell.com
X
X
4
Datalogic
$463.8 Eugene, Ore.
datalogic.com
X
X
X
X
X
5
Intermec
$458.8 Everett, Wash.
intermec.com
X
X
X
X
X
6
SATO
$155.7 Charlotte, N.C.
satoamerica.com
X
7
Toshiba TEC
$147.9 Irvine, Calif.
toshibatecusa.com
X
8
Denso
$138.2 Southfield, Mich.
denso-adc.com
9
Psion
$111.9 Hebron, Ky.
10
Avery Dennison
$94.9 Pasadena, Calif.
averydennison.com
11
SICK
$92.1 Minneapolis, Minn.
sick.com
12
Casio Computer
Co. Ltd
$86.2 Dover, N.J.
casio4business.com
13
Datamax-Oneil
$79.0 Orlando, Fla.
datamaxcorp.com
X
14
Bluebird Soft
$77.6 Palisades Park, N.J.
mypidion.com
X
15
NCR
$60.9 Duluth, Ga.
ncr.com
X
16
Fujian Newland
$50.7 Fremont, Calif.
newlandna.com
17
Cognex
$46.6 Natick, Mass.
cognex.com
X
X
X
psion.com/us
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
18
CipherLab
$44.4 Plano, Texas
us.cipherlab.com
X
19
Opticon
$42.9 Renton, Wash.
opticon.com
X
20
M3 Mobile
$39.4 Iselin, N.J.
m3mobile.net
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Source: VDC Research
that’s a premium the market is willing
to pay for.”
When it comes to operating systems,
the mobile computing market is for the
most part owned by Microsoft, especially in the warehouse and logistics
space. However, with the introduction
of Windows 8, there are questions as
to whether that will create opportunities for alternative operating systems,
Krebs says. “If a company is upgrading its hardware, it may look into other
options available on the market,” he
says. “Microsoft is struggling in terms
of mobile strategy. You see the results of
that in the mobile market.”
Krebs is watching a few key trends:
• Multi-modal solutions, such as the
combination of voice and bar code scanning or voice and light-directed picking,
continue to gain steam as companies
grapple with how to fill e-commerce
orders accurately and efficiently. “As
greater volumes of orders are fulfilled
through electronic channels and as
40
O
C T O B E R
retailers look to provide customers with
more options, the need for warehouse
and logistics functions has to change,”
he says. “We’ve seen this most acutely
in the drive toward the perfect order as
a key metric of performance. We see
integration and deployment of multiple
types of data collection technology to
support those more stringent metrics.”
• Form factors are also changing in
the mobile market, as wearable technologies become more accepted and as
interfaces migrate from keystroke-intensive approaches to touch-based designs.
“We see the influence of consumer technologies in warehouse environments,
including the design of both hardware
and applications around touch as an
input methodology,” Krebs says.
• Wearable, intuitive systems facilitate a greater emphasis on efficiency in
the warehouse. “An improved process
is one thing, but labor management and
the efficient, on-the-fly redeployment of
labor is also key,” Krebs says.
Scanning and printing: Although
market totals remain virtually unchanged
in 2012, the totals reflect a significant
uptick in the number of customers
migrating from scanning to camerabased imaging, particularly on the
handheld side.
“The transition has been much faster
than expected,” says Richa Gupta, the
VDC senior analyst for the Auto-ID
market. Although camera-based imaging
technology has been around for more
than 10 years, it was not until recently
that the prices fell to more appealing
levels. “Many leading vendors were not
expecting customers to switch as fast as
they did,” says Gupta. “Laser scanners
are on the decline and will continue to
be. Camera-based imaging solutions are
the future.”
As with 2011, camera-based 2D
imaging solutions saw the largest area of
growth, expanding by more than 30%.
That growth is largely being driven by
retail markets, where functionality such
mmh.com
as scanning a bar code from a customer’s smart phone is becoming increasingly important.
Handheld scanners jumped nearly
7% to $945 million, while the market
for industrial fixed scanners increased
by just 1% to $675 million, according
to Gupta. Meanwhile, the market for
industrial printers, which includes bar
code printers and the RFID printer/
encoder market, declined more than
2% to $1.33 billion. However, Gupta
sees growth returning, projecting a fiveyear CAGR of 5.1%.
On the printing side, there is a lot of
commoditization, Gupta says. “There
are so many vendors to choose from,
and the market is getting increasingly
fragmented,” she says. “Vendors are
struggling to hold onto customers while
facing very stiff competition from Asia,
given the low barriers to entry due to the
plug-and-play nature of these solutions.”
While camera-based technologies
represent a new market for vendors
to expand into, there are no new and
emerging printing technologies with
which vendors can differentiate themselves. “They’re competing for the same
set of customers with the same product portfolio,” she says. “If anything,
most of the innovation is coming on the
mobile printer front.”
Mobile printing saw a double-digit
jump from 2011 to 2012, while the
rest of the market stayed relatively flat.
Overall, the Americas were one region
that did very well, driven by mobile
printer
investments.
Asia-Pacific
declined while Europe also struggled
with an ongoing financial crisis and
manufacturing slowdown.
On the stationary scanning side, a
surprising decline was recorded across
product categories. Point-of-sale scanners stayed relatively flat, but Gupta
says we can expect the overall stationary scanning market to pick up in 2014.
“Camera-based technologies are making huge gains in the handheld market,
but are only just now creeping into the
stationary point-of-sale space.”
Vendors are also looking to grow
their presence in emerging markets in
Asia. As a result, although vendors like
Motorola, Honeywell and Datalogic
might not shift much in 2013 or 2014,
Gupta suspects they will increasingly
focus their efforts on emerging markets. Zebra is still No. 1 on the bar
code printing side, for instance, but
faces stiff competition from Chinese
and Taiwanese manufacturers, who are
also looking to expand their presence in
emerging markets.
RFID: After growing by double-digit
rates in 2011, the RFID market again
grew nearly 13% from $4.8 billion to $5.5
billion in 2012. Looking forward, the
market is expected to post a CAGR of
11.1% through 2017, according to Liard.
Since last year, RFID has become
further entrenched in apparel handling. Liard says RFID in apparel has
reached the tipping point, with several
billion RFID tags sold in 2012 as com-
Auto-ID market analysis*
(Millions of dollars)
2011
2012
2013
2017
CAGR
2012-2017
Rugged Mobile Devices
$3,025.5
$2,803.7
$2,665.9
$3,047.7
1.7%
Bar Code Scanners
and Printers
$2,935.3
$2,956.7
$3,070.5
$3,794.8
5.1%
RFID & RTLS Solutions
(Transponder ICs, Finished
Hardware, Software and
Services)
$4,883.8
$5,504.4
$6,186.3
$9,315.4
11.1%
Total
$10,844.6
$11,264.8
$11,922.7
$16,157.9
7.5%
Note: Rugged mobile devices include forklift, handheld/PDAs and wearables
*Estimated global shipments of rugged mobile computers, bar code scanners and printers, and RFID and RTLS Solutions.
Source: VDC Research
mmh.com
pared to the low hundreds of millions
in prior years. As more stores become
RFID-enabled, more retailers are supporting item-level RFID, Liard says. “In
retail apparel, we see additional product
lines being included under the umbrella
of RFID,” he says. “Where previously
they were focused almost exclusively on
apparel, they’re now looking at tagging
more products.”
RFID is part of the multi-channel
conversation, he says. “Customers
are looking at how to turn stores into
miniature distribution centers and use
RFID not only for inventory control but
for shipping and receiving operations.”
Increased interest is also apparent in
applying RFID tags closer to the point
of manufacture. “Some do it in the DC,
some in the back room of a retail store,
and some at point of manufacture,”
says Liard. “But when you talk about
multi-channel, you need that visibility
through the entire supply chain.”
Last year, Liard anticipated growth in
RFID being used for asset management,
which also continues to progress. “Aside
from transportation, logistics and manufacturing, it’s reaching some of the nontraditional industries, from oil and gas to
construction and mining, and increasingly in health care,” he says.
As it becomes further embedded in
traditional applications, RFID technology is also innovating to accommodate
a growing number of asset and product
types. “Whether hardware or form factors for tags and readers, innovation continues unabated in RFID,” Liard says.
“For 2014 and beyond, I’m interested
to see what will happen with embedded RFID solutions in kiosks and consumer electronics. The volume of units
is trending in the direction of embedded
opportunities, as opposed to traditional
handheld and fixed position readers.”
As a result, Liard says he continues
to see new players enter the market,
with continued investment in RFIDfocused firms. “Players are still coming
out of China both for readers and tags,”
he says, “after many years of being dominated by North America and Europe.” 䡺
C T O B E R
2013
41
MODERN productivity solution
By Josh Bond,
Associate Editor
Low-speed fans
accelerate production
Air currents provide the expected benefit to worker comfort
and a surprise benefit to the manufacturing process.
S
tone Panels manufactures
lightweight stone veneer panels used in new construction and
renovations across the globe. The
company recently relocated all of
its operations and manufacturing
to a 166,000-square-foot facility in
Coppell, Texas. In lieu of a centralized air conditioning system, the
company recently installed a series
of high-volume, low-speed (HVLS)
fans to improve working conditions
and stimulate productivity.
Working in close quarters in a
humid facility had lead to uncom-
42
fortable employees and a drop
in productivity. Since the company’s product generally has long
lead times, any additional delays
could impact order processing
and profitability. Winker opted
to install six 24-foot HVLS fans
(Kelley, kelley.4frontes.com).
“The mid-day heat of the
Texas summers can really bring
work to a halt,” says Dewey
Winker, facilities manager. “After
we installed the fans, we have
a much cooler and less humid
work environment and we have
O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3 / M O D E R N M AT E R I A L S H A N D L I N G
seen lead times decrease as
a result of employees’ comfort levels having improved
so dramatically.”
The energy-efficient fans
consist of lightweight blades
made from single pieces of
anodized aluminum. They
create a column of air that
flows down toward the floor
and outward in all directions
before it is pulled back vertically toward the blades
to create what is known as
a horizontal floor jet. By
creating this slow-moving
breeze at 2 to 3 miles per
hour, many facilities have
reported a reduction in perceived temperature equivalent to 7º to 11º Fahrenheit.
The fans also provide
airflow throughout the warehouse and eliminate warm or
cold air pockets for more consistent temperatures and energy
efficiency. For Stone Panels, this
facility-wide air flow has also
shortened the curing time for
the product’s finish, which was
traditionally the longest part of
the manufacturing process. “We
couldn’t believe the difference,”
Winker says. “The slow breeze
has reduced the drying time from
upwards of a full week, consistently down to two days.”
mmh.com
MODERN productivity solution
By Josh Bond,
Associate Editor
LED lighting eliminates
maintenance headaches
Long-lasting bulbs
provide energyefficient light in
workshops and
bulk storage.
F
orth Ports is one of the United
Kingdom’s largest ports groups, operating a series of facilities at the Leith
docks in Edinburgh, Scotland. By replacing sodium bulbs with LED lighting in
workshops and bulk storage facilities, the
company won several green accolades
while significantly cutting costs.
Even in daylight, in one of the company’s bulk storage facilities, the 400W
sodium high bays were struggling to
provide adequate illumination. The
heat they generated was burning dust
onto the polycarbonate lenses and
greatly impairing their performance.
Lamp replacement required the sheds
to be empty, meaning a wait of a just a
few days or as much as a year. To make
mmh.com
it worse, the inefficient sodium bulbs
were actually drawing around 440W
each.
In the nearby engineering workshop,
the sodium bulbs were causing work
delays by taking up to 30 minutes to restrike after switching off. They also had
to be replaced regularly, requiring the
floor to be cleared so a scissor lift could
be used to access the lights.
The lights were replaced with a
series of 172- and 150-watt LED bulbs
(Dialight, dialight.com), resulting in a
more than 75% energy savings in the
bulk storage facility and more than 60%
in the other areas. Additionally, the
burden of maintenance has effectively
been eliminated, as each LED bulb
carries a five-year performance warranty. Their instant-on ability removes the
re-strike delays, allowing them to be
switched off when not required, rather
than being left on “just in case.”
The quality of the light has also
improved worker comfort, product quality monitoring, and tasks such as identifying different color wires.
“Together these benefits have
improved efficiency and delivered
operational benefits while minimizing our impact on the environment,”
says Derek McGlashan, environment
and energy manager for Forth Ports
Limited. “We are now actively examining other areas of the business which
could benefit from this technology.” 䡺
M O D E R N M AT E R I A L S H A N D L I N G / O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3
43
A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO:
Voice + Mobility:
Enabling the
visible supply
chain
Modern offers a look at
how voice and mobility
are driving speed and
efficiency inside today’s
more automated, multifunctional distribution
operations.
S
By Bridget McCrea,
Contributing Editor
harply focused on the orchestration of
processes and making sure directions
are followed to a “T,” today’s warehouse
and distribution center managers rely
on technology to varify their facilities
run like well-oiled machines. Over the
last few years, voice and mobility have
emerged as two of the most valuable
technology tools for managers and their
employees, and in doing so have fused
yet one more link on the growing “visible supply chain.”
David Krebs, vice president of enterprise mobility and connected devices
44
O
C T O B E R
mmh.com
Case and Pallet Handling AS/RS Technology provides:
> optimal inventory and order fulfillment management
> maximized cold storage space utilization
> increased throughput and product quality
> maximized energy efficiencies
> low cost of ownership
Voice + Mobility
at VDC Research, keeps
close tabs on the adoption of voice and mobility
in the warehouse and DC.
Right now, he says voice
is primarily being used
for picking applications
in an industry like grocery, where high-volume
picking and packing is the
name of the game. “At this
point,” says Krebs, “voice
is really for hands-free
picking applications.”
Mobility, on the other hand, is ubiquitous in the typical DC. There, goals
like optimizing “perfect orders” (those
that are filled, shipped and delivered
correctly and on time) and reducing
idle work hours are achieved through
the use of mobile devices, rugged
handheld equipment, Wi-Fi, and the
Web. As more warehouses are asked
to support concepts like omni-channel
retailing—creating a seamless consumer buying experience across mobile
“Devices that come down to the warehouse floor
have to be industrialized. It’s a nice device and
interface, but the iPad has to be industrialized
before it can be used in the warehouse.
Warehouse managers need to understand
that before they push non-rugged into certain
applications.”
—Joe Vernon, warehouse management systems practice leader, Capgemini
devices, computers, brick-and-mortar
stores and catalog—the need for mobility, and the supply chain visibility it creates, has grown exponentially.
“We’re seeing individual warehouses supporting both single-item
distribution and high-volume distribution solutions,” says Krebs. “To do
that, logistics operations are deploying a greater variety of data collection
technology that incorporates voice,
traditional bar code, RFID, and location technologies.”
Pick and fill: Today and tomorrow
Trends
Overall pick and fill concerns
Over the next few pages we’ll take
an in-depth look at how voice and
mobility are being put to use inside
today’s warehouse and DC operations
through the eyes of top analysts and
suppliers who are in the trenches,
watching the evolution of the visible
supply chain.
Doing the dirty work
It’s been years since the grocery industry decided that it no longer wanted
to “get its hands dirty, picking through
Mutimodal guidance
and repsonse
58%
142%
Fulfillment accuracy
49%
113%
Labor performance and productivity
30%
Order turnaround time
24%
Traceability/Data code or lot capture number
21%
Picking staff turnover
Projected five-year
growth of multimodal
voice and scan
response
Projected five-year
growth of multimodal
voice and screen
guidance
Source: Motorola
A warehouse survey by Motorola reiterated that the picking and replenishment processes—which account
for up to 70% of operating costs in a warehouse—remain the top priority for warehouse professionals to
address with advanced technology solutions.
46
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Forklifts of Des Moines
Forklifts of Minnesota
National Lift Truck, Inc.
Lift Parts Service, LLC
Equipment Depot
National Lift of Arkansas
Sooner Lift, Inc.
Equipment Depot
Ogden Forklifts, LLC
Cardinal Carryor
Material Handling, Inc.
The Lilly Company
The Lilly Company
Cromer Material Handling
Mid Columbia Forklift, Inc.
Norlift of Oregon, Inc.
United Machinery & Supply, Co.
Forklift of St. Louis
Equipment Depot
Louisiana Lift & Equipment, Inc.
W. D. Matthews Machinery, Co.
Equipment Depot
Brockton, MA
Youngstown, OH
Calgary, AB
Minneapolis, MN
Dallas, TX
Waco, TX
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Oakland, CA
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Shreveport, LA
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Portland, OR
Mechanicsburg, PA
Levittown, PA
Voice + Mobility
boxes,” says Joe Vernon, warehouse
management systems (WMS) practice
leader at consulting firm Capgemini.
Since then, the notion of using technology to do this dirty work has spread
to many other industries. As the trend
picked up speed, technology suppliers
caught on to the need and began making equipment, devices and software
designed to support the fully mobilized warehouse—or, at least, one that
employs as much mobile technology as
possible.
Today, Vernon says that you would be
hard pressed to find a warehouse or distribution center that doesn’t rely on at
least some form of mobile technology to
receive, process, store, inventory and ship
its products. “It’s become a mainstream
option—from the front to the back of the
warehouse,” says Vernon.
In some instances, the technology
works so well that users don’t want to
give up their existing systems in lieu
of newer, state-of-the-art voice-based
options. “Radio frequency (RF) technology is still delivering a lot of value,”
says Vernon. “When you try to pitch
someone on voice-based loading, very
often the answer is: ‘I have 50 devices
that are working, why do I need more?’”
Another issue that’s holding managers back from making mobility investments is the fact that devices aren’t necessarily made to take the abuse of the
warehouse environment. After all, the
odds that a device may be dropped out
of a forklift or accidentally placed under
a heavy box are very good in that setting.
“Devices that come down to the
warehouse floor have to be industrialized,” says Vernon, who points to the
iPad as an example of a useful device
that wouldn’t survive a 10-foot fall from
a lift truck. “It’s a nice device and interface, but the iPad has to be industrialized before it can be used in the warehouse. Warehouse managers need to
understand that before they push nonrugged into certain applications.”
The supplier perspective
With technology advancing at the
speed of light, and with new voice and
mobility innovations hitting the market
on a daily basis, product and solutions
providers must have their fingers on the
pulse of the people who are purchasing
and using their products.
At Voxware, a developer of voicepicking software, president and CEO
Keith Phillips says his team is seeing
strong demand for voice applications in
Mobility: Satisfying the “need for speed”
oday’s supply chain managers face
a series of significant changes in
T
how warehouses, distribution centers
and the entire supply chain operate. More facilities and larger spaces
demand high-speed mobile communications virtually everywhere on or off
the floor.
The need for more accurate product tracking and tracing, the effects of
the manufacturing re-shoring movement, and myriad other e-commerce
and related transportation challenges
are pushing operations to come up
with more efficient and effective ways
to manage their DCs.
Put voice and mobility on the list
of resources that logistics professionals have on their side. Such technologies feed today’s “need for speed,”
according to Rob Armstrong, senior
marketing manager of manufacturing
and logistics for Motorola Solutions.
“Our research shows a 77% correlation between manufacturing profitability and inventory turns,” says
Armstrong. “So the speed at which
manufacturers, third-party logistics
48
O
C T O B E R
providers and distributors operate
has a significant impact on profitability.”
Armstrong points to person-toperson communications as a critical
link in the inventory turn/profitability
chain. For example, a major food
distributor on the East Coast recently
consulted with Jim Hilton, Motorola’s
vertical lead for manufacturing, about
his operation’s lagging productivity.
The distributor’s major issues, according to Hilton, involved inefficient
crossdocking and shared production
across various, geographically dispersed plants.
Using two-way radios equipped
with voice-over-internet protocol
(VoIP), the distributor was able to
closely align its production lines,
minimize overproduction and create
a more collaborative environment
for line supervisors. “The whole
operation wound up more effective and streamlined,” says Hilton,
“even though multiple states were
involved.”
Taking that model a step further,
Hilton says that he’d like to see more
operations employing analytics across
the production line, through the logistics component and out into the sales
department.
“There are a lot of models out
there that help companies see where
their people and trucks are and what
to do if something happens,” says
Hilton. “But what if you were able
to use the information to figure out
what to do before a disruptive event
occurs?”
Armstrong says such scenario planning is already happening in the warehouse, with labor rebalancing occurring automatically when a truck is late
to the dock, or when product is piling
up on a dock because the truck can’t
be loaded quickly enough.
In most cases, however, these
reallocations require a human touch.
“Warehouses and DCs are now moving to the point where they can take
in analytics and figure them out on
a machine-to-machine basis without
having to have someone else figure
them out,” adds Armstrong.
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Voice + Mobility
“We could see a move to mobile
technology for voice, particularly if
ruggedized device prices stay high. In
fact, if the equipment manufacturers don’t
start lowering their prices they are going
to lose out to the iPhone.”
the warehouse. Citing industry statistics, Phillips estimates that voice penetration in the supply chain is at about
20% right now. Breaking down the market into thirds (large, mid-sized and
small enterprises), Phillips says voice
usage among large enterprises is probably closer to 60% to 70%.
In most instances, Phillips says
technology costs are the inhibitors
when it comes to the mid-sized and
allow users to get their voice systems
up and running without a large, upfront
capital payment. “This has helped tremendously,” says Phillips. “More than
80% of our new customers are using the
cloud.”
Warehouse and DC mangers are
also finding innovative new uses for
voice. At mobile voice solution devel—Dwight Klappich, research vice president, Gartner
oper Vocollect, Jay Armant, vice presismaller users. He doesn’t see that dent of product management, says
obstacle going away anytime soon. In that functions like cycle counting,
fact, voice devices continue to fetch a receiving, shipping, reverse logistics
retail price that is upward of $2,000 to and auditing are all being handled by
voice.
$3,000.
These additions complement the
“As a software company, we don’t
control those prices,” says Phillips, “but usual lineup of voice-related activities,
watching them retreat is kind of like which typically include enabling, pickwatching the polar ice cap move.” To ing, or selecting workflows and prooffset those costs, software firms have cesses. “Logistics professionals want
started offering cloud-based models that to gain additional value and benefit
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Voice Pick solutions for a heads-up,
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Positive feedback...Every time
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WAREHOUSE
SIGNS
RACK
LABELS
PREPRINTED LPN
LABELS
NATIONAL INSTALLATION
SERVICES
Voice + Mobility
improvements within the four walls of
the distribution center, and one way
they can achieve those efficiencies
is by expanding their use of voice to
non-traditional areas of the DC,” adds
Armant.
What’s ahead?
Based on his research into technology
penetrations, DC technology needs,
and shipping market trends, Krebs says
that, overall, “the fundamentals are
good to very good going forward when
it comes to voice and mobility usage in
the warehouse.”
Krebs points to innovations like
Google Glass as one driver of voice
usage, noting that while the product
wasn’t made for warehouse usage, the
very idea of “wearables” and “hands-
free operations” can be applied across
many different industries and applications. “These are some interesting
concepts that I think warehouse workers could benefit from down the road,”
Krebs says.
Capgemini’s Vernon expects voice
and mobility equipment makers to
come out with even more innovative
products—all with the goal of “driving
more devices into people’s hands.” To
logistics operations that are considering
a more mobile and voice-enabled warehouse and DC, or looking to upgrade
and existing systerm, Vernon says careful selection and research is necessary
during this era of unbridled technological innovation.
“Be smart,” says Vernon. “Don’t go
out and buy the latest and greatest if
you don’t need it.”
Dwight Klappich, research vice president for research firm Gartner, sees more
growth ahead for both voice—which he
says is mature, but not ubiquitous in the
warehouse and DC—and mobility—
both mature and ubiquitous.
Klappich says the pathway from
using ruggedized devices to employing handheld smart phones and other
types of smaller, cheaper mobile
equipment is currently being carved
out.
“We could see a move to mobile
technology for voice, particularly if
ruggedized device prices stay high,”
says Klappich. “In fact, if the equipment manufacturers don’t start lowering their prices they’re going to lose
out to the iPhone.” 䡺
SCAN TO
WATCH
VIDEO
WestfaliaUSA.com/Modern
SOMETIMES LESS...
IS A LOT MORE!
Wirtz Beverage Illinois combined operations
of three facilities into one much more ef¿cient
facility using Westfalia’s Automated Storage
and Retrieval System (AS/RS) and a high rate
conveyor, combiner and sortation system. Even
in less space, they have plenty of room to grow.
“This design led us to being
Pore cost and labor ef¿cient´
Check out the video of the
Wirtz facility in action at:
WestfaliaUSA.com/Modern
- Richard “Rocky” Ruane,
regional director of
warehouse operations,
Wirtz Beverage Illinois
Let Dehnco Help You Evaluate and Integrate Workstations,
Supply Storage and Equipment Needs with Your Automation,
Technology and Material Handling Systems
. . . AT A PRICE YOU CAN AFFORD
Pack Bench Systems®©
Organization Creates Efficiency
. . . Efficiency Promotes Productivity
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Contact Us:
Call: 847•382•1579
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• Promotes Ergonomics • Creates Efficiency • Increases Productivity
STEP : 1
STEP : 2
Evaluating
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Identifying the
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STEP : 3
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Integrating
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FOCUS ON Conveyors and sortation
Head Products
Text_products
High sortation rates
at slow speeds
For high capacity package sorting, the
FlexSort SL2 sliding shoe sorter incorporates Web-enabled modular software
and distributed controls to manage all
areas of the unified system—including
merges, inducts, diverts and take aways.
Capable of producing high sort rates at
slow operating speeds (200 cartons per
minute at 400 feet per minute of travel),
the low operating speed minimizes wear,
noise and energy use. Automatic speed
control allows the sorter to vary operating speeds to accommodate actual
throughput needs, including peak rates
of 400 cartons per minute. Using multiple
drives to provide redundancy, the system
provides more uptime with less maintenance. The sorter may be specified with
either a noncontact induction linear drive
or a profile drive configuration. Dematic,
262-860-6715, www.dematic.com.
Modularly constructed
cross-belt sorter
Capable of sorting a range of products,
the modularly constructed BS 7 belt tray
cross-belt sorter is ideal for handling
postal items, textiles, mail order articles
and food. The system features moving
54
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conveyor belts with contactless power
supply and fast, precise and gentle product sorting. Engineered to be comprised
of 50% fewer individual parts, the sorter
requires 80% less maintenance than
conventional models. Built with durable
aluminum components, the sorter is made
up of a number of moving conveyor belts,
or belt trays, making it capable of deployment in narrow destinations arranged
close together. Belt trays are arranged at
90-degree angles to the direction of the
conveying of the sorter, allowing articles
to be fed in and discharged to the left
or right. Beumer Group, 732-893-2800,
www.beumergroup.com.
Chain-driven accumulation
conveyor
The Accuglide chain-driven accumulation
conveyor provides quiet, positive transportation and zero-pressure accumulation for rapid, gentle handling of a broad
range of products. Features include
jam detection to identify flow interruptions and command zone shutdowns,
device and system-level diagnostics to
streamline maintenance and device-level,
photo-eye sensors for self-monitoring.
Onboard independent logic controllers
store commands, relieving processing
stress on central computing stations. The
conveyor accumulates product through
up to three 90-degree curves with a
single drive, increasing layout flexibility
and providing additional accumulation
capacity. For food and beverage applications, the equipment can be specified in
stainless steel construction, or in a pallet
load configuration for pallet handling.
Intelligrated, 866-936-7300, www.intelligrated.com.
Save floor space with
vertical spiral conveyor
The single file vertical spiral conveyor offers smooth, continuously high
throughput and flow of product in a
compact footprint. The device elevates
or lowers products in a compact configuration with a radius as small as 18 inches
to conserve floor space. To efficiently
convey and elevate a range of container
and packages, the conveyor has a compact turn radius side-flexing chain with
a single drive. This feature makes the
system virtually maintenance-free and
enables changeovers with minimal effort.
Alliance Industrial, 800-368-3556,
www.allianceindustrial.com.
Merge/divert/transfer
controller for multiple
conventional conveyor types
The ZoneLink3.S merge/divert/transfer
(MDT) controller offers flexibility and
connectivity, combined with built-in,
zero-pressure accumulation functionality.
Ideal for use with conventional conveyor
types—such as
belt-driven live
roller, lineshaft,
variable frequency drive
driven and
most AC motor pneumatic conveyors—
the device operates without a programmable logic controller. Features include
eight built-in modes, four release modes,
four lift modes, quick connect sensor
inputs, auxiliary inputs/outputs and a
snap-in mounting plate for easy installation. Holjeron, 503-582-0820, www.
holjeron.com.
mmh.com
FOCUS ON
Conveyors and sortation
Sort cases, polybags and trays with roller belt sorters
Ideal for a small number of diverts in a short footprint, Activated Roller Belt (ARB)
sorters enable sorting of any package type—including cases, polybags and trays—in
sizes ranging from small to large. They provide high-speed bidirectional sorting at
rates that exceed
100 packages per
minute, and right
angle sorting at
rates from 30 to
60 packages per
minute. Reliable and
requiring minimal
controls, the system
can be used for
sorting, depalletizing, merging and
case turning applications. Intralox,
888-427-2358,
www.intralox.com.
CONVEYOR PRODUCTS,
PALLET AND CONTAINER
HANDLING EQUIPMENT
STANDARD PRE-ENGINEERED
CONVEYOR PRODUCTS
Offering:
Loop sorter handles range
of product sizes
The flexible Crossorter loop sorter
handles products from very small items,
such as envelopes and shrink-wrapped
products, to bulky items—including
odd-shaped packages and totes. Its high
speed and lateral product orientation
provide a maximum capacity of up to
18,000 carriers per hour. A sophisticated
control system balances flows over different inducts and outputs to minimize
recirculation and increase operational
capacity. Features include synchronous
linear drive technology to achieve energy
efficiency four times greater than conventional sorters. Built using sustainable
and recyclable materials, the unit is 80%
more energy-efficient than conventional
crossbelt sorters. Key components can
be changed in 5 minutes, for maximum
uptime. Vanderlande, 770-250-2800,
www.vanderlande.com.
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3V^7YPJL.\HYHU[LL
=VS\TL+PZJV\U[Z
,_[LUZP]L5VU:[HUKHYK
*HWHIPSP[PLZ
CONVEYOR ROLLERS
REQUEST PRICE OFFER
www.lewcoinc.com
*HSS419.625.4014
*VU]L`VY:HSLZ
:[HUKHYK:PaLZ-YVT¹[V¹
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LEWCO Inc.3HUL:[
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Sorters divert product at
90- and 30-degree angles
ProSort MRT sorters handle mediumsized products at high throughput rates.
The 90-degree model uses multiple narrow belts and right-angle rollers that
*VW`YPNO[¹3,>*60UJ
(SS9PNO[Z9LZLY]LK
56
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mmh.com
FOCUS ON
rise between the belts to divert items
off both sides of the unit. For increased
transfer rates, the 30-degree version has
wheels that rise between the belts to
transfer items at 30-degree angles. Both
sorters travel at speeds up to 350 feet
per minute. They are equipped with individual pneumatic take-ups for consistent
belt tensioning and a distributed cabling
system. Ideal applications include quality
control stations, manual palletizing, automated and robotic palletizers and valueadded workstations. Hytrol Conveyor,
870-268-4266, www.hytrol.com.
Flexible, quiet sliding shoe sortation conveyor
improves handling speeds up to 25%
To help distribution centers to improve sortation speed rates by up to 25%, the
Automotion AutoSort 20 sliding shoe sortation conveyor travels up to 600 feet per
minute. This produces single side sort rates of 250 to 300 cases per minute, and doublesided sort rates up to 150 cartons per minute. The conveyor has also been engineered
to reduce noise levels by as much as 6 decibels in comparison to previous systems. To
accommodate future growth and seasonal peaks, the system is flexible and easy to
install or reconfigure.
Features include an
automatic chain oiler,
unobstructed access for
routine maintenance,
removable side panels,
and add-on divert stations with electric switches that do not require
pneumatic air for easy
repositioning. Wynright,
708-229-8280, www.
wynright.com.
Zero-pressure accumulation
conveyors for carton, unit
load handling
A line of zero-pressure accumulation
conveyors transport and accumulate
cartons and unit loads for queuing up to
feed into sortation equipment, palletizers
or other materials handling equipment.
Once an item has accumulated, the driving pressure beneath the item is removed
so products do not touch. Ideal for providing a buffer zone, the conveyors hold
back a steady stream of products when
downstream processes aren’t ready for
additional product. The conveyors are
comprised of rollers with photoelectric
sensors and on-board zone logic to
control drive actuation. When the photo
sensor notifies the zone controller that a
product is present, it will not activate the
drive rollers. Once the sensor identifies a
clear zone, drive rollers are activated to
release the product to the next zone in a
spaced sequence. W&H Systems, 201635-3471, www.whsystems.com.
MOVE MORE
WITH CREFORM
AGV SYSTEMS.
Creform engineers can help you move more. We analyze, plan, and install
point-to-point or plant-wide AGV systems that meet your material handling needs
while keeping lean and continuous improvement goals in mind. With a wide
selection of bolt-on or BST undercarriage AGVs, and extensive custom or existing
cart configurations, our sales engineers can resolve your most challenging material
handling needs. And coupled with our reliable control systems for vehicle
management, we can be up and running fast.
Make the right move and let us show how you can move more.
W W W C R E F O R M C O M s mmh.com
C T O B E R
2013
57
FOCUS ON
Sort variety of parcel sizes, shapes
with re-engineered shoe sorter
Newly re-engineered, the Trisort SDX shoe sorter is ideal for high-capacity operations
in distribution, warehousing, shipping and postal applications. The versatile system
handles a variety of parcel sizes and shapes along a precision frame with exacting fit and full-length, seamless urethane track for smooth rolling performance. For
maximum uptime, the unit’s
divert switches incorporate
precision lubricated thermal
plastic elements that are
individually replaceable,
while pop-off/snap-on divert
shoes have energy-absorbing honeycomb elastomer
cushions to reduce jams
and provide gentle diverts.
Noise levels are minimized
with precision ball bearing wheels and low friction
lubricated plastics. Cinetic
Sorting, 502-636-1414,
www.sorting.com.
Cut the
Trash Talk!
Transport system operates
noiselessy with fully
integrated, compact drive
The LT40 transport system features a fully
integrated and compact drive, measuring 2.36 inches in diameter. The drive
operates the conveyor noiselessly, and is
impelled by a motor with stepless speed
variation that allows an operator to adjust
speed ramps and change the direction of
travel. Comprised of a double belt system, which carries individual work piece
holders at a speed up to 65.6 feet per
minute, the conveyor includes square or
elongated work piece holders in six different sizes—each with a capacity of 37
pounds. The holders can be equipped
with RFID for real-time product identification. Montech, +41-0-32-6815-500,
www.montech.com.
Add a BloApCo Shredder above your baler
and stop complaining about your Trash Line.
Maintenance-free
motor brakes
BloApCo warehouse shredders greatly expand disposal capacity and:
The maintenance-free MagnaShear motor
brake employs oil shear technology, providing longer service life to accommodate
the frequent start/stop cycles of conveyors.
The technology uses a layer of automatic
transmission fluid between the brake disc
and drive plate to transmit torque between
V Eliminate jams and ensure your production area is always
clear of OCC
V Increase bale density and lower your haul-away costs
V Save energy and improve your environment with
quiet, low HP, low dust performance
www.bloapco.com 800.959.0880
© Blower Application Company, Inc., Germantown, WI 2012
REDUCING SCRAP SINCE 1933
FOCUS ON
lubricated surfaces. This eliminates wear
due to friction. As the fluid is compressed,
the fluid molecules shear, imparting torque
to the other side. The torque transmission causes the stationary surface to turn,
bringing it up to the same relative speed
as the moving surface. Since most of the
work is done by the fluid particles in shear,
wear is eliminated. The totally enclosed
brakes are impervious to moisture, dirt
and dust, and come in spring set torque
ratings from 3 to 1,250 foot-pounds. Force
Control Industries, 513-868-0900, www.
forcecontrol.com.
Nanoceramic grease
provides high friction
resistance in conveyor
applications
Using nanoceramic particles that act as
sub-microscopic ball bearings, DayLube
high performance grease provides continuous lubrication to steel surfaces. Ideal
for use with conveyors, the lubricant has
a much lower coefficient of friction at all
temperatures than traditional greases,
and is chemically inert—making it environmentally friendly. It maintains its
viscosity across full temperature range
and is NSF-H1 Food Grade Certified. It
features high load-bearing properties,
a low dielectric constant, does not contain metal or silicone and resists steam,
acids and most chemical products. The
lubricant may be purchased in 16-ounce
tubes and jars, gallons and 5-gallon pails.
Dayton Progress, 937-859-5111, www.
daytonprogress.com.
mmh.com
Low friction, low power
consumption reduces
total cost of ownership
To reduce
total cost of
ownership,
the X65 conveyor has been
engineered
for low friction, low power consumption
and a long service life. Features include a
highly efficient drive technology to further
reduce power consumption by 8% to 44%,
depending on application and selected
drive unit. Sturdy construction extends
maintenance intervals, while the conveyor
can reach speeds of 393.7 feet per minute.
For automated single piece flow applications, it handles products weighing up to
22 pounds at noise levels comparable to
office levels. FlexLink Group, 800-7821399, www.flexlink.com.
Rollers include reusable
steel can trough and
return idlers
For longer service life, a line of
rollers includes
patented steel
can trough and
return idlers,
with two tapered roller bearings in each
hub (four per idler). In addition to lasting
up to three times longer than traditional
two-bearing designs, the rollers withstand severe applications. They are constructed with universal shafts, enabling
them to fit any manufacturer’s brackets.
Because there is no welding on the idler
assembly, any damaged parts can be
replaced in minutes—allowing the re-use
of the axle assembly for cost savings. The
rollers come in 5-, 6- and 7-inch diameters
with standard shell thickness of 0.1875
and 0.25 inches. The standard models
include 0.75-inch bearings; the heavyduty versions are equipped with 1.25-inch
bearings. Elite Roller Manufacturing,
513-738-3000, www.eliterollermanufacturing.com.
Lift Truck
Damage
Got You Down?
Do your lift
trucks look like
demolition derby cars?
Before now there was very
little you could do to prevent this.
To reduce your damage costs,
manage your industrial fleet with:
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Improve fleet safety, reduce material
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PRODUCT Showcase
Thermal printers deliver industrial,
desktop bar code printing
A line of thermal printers includes standard Ethernet connectivity for high quality label printing at fast speeds. Capable of
producing 20,000 labels in one run, the WPL612 is ideal for
manufacturing, warehouse and shipping/receiving use. It contains die-cast aluminum construction for improved durability. As
an entry-level industrial printer, the WPL406 has a low-profile,
all-metal exterior housing, while its die-cast aluminum print
mechanism outputs up to 10,000
labels per day. The
WPL304 desktop
model is compatible with Wasp and
other major ribbon
media offerings for
maximum versatility. Wasp Barcode
Technologies, 866547-9277, www.
waspbarcode.
High load capacity four-post VRC
The supplier’s four-post vertical reciprocating conveyor design
includes, as standard, the company’s full-featured AutoSenz
D-Series overload detection system. This next-generation
4XLift has been designed to provide safe lifting of heavy, bulky
loads. The VRC is available in two lifting capacities. Standard
capacity is 15,000 pounds and the high-load capacity handles
loads up to 30,000 pounds. The standard carriage platform
accepts loads up to 12 x 30 feet long. Additional design and
safety features include a robust four-post structural frame with
either 6-inch or 8-inch wide-flange steel beams; an available
CargoLok gate that securely encloses the carriage and protects
heavy cargo or rolling loads; an audible alarm system that
sounds if the gate is left open or not properly latched; and an
available SafeLok system that locks the carriage at upper levels
for added safety. Wildeck, 262-549-4000, www.wildeck.com.
Wrap products with sensitive finishes
in elegant black cushioning
To protect delicate
furniture, appliance
and electronics finishes
from damage during
shipping, a new line of
black bubble air wrap
is offered for use as
cushioning, void fill
or surface protection.
Reformulated in a dark color to further reinforce branding
beyond primary packaging—and offering concealment/theft
deterrence properties—the Astro-Bubble Renew wrap features
high recycled content. It comes in 40% recycled content coex
(low-density polyethylene/nylon) and 25% recycled content
monolayer (linear-low density polyethylene) styles. Bubble size
choices range from very small to large, in diameters from 0.125
to 0.5 inches. Pregis, 877-692-6163, www.pregis.com.
60
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mmh.com
PRODUCT Showcase
Energy-efficient AS/RS
The Quickstore Microshuttle
automated storage and retrieval
system—a part of the supplier’s
line of mini-loads, shuttles and
load-handling devices—is offered
as a solution for low- to mediumthroughput applications. The
shuttles move between different
levels within the racking with a
lift, feature wireless communication, and use capacitors for
on-board energy that enables
autonomous operation without
power rails in the aisles. All braking energy is directed back to
reload the capacitors for energy efficiency. Scalable, the system
can be easily expanded with additional shuttles as throughput
requirements increase. To ensure high availability, the redundant
system allows a shuttle to be removed as needed for service,
while every location in the racking can be reached manually if
needed. Vanderlande, 770-250-2800, www.vanderlande.com.
107-lumen per watt LED fixture
backed by 10-year warranty
The ultra-efficient DuroSite LED high-bay and low-bay fixtures
produce 107 lumens per watt and feature integrated power supplies. Backed by a 10-year full performance warranty, the lighting has both UL certification and CE compliance and is offered in
17,000-3,800 lumen output fixture versions. The reliable lamps
include high lumen-per-watt efficiency, high power factor, low
total harmonic distortion, various input supply options and high
transient surge protection. Dialight, 732-919-3119, www.
dialight.com.
Compact controller integrates sequence,
motion, temperature and vision
The compact L series controller integrates sequence, motion,
temperature and vision into a single package to support fully
automated machinery that weighs, palletizes and stretch wraps
loads. Programmed with GX Works2 software, the controller
enables multiple working modes to be pre-set and engaged
with a graphic operator interface touchscreen. For palletizing,
the unit delivers precise motion control to package and stack
products faster and with greater accuracy. When stretch wrapping, the controller uses a servo system that improves tension control to ensure that loads are secured with maximum
stretch without excess film or film ripping. Mitsubishi Electric
Automation, 847-478-2100, www.meau.com.
LET LYON HELP DESIGN
YOUR NEXT STORAGE PROJECT
From lockers to equipment storage Lyon is your
one stop provider for all your storage needs.
STORAGE SOLUTIONS SINCE 1901
7RÀQG\RXUQHDUHVW'LVWULFW0DQDJHU
FDOOXVDW800-323-0082RU
O\RQZRUNVSDFHFRP
mmh.com
C T O B E R
2013
61
PRODUCT Showcase
Prevent slips with fiberglassreinforced plastic surface
Virtually indestructible, the SafeStep line of slip-resistant surfaces is constructed from extremely durable, fiberglass-reinforced
plastic. Offerings include step edges, landing covers and edge
covers, in addition to large pieces of sheeting for surfaces such
as ramps, walkways and around machinery. The products can
be used for indoor and outdoor applications and resist oil and
chemicals. Pre-formed and ready for installation, the surfaces
are affixed with adhesive or screws. Step covers come in eight
sizes and are black or high-visibility yellow. Landing covers
come in one standard size; four sizes of step edges are yellow;
and six sizes of
sheeting come in
black, yellow or
gray.
Rust-Oleum
Industrial
Brands, 800323-3584, www.
rustoleum.com.
PROTECH® Precision Pallets
Ideal
Pharm for the
aceu
& Foo tical
Indus d
tries
Biodegradable
cushion bag made
from renewable
materials
The PakNatural biodegradable
cushion bag acts as protective packaging for cushioning
and void-fill shipping applications, while meeting sustainability
requirements. Offered in three sizes, the packaging encases
loose fill material within a protective film—both of which are
renewable, biodegradable and compostable. Non-abrasive, the
bags are ideal for protecting electronics, books, glass items and
collectibles in shipment. No equipment is necessary to use the
packaging, which has been certified as biodegradable and compostable by three independent international organizations: The
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), Germany’s DIN CERTCO
and Belgium-based Vincotte. Sealed Air, 800-648-9093, www.
sealedair.com, www.paknatural.com/cushionbag.
No need for
maintenance on
roll-up dock door
Made from the same material used to produce tires, the
Powerhouse SD industrial, roll-up
rubber door stands up to dust,
rocks, mud and harsh weather.
The door’s panels are made from
styrene butadiene rubber for
maintenance-free, high-speed
operation. Engineered without springs or counterbalance systems, if an impact occurs the door releases without damage
and restores to full operation with the push of a button. Rytec,
888-467-9832, www.rytecdoors.com.
Double wall cylinder container for safe
beverage transport, dispensing
Always in stock and ready to ship!
Tired of waiting for Structo-Cell pallets? PROTECH 4048 pallets
save time and money to keep your operation moving.
t Standard PROTECH is made with FDA-rated resin and color
t FM-approved fire-retardant PROTECH is decaBDE-free
t Easy to clean, mold- and insect-resistant, hygienic
t Four-way forklift and jack entry
t Optional intermittent 1/2” perimeter lip
Ready to Ship
in 24 hours!
or grommets
866-713-9446
www.tmfcorporation.com
62
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To prevent deformation at high pressure, the KeyKeg20 beverage dispenser features double wall construction that creates a
cylinder inside a cylinder to better resist internal pressures. The
container stores soft drinks, stouts and other highly carbonated beverages by housing a flexible, multi-layered inner bag
that holds the beer, wine or soft drink. Pressurizing the space
between the bag and the wall dispenses the contents. Because
the beverage does not come into contact with the propellant
gas during dispensing, its quality is not compromised. The containers resist high temperatures during transport in hot climates
and are impervious to moisture. For transport, 80 of the cylindrical units fit on a single pallet. Lightweight Containers, 31-0223-661-088, www.keykeg.com.
mmh.com
PRODUCT Showcase
Recyclable
carton board
A line of carton board products, which are made of
lightweight and easily recyclable paperboard, and the
automatic production lines
for making them can be used
in transport packaging as a
replacement for traditional
wood and plywood packaging. The carton board packaging comprises a modular
system that includes stabilizing edge boards in different profiles, honeycomb boards and
paperboard pallets adhered together with glue and paper cores
to stabilize the load’s footprint. Eltete TPM, +358-50-3036275, www.eltete.com.
End-of-line packing
workstations
An ergonomic, fully customizable line of packing
tables includes intelligently
located, easy-reach tool
trays, recycling bins at
worktop level and ergonomically placed cutters,
paper rolls and label printers. A choice of 35 optional accessories may be specified for
unique configurations and to ensure compatibility with existing
workstations and workbenches. Adjustable manually or electrically, the workstations can be supplied with adjustable-shelf
trolleys that fit snugly underneath to hold packaging materials
and other ancillary equipment. Treston, +44-0-1635-521-521,
www.treston.com.
Cordless production tools save energy
with automatic shut-off functions
To promote energy efficiency, a line of production and assembly line tools includes intelligent cordless shut-off, low-torque
cordless clutch and cordless non shut-off models for use in
automotive and aviation factories as a replacement for air
tools. The cordless models deliver up to 96% savings on electricity costs, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and eliminate
trip hazards from air lines. Environmentally friendly, the 10.8volt cordless shut-off mechanical pulse tool incorporates a
3.0 ampere-hour lithium-ion battery, torque control mechanism with 0.25-inch hex quick change and a brushless motor
with shut-off technology. Panasonic, 800-338-0552,
wwww.panasonic.com.
Modular
safety fencing
easy to install,
configure
Quick-Guard modular safety fencing
panels can be custom configured to
guard industrial applications. The guarding consists of a limited
number of parts, delivered partially assembled with all necessary fittings, to make it easy to build the system on-site. Using
aluminum profiles, patented brackets, net-locks, mesh and solid
panels, the fencing is easy to adjust if production equipment is
modified or moved. When the welded mesh and/or polycarbonate panels are locked into the profile, the inherent strength of
the system increases. The outer wire of the mesh locks into profile fence posts through unique net-locks, making the panel as
strong as if it were welded. Infill strips firmly secure the polycarbonate panels into the extruded aluminum profiles channel. A
patented screw-lock system and pre-mounted brackets ensure
that no holes need to be drilled in the profiles. ABB Jokab
Safety, 888-282-2123, www.jokabsafetyna.com.
Export and Domestic
Pallet Solutions
PRES
PALL
ŹMinimize Waste
Cut Packaging Co
ŹFree of Bugs, Mold
TCP and TCA Che
ŹReduce Fork Truck
Traf¿c
ŹReduce Shipping
Costs
ŹIncrease Product
Protection
ŹReduce Shipping
Damages
ŹCerti¿ed SustainaE
Which Pallet
Will You Choose?
LITCO International Pallets
Export and Domestic Pallet Solutions
855-296-2891 t www.litco.com
SPACS95-8/12
mmh.com
C T O B E R
2013
63
PRODUCT Showcase
Polymer
Solutions
International, Inc.
Where Ideas Become Solutions
Polymer Solutions
International is a global
manufacturer of reusable complete
line of plastic pallets and racks
manufactured with FDA approved
material, Radiopaque material,
or Factory Mutual Research
Corporation (FM) approved
material.
Polymer Solutions International
can provide you with material
handling solutions in the food,
beverage, pharmaceutical
applications, including custom
sizes pallets.
Low emission powertrain on forklifts
minimizes noise, environmental impact
Toll Free (877) 444-7225
&NBJMJOGP!QSPTUBDLDPNtMedford, NJ 08055 USA
www.prostackpallets.com
Using a powertrain that produces low emissions and low noise
during operation, the EcoMaxx series of forklifts is powered
by GM liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Tier IV E Cummins and
Perkins diesel Tier III EPA engines. The vehicles lift loads from
8,000 to 22,000 pounds. Environmentally friendly, the trucks
feature wide view masts for operator visibility, hydrostatic
steering for simple and precise maneuverability and easily
accessible operator controls for an ergonomic ride. Starke
Material Handling, 877-435-4352, www.starkeusa.com.
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION
1. Publication title: -ODERN-ATERIALS(ANDLING. 2. Publication No. USPS . 3. Filing date: 3EPTEMBER. 4. Issue
frequency:-ONTHLY 5. No.ofissuespublishedannually:. 6. Annualsubscriptionprice:53#!.&/2
7. CompletemailingaddressofKnownofficeofpublication:0EERLESS-EDIA,,#3PEEN3TREET3TE
&RAMINGHAM-!.8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: 0EERLESS-EDIA,,#
ADIVISIONOF%(0UBLISHING3PEEN3TREET3TE&RAMINGHAM-! 9. Full names and complete address of the
Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor: Publisher, Brian Ceraolo, Editor, -ICHAEL,EVANS, Managing Editor, .OEL"ODENBURG, 0EERLESS
-EDIA,,#3PEEN3TREET3TE&RAMINGHAM-!. 10. Owner: 0EERLESS-EDIA,,#$IVISIONOF%(0UBLISHING
3PEEN3TREET3TE&RAMINGHAM-!. 11. Knownbondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or holding 1
percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 12. Tax Status: Has not changed during preceding
2 months. 13. Publication title: -ODERN-ATERIALS(ANDLING14. Issue date for circulation data: 3EPTEMBER
15. Extent and nature of circulation:
OVER 100
MODELS
NEW
The Specialist
in Drum Handling
(315) 437-8475
Average No. Copies
Each Issue During
Preceding 12 Months
Actual No. Copies
of Single Issue
Nearest Filing Date
A. Total no. copies (net press run) B. Legitimate paid and/or requested distribution (by mail or outside the mail)
1. Outside County paid/requested mail subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541 2. In-County paid/requested mail subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541
None
None
3. Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and
other paid or requested distribution outside USPS 4. Requested copies distributed by other mail classes through the USPS
NonE
None
C. Total paid and/or requested circulation D. Nonrequested distribution (by mail and outside the mail)
1. Outside County nonrequested copies stated on PS Form 3541 2. In-County nonrequested copies stated on PS Form 3541
None
None
3. Nonrequested copies distributed through the USPS by other classes of mail
None
None
4. Nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail E. Total nonrequested distribution (sum of 15D 1, 2, and 3) F. Total distribution (sum of 15C and E) G. Copies not distributed H. Total (sum of 15F and G) I. Percent paid and/or requested circulation (15C divided by F times 100) %
%
16. Publication of Statement of Ownership: Publication required and will be printed in the /CTOBER issue of this publication.
17. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or
misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal
sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).
Charles Tanner (signed), $IRECTOROF!UDIENCE-ARKETING
0EERLESS-EDIA Statement of Digital Circulation
1. Publication Title: -ODERN-ATERIALS(ANDLING
Average No. Digital Copies
Each Issue During
Preceding 12 Months
www.MorseDrum.com/mmh
64
O
C T O B E R
No. Copies of Single
Issue Published
Nearest to Filing Date
Printed Circulation as reported on PS Form 3526, Line 15A Digital Circulation Total Circulation Charles Tanner (signed), $IRECTOROF Audience Marketing , mmh.com
Power Transmission Belts
POWER TRANSMISSION STRETCH BELTS
Pyramid Inc. has manufactured round and flat Pyrathane® belts
for over 40 years. Pyrathane® belts are used in a wide variety of
low and fractional horsepower drive applications such as liveroller conveyor systems, as well as transport devices for paper,
currency and small parts. Pyrathane® belts are manufactured to
our customers’ specifications and are of the highest quality with
exceptional abrasion resistance and durability.
classified
To advertise, or for more
information contact:
Jennifer Drevline
847-223-5225, ext. 11
[email protected]
Pyramid Inc.
522 N. 9th Ave. E. • Newton, IA 50208
Phone: 641-792-2405 • Fax: 641-792-2478
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.pyramidbelts.com
Components
Ergonomic Holster Systems
Bumpy Rides?
Secure Your
Terminal, and
Holster Your
Side Arm...
with a LOGISTERRA ®
truck-mount Holder
...or a slinger,
right or left
UÊ*ÀÛiÊ«À`ÕVÌÃ
UÊ9i>ÀÃÊÊÃiÀÛVi
UÊi«Þi`ÊÜÀ`Üì
UÊ>ìÊÊ1-
L O G I S T E R R A , I N C.
619-280-9992
Security
NE
Thinking about
building walls
for security?
W
There’s a better and lower-cost alternative:
Folding Guard’s Saf-T-Fence® partitions.
They deliver security and an unobstructed
view of your property – with no change to
your lighting or heating systems. Modular
system can be easily installed, expanded
or relocated in any space. In Stock.
info@}ÃÌiÀÀ>°VÊUÊÜÜÜ°}ÃÌiÀÀ>°V
Download FREE guide at FoldingGuard.com/kit
Label Holders
Floor Tape
Are you still painting... Really?
Try Mighty Line Floor Tape! So good it’s Patented!
No more messy brushes and paint cans to clean
up. Take 5% off your first order. Use promo code:
“Try Floor Tape.”
800.242.3919
www.aignerlabelholder.com
[email protected]
mmh.com
Phone: 803-993-TAPE
Email: info@floortapestore.com
www.FloorTapeStore.com
C T O B E R
2013
65
MODERN 60 Seconds with...
Richa Gupta
VDC Research
TITLE: Senior Analyst, Auto-ID &
Data Capture
LOCATION: Framingham, Mass.
EXPERIENCE: Three years with
VDC Research
PRIMARY FOCUS: During her tenure, Gupta has covered multiple
technology solutions including
machine vision, retail automation
technologies and bar code scanning and printing.
Modern: What have been the most
important developments in the last
year in the automatic identification
(Auto-ID) and data capture market?
Gupta: On the handheld scanning
side of the industry, it’s been the rapid
rate of migration from laser to imaging for handheld scanning devices.
And, 2012 was the first year we saw
a year-over-year decline in conventional handheld scanning devices.
Meanwhile, 2D imaging solutions
posted significant growth and that has
continued to be the case in 2013. The
other developing story is that the market leaders are facing stiff competition
from the emerging markets, including
some in Latin America. It is chipping
away at the leaders’ market share.
This is a growing threat, and we’ll be
keeping an eye on the trend.
Modern: Has the adoption rate
continued in emerging markets?
Gupta: 2012 was tough for Asia
Pacific. The manufacturing slowdown
in China had a big impact on the
bar code printer market in particular. However, Latin America showed
strong growth, Europe is picking up
again, and now Asia seems to be
picking up as well. In addition to the
manufacturing slowdown, budgets
were tight so users opted for less
expensive solutions as well. That also
led to a decline in revenues.
66
O
C T O B E R
Chris Lewis
Modern: We hear a lot about
Big Data today. To launch a
Big Data project, you have to
capture Big Data. Is that bringing
excitement back to Auto-ID and
data capture technologies that are
otherwise thought of as mature
technologies?
want to capture images, such as
documenting damaged goods, which
might be used for future processes.
Gupta: We believe that it is. Before
you can analyze data, you have to
capture and store it. What we’re finding is that the end user is technology
agnostic. They’re looking at bar code
scanning, but they’re also looking
at RFID, real-time locating systems
(RTLS) and sensors. They want the
technology that will solve a particular
problem or achieve an objective. The
shift from laser bar code scanning
to image capture that I spoke about
earlier is part of this conversation.
End users don’t just want to capture
information from a label. They also
Gupta: Most definitely. Part of that
is the result of the proliferation of
consumer devices. Almost everyone
has one and knows how to use it. So,
it makes sense to invest in mobile
devices for printing, scanning or an
all in one device. All of these devices
are helping the user or enterprise
generate real-time visibility of the
movement of the product through
the supply chain. With sensors and
imaging, it’s now also about the condition—the how—of the product.
That’s the story we’re going to be
watching going forward. 䡺
Modern: Mobile was a big theme
for a while. Everyone wanted to
take Auto-ID outside the four walls.
Does that theme still have traction?
mmh.com
Imagine the other wonders they
would have created with a Hyundai.
As one of the world’s top 25 international companies, Hyundai’s success is simple:
provide competitively priced products with a long list of standard features backed
by one of the industry’s best warranties. So no matter what job you dream up,
we have a forklift ready to move you. Learn more at hceamericas.com.
HYUNDAI FORKLIFT
Moving You Further

Dansko: Distinctive Distribution

Transcription

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