Automation is transforming distribution centers, but small improvements can also make a big impact on performance. This issue of Modern Materials Handling focuses on such "little things" as powered mobile workstations, capturing product details early, centralized packing, dock equipment, and streamlined loading/unloading. It also examines how carts and casters have evolved from unwieldy to optimized for mobility and flexibility. Finally, inventory management experts provide tips on basic strategies that some operations may have neglected during technology adoption.

1. PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING
mmh.com
®
March 2013
THE BIG PICTURE
Dock to dock
Little things that make
a big difference 16
SPECIAL REPORT
Industry Outlook/
Equipment Survey 24
EQUIPMENT REPORT
Carts and casters:
Business in motion 32
ProM
A looat 2013:
at thek back
sh
36 ow

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3. UP FRONT BREAKING NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Automate 2013 reaches a related trade shows.”
It’s clear that the message that
record number of attendees automation is the best way to
become a stronger global competitor
AUTOMATE 2013, held Automation, the primary sponsor is resonating with companies in virtu-
Jan. 21-24 at Chicago’s of the show. “All of our numbers ally every industry, said Burnstein.
McCormick Place, was were up sharply, including Robot sales set a record in 2012, the
attended by a record total exhibitors (+17%), show Automate 2013 show was a success,
10,975 attendees attendees (+62%) and confer- and Bernstein expects these trends
from across the United ence participants (+10%). Our to continue as the manufacturing
States and 55 countries. post-show survey indicates that resurgence in the United States gains
“Automate 2013 Automate is becoming the primary an even stronger foothold. “We
exceeded all of our expecta- trade show in the field for many believe this will lead to an expanded
tions,” said Jeff Burnstein, president people, as about 50% of attendees Automate event when it is next held
of the Association for Advancing do not attend any other automation in 2015,” he added.
RPA launches connected Dematic and Vocollect expand
community initiative; seeks relationship to global level
industry input DEMATIC, A SUPPLIER of systems
The Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) is seek- for the factory, warehouse and dis-
ing input from supply chain professionals to help tribution center, has announced the
mold its new virtual reusable packaging forum, expansion and strengthening of its
called Connected Community. When launched, relationship with Vocollect, a leader
the community will provide a forum for sharing in voice solutions for mobile work-
new ideas and practical real world solutions for ers and a business unit of Intermec,
implementing and maximizing reusable transport packag- through a new global partnership.
ing systems into the supply chain. The goal of the commu- Vocollect solutions integrate with Dematic’s
nity is to virtually and effortlessly connect people looking software platform for seamless, consistent applica-
to either source or sell a reusable packaging product or tion throughout the entire warehouse operations.
service, and propel the adoption of reusable packaging Collaborating in this way at the global level, said
solutions as a preferred solution for transporting products company officials, helps ensure reliable support and
in a B-to-B supply chain. The Connected Community will repeatable results regardless of location while greatly
available on the RPA Web site (reusables.org). improving the ability to make real-time decisions,
“The findings from the survey will shape the founda- leading to increased distribution and fulfillment capa-
tion of the online community so we are seeking input from bility while lowering costs.
a broad base of supply chain professionals,” said Jerry “Leveraging knowledge captured from the ware-
Welcome, RPA president. “Industry input and direction will house or DC is important to the supply chain,” said
be critical to building a successful and useful online com- Robert Nilsson, Dematic vice president and general
munity for the reusable industry.” manager of software and supply chain intelligence.
Virginia governor announces
Commonwealth Center for costs, accelerate new discoveries and deliver transfor-
mative results to the technology, transportation, human
Advanced Logistics Systems and other systems that enable logistics.
Governor Bob McDonnell announced the formation “Virginia’s universities represent a powerful economic
of Virginia’s newest collaboration between industry development engine for the Commonwealth, especially
and Virginia universities: the Commonwealth when they come together in collaborative support of
Center for Advanced Logistics Systems (CCALS). industry objectives,” said Governor McDonnell. “CCALS
Modeled after the successful Commonwealth capitalizes on an emerging logistics hub in central Virginia
Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM), that includes Fort Lee and a transportation infrastructure
CCALS offers businesses and government agencies that connects to the world. Breakthrough research at
with significant logistics operations a new, unique CCALS will raise the region’s profile further, bringing new
and collaborative R&D method that promises to cut businesses, new jobs and new opportunities.”
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 3

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like Yale. Of course, we don’t recommend you treat your trucks this way.
Always follow recommended maintenance intervals.
Find out more at Yale.com.
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Yale is a Registered Trademark. is a registered copyright.
©Yale Materials Handling Corporation 2012. All Rights Reserved.

5. VOL. 68, NO. 3
®
PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION,
WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING
Cover illustration by Dan Vasconcellos
COVER STORY
BIG PICTURE
16 Little things make a big difference
Automation is transforming distribution centers. But don’t overlook
the little things that can have a big impact on your performance.
60 seconds with...
Bob Babel, Forte
FEATURES
EQUIPMENT REPORT
32 Carts & Casters: Business in motion DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS
As lean sensibilities migrate from the production floor to the 3/ Upfront
warehouse, carts, and casters prove a pivotal tool for enhancing the 7/ This month in Modern
mobility of product, people, and processes. 12/ Lift Truck Tips: Ergonomics
14/ Packaging Corner: Palletizing
READER SURVEY
62/ Focus On: Casters, Carts, Tuggers
24 Industry Outlook:
66/ 60 seconds with...
Moving more, spending less
Our annual outlook survey finds the industry steadying for a new,
slower pace of growth following the release of pent-up demand after the NEWS
downturn. Yet, even as planned spending drops off, facility activity is the 9/ Women could be key to filling the
highest since 2007— signaling that “doing more with less” has stuck.
manufacturing talent gap
SHOW REVIEW 10/ STEP Award winners announced
11/ Neeley School of Business announces
26 ProMat 2013: A look at the show
A look back at some of the products and services our MS in SCM degree
editors saw at ProMat 2013.
PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTION
50 Retailer adds modules to WMS to Modern Materials Handling® (ISSN 0026-8038) is published monthly by
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6. www.hyundai-ce.com
further!
Moving you HYUNDAI FORKLIFT TRUCKS
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111 Speen Street, Suite 200 MICHAEL LEVANS
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Michael Levans
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Bob Trebilcock
Bob Trebilcock
Little things that make
EEXECUTIVEEEDITOR
XECUTIVE DITOR
robert.trebilcock@myfairpoint.net
robert.trebilcock@myfairpoint.net a big difference
Noël P. Bodenburg
Noël P. Bodenburg
EEXECUTIVEMANAGING EEDITOR
XECUTIVE MANAGING DITOR
npbodenburg@peerlessmedia.com
npbodenburg@peerlessmedia.com
W
hile many of us are still buzzing vital pieces of the productivity equation,
Josh Bond
Josh Bond
ASSOCIATE EEDITOR
ASSOCIATE DITOR from one of the busiest ProMat associate editor Josh Bond gives readers
jbond@peerlessmedia.com
jbond@peerlessmedia.com events in recent memory, this a comprehensive snapshot of the state of
Sara Pearson Specter
Sara Pearson Specter month in Modern we pull our focus in a bit carts and casters (page 32) and explains
EEDITORAT LLARGE
DITOR AT ARGE
and concentrate on the little things that are where the perception of carts as a “neces-
sara@saraspecter.com
sara@saraspecter.com
making a big difference inside materials sary evil” to keep product moving inside
Roberto Michel
Roberto Michel handling operations—especially in light of a facility is changing. The heavy, noisy and
EEDITORAT LLARGE
DITOR AT ARGE
robertomichel@cox.net
robertomichel@new.rr.com the increasing adoption of high-speed order unwieldy cart, says Bond, has evolved into
fulfillment systems. a “cart system” designed from the casters
Jeff Berman
Jeff Berman
GROUP NEWS EEDITOR
GROUP NEWS DITOR For example, in executive editor Bob Tre- up to optimize material flow through with as
jberman@peerlessmedia.com
jberman@peerlessmedia.com bilcocks’s Big Picture—the latest in a series much comfort to the user as possible.
Mike Roach of articles that explores the vital role materi- “The concept of putting everything on
Mike Roach
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
CREATIVE DIRECTOR als handling plays in business—he explains wheels is an apt metaphor for the flexibility
mroach@peerlessmedia.com
mroach@peerlessmedia.com that as sophisticated automation is taking demanded by today’s operations,” says
Wendy DelCampo
Wendy DelCampo operations to new heights of efficiency and Bond. “By empowering the workers and
ART DIRECTOR
ART DIRECTOR
wdelcampo@peerlessmedia.com productivity, it’s more important than ever to managers on the front lines to adjust work
wdelcampo@peerlessmedia.com
cure the common bottlenecks often found cells and react to changing conditions on
Daniel Guidera
Daniel Guidera
ILLUSTRATION inside operations. the fly, carts and casters have become es-
ILLUSTRATION
daniel@danielguidera.com
daniel@danielguidera.com Starting on page 16, Trebilcock focuses sential to the mobility of product, people
the microscope on the growing importance and processes.”
Brian Ceraolo
Brian Ceraolo
GROUP PUBLISHER
of powered mobile workstations in receiv- Rounding out this month’s theme, con-
GROUP PUBLISHER
bceraolo@peerlessmedia.com ing and quality control; capturing cube and tributing editor Maida Napolitano revisits
bceraolo@peerlessmedia.com
PEERLESS MEDIA, LLC weight early in the process; centralizing eight fundamental guidelines to help man-
PEERLESS MEDIA, LLC
www.peerlessmedia.com packing and labeling; automating the pack- agers improve inventory management. To
www.peerlessmedia.com
ing process; procuring proper dock equip- do this, she’s gathered six inventory man-
Kenneth Moyes
Kenneth Moyes ment; and streamlining loading and unload- agement experts with a combined 80 years
PPRESIDENTAND CEO
RESIDENT AND CEO
EH PPUBLISHING,INC. .
ing processes. of experience inside the four walls.
EH UBLISHING, INC
“Over the past few months we’ve con- “I picked this panel because I knew they
Brian Ceraolo
Brian Ceraolo
PPUBLISHERAND
UBLISHER AND
centrated on some impressive high-speed would get back to basics and review the
EEXECUTIVEVICE PPRESIDENT
XECUTIVE VICE RESIDENT order fulfillment engines that are driving critical strategies some operations may
PPEERLESSMEDIA, ,LLC
EERLESS MEDIA LLC
the business strategy of some of today’s have neglected as they raced to adopt
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mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 7

9. Follow
Modern Online
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MANUFACTURING REPORT
Women could be key to filling the
manufacturing talent gap
SURVEY RESULTS HIGHLIGHT PERCEPTIONS OF “The survey results didn’t neces-
MANUFACTURING CAREERS, WHERE WOMEN MAKE UP sarily surprise me,” said Wilkins. “We
JUST 24.8% OF THE WORKFORCE. have research on the general percep-
tion of manufacturing among the
BY JOSH BOND, ASSOCIATE EDITOR American public and we know the
stereotypes are out there. We know
EVEN AS MANUFACTURING enjoys on-one interviews with more than a that people love manufacturing and
a resurgence in the United States, dozen women. According to Jacey think it’s great, but they aren’t going
companies are facing a critical talent Wilkins, director of communications into it, and they’re not going to en-
shortfall. According to a recent sur- for the Manufacturing Institute, the courage their kids to go into it.”
vey, one of the best ways to address study is part of a three-part initiative That said, some of the recent
the talent gap is to improve percep- to assess and improve the role of survey’s research presented interest-
tions of the industry as a female- women in manufacturing. The three ing contrasts to past research. The
friendly workplace. Nearly 80% of parts include research, recognition surveyed women in manufacturing
survey respondents believe manu- and leadership, where recognized were more likely to recommend
facturers can improve their efforts women become ambassadors in the industry to their sons than their
to recruit women, and 51% believe their communities advocating for the daughters, but according to general
the main driver on women’s under- next generation of female industry public research, more mothers than
representation is the perception of a employees. fathers are likely to recommend
male-favored culture. While manufacturing jobs to
women make up 46% of the children of either sex.
total U.S. labor force, they Women in manufac-
account for just 24.8% of the turing reported compen-
durable goods manufacturing sation and opportunities
workforce. for challenging assign-
These are among the find- ments as the top two at-
ings of a study conducted by tributes that make manu-
global research firm Deloitte facturing an attractive
on behalf of the Manufac- career path. These align
turing Institute, the educa- nicely with the desires of
tion and research affiliate of many young workers, but
the National Association of a disconnect persists.
Manufacturers. The survey “There is a perception
reached more than 620 that these are routinized,
women in manufacturing, mindless assembly line
across all functional roles and jobs, but that is begin-
levels, and included one- ning to change,” Wilkins
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 9

10. said. “We, as an industry, need to a global war for jobs, and if manufactur- WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING
address this head-on.” ers don’t attract the best and brightest,
As many as 600,000 manufactur- we will not be able to build a diverse STEP Award winners
ing jobs remain unfilled and 70% of workforce,” Wilkins said. “No big prob- announced
manufacturing companies report lems were ever solved by a room full
experiencing a moderate to severe of people with the same background, IN ADVANCE OF March’s Women’s
talent shortage. “The United States is in experience and perspectives.” History Month, the Manufacturing
Institute and its STEP Ahead initiative
partners recognized 122 recipients
of the STEP Awards at a reception in
Washington, D.C., on February 5. The
institute partnered with Deloitte, Uni-
versity of Phoenix, and the Society of
Manufacturing Engineers on the STEP
Ahead initiative (women in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Produc-
tion), which was launched to examine
and promote the role of women in the
manufacturing industry through recog-
nition, research, and education/leader-
ship. It also highlights best practices
for attracting, advancing and retaining
strong female talent. The STEP awards
recognize women at all levels of a
manufacturing organization from the
factory floor to the C-suite.
“These 122 women are the faces
of exciting careers in manufacturing,”
said Jennifer McNelly, president of
the The Manufacturing Institute. “We
chose to honor these women because
they each made significant achieve-
ments in manufacturing through posi-
tive impact on their company and the
industry as a whole.”
“The STEP Ahead initiative was
founded to change perceptions of
the manufacturing industry and create
new opportunities for women in the
sector,” said Latondra Newton, group
vice president at Toyota Motor North
America, and chairwoman of the STEP
STEP Award honorees received standing
ovation.
10 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

11. Ahead initiative. “This initiative is the Chain Management Certificate, to programs at TCU provide supply
call for action to transform the face optimize on-the-job experience. chain professionals with the vision
of today’s manufacturing talent and “The ability to respond to the and skills to directly impact the com-
ensure that women can contribute to complex, worldwide supply and pany’s bottom line.”
the future of this industry.” demand of business is vital to give a For application, curriculum and
company a competitive edge,” Swink tuition information, visit www.neeley.
EDUCATION said. “These two new advanced tcu.edu/MSinSCM. Ⅺ
Neeley School of
Business announces
MS in SCM degree
THE NEELEY SCHOOL OF BUSI-
NESS at TCU (Texas Christian
University) has announced a new ad-
vanced academic degree for work-
ing professionals in the supply chain
field to take their career to the next
level. Neeley’s Master of Science
in Supply Chain Management is a
30-hour, evening-only, college-credit
program beginning in fall 2013.
Applications are currently being ac-
cepted through May 30.
The degree includes a two-week
international experience to visit busi-
nesses and governments to better
understand global opportunities and
challenges. A field project teams
each student with a faculty member
to participate in vital research that
immediately impacts the student’s
company.
“Companies have told us that they
want advanced education options in
supply chain, especially since a degree
in supply chain management didn’t ex-
ist 10 years ago,” said Morgan Swink,
executive director of TCU’s Supply and
Value Chain Center and professor of
supply chain. “Supply chain manage-
ment has evolved out of an affiliation
between purchasing, logistics and
manufacturing into an integrated, mul-
ticultural, cross-functional discipline.
The Master of Science in Supply Chain
Management gives professionals and
their companies a decided advantage
in today’s complex, global business
environment.”
The Neeley School recently an-
nounced a non-credit option for sup-
ply chain professionals, the Supply
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 11

12. LIFT TRUCK TIPS
Keep lift truck operators
in one place
Standard and optional lift truck features can help
the operator move as little as possible, a sure way
to increase comfort and productivity.
By Josh Bond, Associate Editor
O
perating a lift truck all day can be physically
demanding. With an eye toward improving oper-
ator comfort, many lift truck manufacturers have
been developing standard and optional ergonomic fea-
tures to reduce an operator’s stress and strain. Fingertip
controls can replace hydraulic levers to minimize upper
body exertion. Seat suspension can alleviate lower back
pain. But to really boost comfort and productivity, the
end-user should work not only to ensure the operator is
comfortable in his seat, but that he stays there as often
as possible.
According to Nebojsa “Beck” Trajkovic, electric
product planning specialist with Toyota Material Handling
U.S.A., ergonomics have such an impact on productiv-
ity that customers can even build a justification for new
equipment based on ergonomics alone.
“Customers understand more than ever how ergonom- nomic solutions. Scales reduce the need for an operator
ics play an important role in not only reducing fatigue, to exit and enter the lift truck to weigh a load, while the
but keeping the operator productive,” Trajkovic says. “If ability to bypass a stationary scale creates more direct
you’re trying to keep the operator as comfortable as pos- routes for load movement. Fork positioners reduce the
sible, their amount of movement is directly related.” likelihood of hand injury, speed up productivity, and,
With each new generation of lift truck, more ergo- again, keep the operator firmly planted in the seat.
nomic features become standard, such as fully sus- For operators in some applications, repeated entry and
pended seats, smaller steering wheels to reduce strain exit is unavoidable. In this case, there are features that
to shoulders, and a lower front cowl, which improves lessen the difficulty of frequent dismounts. In addition to
visibility. Improvements in visibility lead to a reduction more spacious floor space and a lower step height, lift
in movement, since viewing the forks, the load and any trucks can be fitted with a swivel-seat option to reduce
obstructions requires less craning, leaning and stretch- twisting motions. These seats can also lock at an angle to
ing. Minimizing leaning is not just a good practice, says minimize lower back strain for rear-facing operators.
Trajkovic, it’s an activity monitored by the Occupational The justification starts with listening to operators,
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Leaning out or providing a channel for feedback. Best of all, says
of a truck is a citable offense, says Trajkovic, and thus a Trajkovic, is that “happy operators will always lead to
clear indicator of a problem. increased productivity.”
But some of the most ergonomically friendly aftermar-
ket options for lift trucks, such as integrated scales and Josh Bond is Modern’s associate editor and can be reached
fork positioners, are not presented expressly as ergo- at jbond@peerlessmedia.com
12 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

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14. PACKAGING CORNER
Automated palletizers
emphasize flexibility, safety
Companies turn to automated palletizing equipment
to accommodate changing packaging requirements.
By Sara Pearson Specter, Editor at Large
S
maller packages. Club store packs with
shelf-ready packaging. Sustainability.
Packaging waste reduction.
All of these trends have pushed manufac-
turers and distributors to invest in automated
palletizing systems, particularly hybrid models
that feature a robotic arm to arrange cases
that are then fed—layer by layer—to a con-
ventional palletizer to secure them to a pallet.
“Companies are trying to do more with
less,” says Ted Yeigh, sales director for Co-
lumbia Machine. “That’s prompting them to
implement more automated solutions. With
hybrid palletizers, companies get the flexibil-
ity of a robot that can quickly adapt to chang-
ing packaging requirements and handle very
delicate products, including tall and tippy
cases, labels-out layer forming and other
challenging package types. They also benefit
from the simplicity of a conventional palletizer
to finish the load-building process.”
In the vein of doing more with less,
notes Yeigh, there’s been a strong uptick
in in-line, floor-level palletizer sales. “With
the full machine on the floor, it’s easier to
walk by and visually verify proper operation.
Floor-level palletizers are also easier to
access for regular maintenance.” tains in the discharge area—operate properly to protect
Of course, with all automated machinery, regular personnel, even in the event of a circuit failure.
service is required to keep it functioning at peak per- “We were seeing an increasing demand from multi-
formance. national corporations to mirror the safety standards set
To protect operators and service technicians, Colum- in place in Europe,” continues Yeigh. “It just made sense
bia started including Category 3 electrical circuits as a to make these safety enhancements a standard feature,
standard feature on all of their palletizers (including hy- rather than a custom-engineered solution.”
brid models) more than three years ago. The redundant,
fail-safe circuitry ensures that all integrated safety equip- Sara Pearson Specter is an editor at large with Modern and
ment—including interlocked door switches and light cur- can be reached at sara@saraspecter.com.
14 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

15. EXCELLING AT
MULTI-CHANNEL ORDER
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Get practical advice on planning and implementing cost-effective, Fortna Inc.
multi-channel order fulfillment into your distribution center design
and how to optimize your operations.
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Group Editorial Director
MARCH 28, 2013 Supply Chain Group, Peerless Media
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ARE YOU READY TO MAKE
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© 2013 Intermec IP Corp. All Rights Reserved.

16. THE BIG PICTURE
Where Business Meets Materials Handling
Little things that make a
By Bob Trebilcock, executive editor
A utomation, technology and software promise new levels
of efficiency and productivity along with the capability
to execute complex order fulfillment strategies.That’s the
good news. The bad news: just as a supply chain is only
as efficient as its weakest link, a sophisticated materials
handling system is only as efficient as the bottlenecks
in a distribution center. A high-speed order fulfillment
be inspected and labeled for shipment is labor intensive
and prone to error.
That’s where powered mobile workstations can play
a role. Mobility allows the associate to take the technol-
ogy to wherever the work needs to be performed. Unlike
traditional carts, however, a powered mobile worksta-
tion includes a mobile power source to run a laptop,
engine won’t hit its numbers if inventory doesn’t get off thin client or industrial tablet; a bar code scanner; a
the receiving dock or orders can’t get through manual thermal printer; an electronic scale or cubing device; or
packing stations to meet shipping cut-off times. some other piece of equipment that might be used for
As a result, these new systems are highlighting the quality control or inspection. “The No. 1 reason people
big difference that little things can have on operations. invest in a powered mobile workstation is to cut down
Here are seven examples to consider for your facility. on or eliminate walking from the dock or picking area
to get labels, purchase orders or other information they
1. Receiving, inspection and quality control
with powered mobile workstations.
Receiving, storing and shipping full pallets is a relatively
need to put on product coming in or going out the door,”
says John O’Kelly, president of Newcastle Systems.
One e-tailer, for example, uses a powered mobile
simple process. On the other hand, breaking down workstation to pick oversized products that ship in their
those pallets into smaller units of measure that must storage packaging, such as 42-inch flat screen televi-
16 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

17. difference in your
operation
Automation is transforming distribution centers.
But don’t overlook the little things that can have
a big impact on your performance.
sions. Order selectors use the bar code scanner on the television. Associates then print and apply the shipping
cart to scan a location label on the rack to confirm that label from the cart before delivering the TVs to the ship-
they are picking a Sony television rather than a Sanyo ping area. “Labeling at the point of picking streamlines
the process and cuts down on errors,” says O’Kelly.
2. Capture cube and weight information now
for packaging later.
Cubing and weighing equipment has long been used
to capture the weight and dimensional information of
incoming pallets and cartons to make the best use of
storage locations.
With the increase in e-commerce, cubing and weigh-
ing systems are now being used to provide precise dimen-
sions and weights of individual items that are unpack-
aged and may also be an unusual shape. That information
allows a distributor to pick, cartonize and ship an order in
Cubing and weighing information helps e-tailers the most economical way possible. “The information col-
optimize packaging requirements and minimize lected upfront is exported to a WMS or some other sys-
shipping costs. tem that can be used to tell the order fulfillment person
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 17

18. THE BIG PICTURE
Where Business Meets Materials Handling
which carton to use to minimize ship- early stages of a project
ping costs,” says Clark Skeen, president can deliver a design that
of CubiScan.” The information can also integrates with the flow
be used by the warehouse management of product through the
system (WMS) to group picks together building and reduces the
in a way that optimizes packing. Finally, number of touches and
it provides information for the new gen- movements at the pack-
eration of on-demand packaging systems ing station.
highlighted later in this article. Weight “If we understand
information, meanwhile, is used to the step-by-step process
Too often overlooked in the design of a system, the
check weigh orders for quality control at the outset, we can
shipping and receiving docks are the last frontiers
purposes. design in small, incre-
for efficiency.
Skeen says that most new customers mental savings in the
begin by installing cubing and weighing packing process,” Dehnert says, add- urges customers to think of the pick,
equipment on a powered mobile worksta- ing that a well-designed workstation pack, validation and flow of an order
tion so they can weigh and cube items can deliver productivity improvements as one continuous process that begins
already in storage. Once that process is of 20% to 25% for that process. “Those with picking and ends with a product
complete, the equipment is moved to the improvements may not seem like much going into a truck. “The first step used
receiving area to dimension new items at one station, but when you multiply to be to buy a print-and-apply system,”
or confirm that existing items haven’t them by the 15 or 20 workstations that says Hanrahan. “Now, we’re defining
changed in weight, shape or packaging. a typical big box retailer operates most the whole pick-and-pack process. That
of the year, it adds up.” allows us to take touches out and build
3. Integrate workstations with
the materials handling system.
Despite the amount of time, money 4. Lean out the labeling
process.
repeatability into the process before it
gets to the print-and-apply station.”
According to Hanrahan, there are
and planning invested in software, As the volume of parcel shipping rises, several areas to be considered in that
data collection technologies and auto- so does the interest in systems to auto- approach:
mation, manual workstations in the matically insert a returns label, print Centralize packing and labeling: If
packaging and value-added services and insert packing slips, and print and processes can be centralized, then the
areas are often an afterthought, says apply shipping labels. area can be laid out in an ergonomic
Jeff Dehnert, president of Dehnco. The place to start, says Dan Hanrahan, way that minimizes walking and maxi-
“Typically, system designers spend their president of Numina Group, isn’t with mizes the workflows to the packer even
time on software and equipment to the print-and-apply system, but further without automation.
pick with 100% accuracy and move an upstream with the picking process. He Rationalize carton sizes: Instead of
order at very fast speeds,” says Dehnert.
“All of a sudden, all that automation
has to integrate with a manual process
involving an hourly wage employee who
isn’t equipped with the right supplies
or tools to keep up with the through-
put of the system. The manual process
becomes the bottleneck.”
It’s a little like a downhill skier
hitting an unexpected patch of dirt:
Everything comes to a sudden halt.
Dehnert argues that considering the
requirements of the workstation in the
On-demand box making systems use
the information collected by cubing
and weighing systems to determine
and create the best size box for each
individual order.
18 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

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20. MODERN system report
13 or 14 different carton sizes, see if Loading and unloading
you can fill most of your orders with cartons is more efficient
just six different sizes. and ergonomic with
Assess your void: Make sure void fill a powered platform.
and packing documentation is located Or the process can be
within easy reach. “If you’re packing automated with robotics.
more than 500 cartons a day, you may be
a candidate for an automated system for 30% less cardboard on
inserting packing slips,” Hanrahan says. average in each box,”
Create an assembly line in packing: says Tom Coyne CEO of
Instead of one packer performing all System Logistics.
the steps in the process, consider put- The new on-demand
ting cartons on gravity flow conveyor and box making systems are
perform a different step at each station. designed for high-volume environ- Liebel, business engineer for Sealed Air.
By leaning out the processes before ments. System Logistics machines are “People have automated how they pick
the print-and-apply station, product will capable of making 3,000 boxes per line and sort their products. The pack station
flow more efficiently. in an eight-hour shift; a system from has always been a neglected area.”
Sealed Air is capable of making 5,500
5. Optimize and automate the
packaging process.
The conventional way to package indi-
boxes on a single line per shift. Both
System Logistics and Sealed Air provide
fully automated solutions that integrate
6. Don’t overlook the dock.
Walt Swietlik, director of field
support for Rite-Hite Products, tells a
vidual and less-than-carton quantities of with a materials handling system. story about a customer that outfitted all
items is to keep an inventory of different Along with a new approach to pack- of its lift trucks with attachments that
sized boxes and void fill to accommodate aging, these systems are also sold in a could load two 48-inch pallets side by
the many different sized orders that may variety of ways. side into a trailer at one time. The idea
be shipped. The result is that customers Packsize, for instance, does not was to drastically speed up the load-
are often shipping too much packaging charge upfront for its machinery. ing process. The only problem: No one
for an order and paying for more of the Rather, it provides the corrugated that realized that two side-by-side pallets
cube of a trailer or shipping container works with its machinery. wouldn’t fit through the dock doors.
than they really need. Similarly, Sealed Air does not charge “The loading dock is the last frontier for
“People squeeze every second of the upfront for its equipment either, other efficiency,“ says Swietlik. “A lot of con-
cycle time from the processes inside than an installation fee. Nor
their buildings,” says Hanko Kiessner, does it charge for the mate-
CEO of Packsize International. “But rials used in the machine.
when the product leaves the building, Instead, it charges a transac-
they lose more in excess shipping costs tion fee for each box made by
than they saved inside the building.” the machine.
Instead, a new generation of machin- System Logistics, on the
ery has come to market that makes the other hand, offers a conven-
right size shipping container for each tional sales model, where the
order—and does it on-demand. These customer buys the machine
systems combine information about the and works with any corru-
items being picked from the WMS with gated supplier.
the dimensional and weight informa- “The growth of e-com-
tion collected by weighing and cubing merce is driving the need for
systems to determine the best size box these solutions,” says Don
that fits each order. The machines then
make the box at the time the order is With powered mobile
being picked. carts, associates can take
In the most efficient operations, technology, such as mobile
the order is picked directly to the on computers, scanners and
demand box rather than into a tote to printers to where the work
be packaged later. “You’re using about needs to be done.
20 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

21. Solutions That Move
Your Business Forward
Successful businesses come to MHI – and its 800 member companies -
for professional resources and reliable information as they make
material handling and supply chain capital investment decisions. That’s
because they know MHI is the premier trade association and information
resource for this diverse industry. In fact, MHI’s solutions set the
industry standard for excellence.
MHI provides:
MHI Solutions magazine
Connect with MHI, where you can find solutions that make the supply
chain work. For more information, visit MHI.org.
Find us on: Scan to learn
more about MHI:

22. THE BIG PICTURE
Where Business Meets Materials Handling
sultants have looked at the efficiencies
they can gain inside the box. But the
main artery in and out of a facility is the
dock doors and they are an afterthought
to the design of most facilities.”
Too often, he adds, docks are too high
for today’s trailers. Dock doors aren’t wide
enough for today’s loads. And, dock plates
are often the wrong size and capacity for
what the client wants to run over them.
“In those instances, the dock becomes
like a clogged artery,” Swietlik says.
“When a truck comes in, it has to be
loaded or unloaded by hand and produc-
tivity goes down the tube.”
The solution, he adds, is relatively
simple. Before leasing a building or A smartly designed workstation that is integrated with the materials handling
implementing new processes, have a dis- system makes the most of manual packing operations.
cussion with someone who specializes in
dock equipment to make sure the right extendable conveyor that reaches into the shift.” The reason is that the associ-
equipment is in place to work with the the trailer. In the second example, an ate can slide the cases into position rather
distribution and shipping procedures. associate often has to reach over his than lift them.
“The dock is part of an overall system,” head or stand on a step stool to get to At the same time, robots are now
Swietlik says. “If you’re maximizing the the cartons at the top of the stack. Both being deployed to automatically load and
cube on a pallet and you want to maxi- approaches are hard work and neither unload cartons from trailers and shipping
mize the cube in a trailer, that cube bet-is very ergonomic. containers. The technology is already
ter roll through the doors efficiently.” Semi-automated and automated being used by a leading CPG manufac-
solutions for loading and unloading car- turer, according to Joe O’Connor, direc-
7. Automation doesn’t stop
at the dock door.
tons can now extend the reach of auto-
mated materials handling systems right
Loading or unloading floor-loaded con- into the trailer.
tor of marketing for Wynright. “One robot
can work two containers,” O’Connor
says. And while the solution still requires
tainers and trailers is typically done in The first approach involves attaching a an associate on the dock to oversee the
one of two ways. Cartons are manu- powered platform to a flexible roller con- robots, typically one associate can moni-
ally loaded onto a pallet that is then veyor or extendable belt conveyor. The tor three robots. Ⅺ
removed by a pallet jack or lift truck. platform’s controls allow an associate to
Or the cartons are loaded onto an position it at an ergonomic height and
slide a carton from the con- Companies mentioned
veyor into position in the in this article
stack. “One liquor distribu- CUBISCAN: www.cubiscan.com
tor in Ontario was loading DEHNCO: www.dehnco.com
ENGINEERED LIFTING SYSTEMS:
575 cases an hour with two www.destuffit.com
people in the trailer using NEWCASTLE SYSTEMS:
just a flexible roller con- www.newcastlesys.com
veyor,” says Richard Kat, NUMINA GROUP: www.numinagroup.
vice president of sales and com
PACKSIZE INTERNATIONAL: www.pack-
marketing for Engineered size.com
Lifting Systems. “By add- RITE-HITE PRODUCTS: www.ritehite.com
ing the powered platform SEALED AIR: www.sealedairautoma-
to the conveyor, one opera- tion.com
Automated on-demand box making systems are tor can now load 650 cases SYSTEM LOGISTICS: www.systemlogis-
tics.com
designed to integrate with materials handling per hour and the operators WYNRIGHT: www.wynright.com
systems handling from 3,000 to 5,500 boxes per aren’t as tired at the end of
line per shift.
22 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

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24. MODERN special report
2013 Warehouse/DC Equipment and Technology Survey:
Moving more,
spending less
Our annual outlook survey finds the industry steadying for a new, slower
pace of growth following the release of pent-up demand after the
downturn. Yet, even as planned spending drops off, facility activity is
the highest since 2007—signaling that “doing more with less” has stuck.
By Josh Bond, Associate Editor
Respondent
J ust as an effective materials handling
system cannot be shaped around one
data point, interpreting the results of an
industry survey is about more than just
the bottom line.
For instance, take a look at the
average materials handling budget as
reported by Peerless Research Group
In the meantime, most businesses will
tend to sit tight.
“In the past couple of years, we saw
the effect of delayed spending,” says
Hill. “Now, many have caught up; and
unless growth is phenomenally good,
there won’t be as much pressure to
spend. We’re looking at modest growth
demographics (PRG) in the 2013 State of Warehouse/ that perhaps many feel they are able to
In January, Peerless Research DC Equipment and Technology Survey. handle.”
Group e-mailed survey ques- At nearly 26% less than last year, the In fact, respondents expressed a
tionnaires to readers of Modern average anticipated spending among great deal of optimism that they could
Materials Handling and Logistics the survey’s 597 respondents is just handle it. When asked about their
Management, yielding 597 qualified
$334,510. In fact, about half of those anticipated activity levels over the next
respondents from manufacturing
(39%), warehousing (21%), corpo- respondents plan to spend less than two years, almost 95% said that they
rate (25%) and aligned logistics $50,000. expected activity to increase or stay
professionals (15%). Revenues of But if we look at activity levels, facil- the same. To be fair, more than 50% of
responding companies range from ity capacity numbers have jumped up respondents suggested their warehous-
large (26% have annual revenues of
by as much at 10% in one year—fol- ing activity would stay the same.
$500 million or more) to small (47%
are below $50 million). Qualified lowing six consecutive years of decline. According to George Prest, CEO
respondents are those managers According to John Hill, director at St. of Material Handling Industry (MHI),
and personnel involved in the pur- Onge, capacity figures between 60% growth is projected to improve into
chase decision process of materials and 70%, although a big improvement, 2014. Following industry growth rates
handling solutions.
are still below a certain threshold. of 14% in 2011 and 10% in 2012, 2013
When they rise above 70%, he says, it’s could hover around 6% before breaking
often necessary to spend on materials double digits again in 2014.
handling equipment just to keep up. “We’re on the declining side of the
24 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

25. Daniel Guidera
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 25

26. MODERN special report
in 2012. This year, only about 30% said
Level of spending that had been the case, and just 26%
In total, over the next 12 months, approximately how much do you expect expect spending to increase in 2013. In
to spend on materials handling equipment and information systems solutions? 2012, 45% said they expected spending
to stay the same in the coming year, but
4%
$2.5 million or more
8%
now almost 60% expect their spending
to remain unchanged in 2013.
6%
$1 million-$2.49 million According to Jim Moran, chairman
7%
7% of the Industrial Truck Association and
$500,000-$999,999 Ⅵ 2013
6% member of the board of directors at
Ⅵ 2012 Crown Equipment, the industry might
8%
$250,000-$499,999
9% want to get used to a slow and steady
$100,000-$249,999
14% approach.
16% “Everyone is being very conservative,
14% but that’s predictable given the news
$50,000-$99,999
15%
you hear today and the level of uncer-
$25,000-$49,999 19% tainty,” says Moran. “The tendency is
16%
to feel negative, and it’s hard to shake
29%
Less than $25,000 that. The reality is that it’s not that bad,
23%
but it’s so much different than any-
thing we’ve seen in the past. I think the
industry is moving gradually forward in
$451,000 $451,700 Spending level a positive way, but it’s a pace we have to
will drop get used to, because I think it’s going to
$334,510
significantly be around for a while.”
from last year.
2011 2012 2013 The return of labor
The 14% of respondents who reported
Median anticipated spending 2011 2012 2013 that they would hold off on investments
$77,000 $85,500 $58,620 in the coming year will avoid primarily
big-ticket items like automation, stor-
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG) age, and technology and software. The
19% who plan to proceed with invest-
growth curve,” says Prest, “but we can results. Aschenbrand also pointed to ments are looking at the same technolo-
expect to see things trending upward the political and economic climate gies, including conveyors and sortation,
from here. Specific industry segments at the time of the survey, which was information technology like warehouse
will pick back up at different times, but fielded in January as President Obama management systems (WMS) and
the overall outlook is good.” was poised to begin his second term. enterprise resource planning (ERP)
A level of uncertainty was reflected systems, as well as automatic guided
Demographics and reduced in the 50% of respondents who said vehicles and robotics.
spending that they will take a “wait-and-see” Hill says that the outlook for robot-
This year’s respondent base of 597 is approach in 2013, up from 46% last ics suppliers is good as solutions for
about twice last year’s base of 314 sur- year. Those with pre-approved capital picking and packing gain momentum.
vey responses. However, according to expenditure budgets for materials han- But he was quick to point out that
Judd Aschenbrand, director of research dling solutions dropped from 60% in manpower remains an effective solu-
for PRG, the demographic breakdown 2011 and 48% in 2012 to 38% this year, tion, particularly for retailers facing the
of the group remains statistically simi- averaging just $390,000. Both figures e-commerce boom. He pointed to the
lar to last year. are the lowest in seven years. 43% of respondents who plan to spend
One notable change is in the level The uncertainty also made an impact on labor and staffing in 2013, up from
of participation in the southern and on optimism as compared with January 40% in 2012 and 37% in 2011.
southeastern part of the country, where 2012, when 40% of respondents to last However, MHI’s Prest suggests that
20% of respondents are located—as year’s survey said they expected their hiring practices have evolved in recent
compared to just 10% in last year’s materials handling spending to increase years. As companies expand their labor
26 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

28. MODERN special report
Budget levels
Do you have a pre-approved annual capital
expenditures budget for materials handling
solutions? (2009 information not available) If yes, what is the amount?
Less than 11%
60% $25,000 10%
57%
27%
$25,000-
$99,000 19%
48%
46%
42% $100,000- 21% Ⅵ 2013
38% $249,000 20%
Ⅵ 2012
$250,000- 21%
$999,999 22%
20%
$1,000,000+
29%
Mean:
2007—$600,120 2011—$694,500
2008—$655,000 2012—$470,250
2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2010—$515,000 2013—$390,000
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG)
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29. MODERN special report
The economy and materials handling tivity of each. “It’s a
operations trends different kind of hir-
How does your company’s spending on How do you expect your company’s ing,” he says. “People
materials handling solutions in 2012 spending on materials handling solutions are being more cau-
compare with 2011? in 2013 to compare with 2012? tious about the types of
And by what percentage? And by what percentage? employees they bring
into their companies.”
As respondents work
to grow their work-
30% Increased 27% Increasing force and productivity,
14% Decreasing it is not surprising that
49% Stayed safety tops the survey’s
about the
same
list of most important
60% Will stay issues, placing above
21% Decreased about the company growth,
same
throughput, and last
year’s top issue: cost
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG) containment. Moran
suggests the reason pro-
ductivity metrics have
forces, they will tend to recruit and bodies at the problem,” businesses will fallen in importance is due to the spend-
train with an eye toward long-term use employees to leverage investments ing on technology in recent years, which
retention. No longer content to “throw in technology, maximizing the produc- has helped many companies to be more
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30. MODERN special report
Facility activity as a percentage of capacity*
*2009 data not available
Manufacturing (%) Warehousing supporting Standalone warehousing (%)
Manufacturing (%)
72%
66% 65% 64% 68% 66% 67% 70% 68%
63% 67% 65%
60% 59%
56% 57% 60% 62%
2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG)
efficient and reduce cost. much productivity can increase while anticipated increase in the importance
“It’s one of the reasons we saw headcount stays the same. Hill suggests of training, which 57% of respondents
employment numbers hold steady while that, following the recession’s layoffs said is very important today—but which
productivity increased,” says Moran. and large investments in technology,
“People are employing every ounce of we might expect to see staffing levels Risk management and
technology they can as warehousing and productivity return to synchronous “The Sandy Effect”
becomes more and more sophisticated.” growth.
Being caught unprepared is a risk
But, there is perhaps a limit to how This corresponds to the survey’s
many can’t afford. But there are also
risks few can anticipate.
Last year, 79% of respondents
indicated they had a plan for iden-
tifying, analyzing and reducing
exposures to risk in their materials
handling, transportation and logistics
operations. This year, 44% responded
affirmatively. John Hill, director at St.
Onge, suggests the havoc wrought
by the storm Sandy on supply chains
Cut the
across the eastern seaboard served
as a wake-up call.
“They previously thought they
had really good plans to deal with
many if not all eventualities,” says
Trash Talk!
Hill. “And then they were hit with a
natural sledgehammer that showed
them any risk mitigation they had
done was futile because it just over-
whelmed their plan.”
Hill suggests the 56% of respon-
dents who reported they do not have
a risk plan might be in the process
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(41%), intellectual property theft
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31. MODERN special report
Future evaluation
Which systems and equipment are you likely to evaluate or consider during the next 12 months?
Materials handling equipment for 2013
Lift trucks and accessories 49% Controls 15%
Racks and shelving 47% 3PL services 10%
Totes, bins and containers 32% Mezzanines 10%
Packaging, including palletizers, pallets and dunnage 31% Automated storage 9%
Bar coding 31% AGVs 5%
Dock equipment 30%
Mobile and wireless 27% Information management systems for 2013
Order picking and fulfillment 22% ERP (enterprise resource planning) 34%
Conveyors, including sortation equipment 22% WMS (warehouse management systems) 32%
Systems solutions 20% WCS (warehouse control systems) 28%
RFID solutions/products 20% Voice recognition 15%
Hoists, cranes and monorails 16% TMS (transportation management systems) 11%
Power transmission, including motors and belts 16% Other supply chain-related software 4%
Source: Peerless Research Group (PRG)
63% said would be more so in the next suggests we need to make investments they’re going to fall behind the curve,
two years. As technology spreads to in technology and systems that enable says Hill, and they are looking to sup-
every facet of operations, says Moran, real-time information.” pliers to provide everything—WMS,
workers will need to become conver- Companies are beginning to recog- WCS, ERP, customer relationship
sant in increasingly complex informa- nize that unless they’re able to share management, and sales and operations
tion systems. information with their trading partners, planning—on a single platform. Ⅺ
Information technology and
supply chain software
New entrants into the workforce will be
surrounded by technology designed to
make them more productive than ever.
The change is already underway with lift
SAVE TIME
trucks, where operators need both the
mechanical skills to operate the machine
and the abstract skills to interface with
tablets and voice-based data systems.
WITH CREFORM AGVs.
Fully half of respondents report that
they plan to invest in information tech-
nology hardware and software in the
coming year, and Hill says that the trend
is toward a convergence of software such
as WMS, warehouse control systems
(WCS), and ERP—the enterprise appli-
cations in which 25% of respondents are Get lean by eliminating labor-intensive manned tuggers, forklifts or carts.
planning to invest. In 2011, just 12% Creform can help you automate your in-plant warehouse and production floor
had plans for enterprise applications. material handling. Our bolt-on AGV drives automate pipe & joint built carts and
heavy-duty welded frame carts or just a few BST undercarriage AGV tuggers
“For more than 20 years, we’ve been can mobilize an entire fleet of carts. From simple back-and-forth operations to
talking about trading partner collabo- plant-wide systems, Creform can do it all.
ration and the importance of sharing On time. Just in time. All the time. Saving time. Take a minute to give us a call.
information across trading partners to
reduce order cycle times and improve
visibility,” says Hill. “People are
embracing collaboration not just philo-
sophically, but actually. If that’s true, it
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 31

32. MODERN Equipment report
Carts and casters:
Business in
motion
As lean sensibilities migrate from the production floor to the warehouse,
carts and casters prove a pivotal tool for enhancing the mobility of
product, people and processes.
N
ot unlike forklifts and labor, carts were on fire just by rolling something to the
once thrown at peaks and valleys of line on a cart,” says Ed Brown, chief
demand. In-house staff might have cob- engineer at Topper Industrial. “Now, a
bled together a few carts as needed, and cart can elevate, rotate, tip and present
if a caster made the cart roll, well, that materials to the operator at the ideal
was the right caster. The perception of height and distance. The right casters
carts as a necessary evil to keep product make it even easier to push the cart to
moving is changing. As with lift trucks, the line.”
carts have evolved into specialized tools Reduced strain on the worker is just
used in engineered processes to move one way in which carts are being used
materials as efficiently as possible. to increase throughput and improve
Yesterday’s simple cart is now a cart safety. They are increasingly deployed
system, designed from the casters up to reduce the need for lift trucks to
By Josh Bond,
to optimize material flow through pro- work alongside humans on the produc-
Associate Editor
cesses, reconfigure those processes, and tion floor. In manufacturing, a fork-
ensure as much comfort as possible for lift’s loads can be replaced by smaller,
the user. The heavy, noisy and unwieldy more frequent cart loads that facilitate
carts of yesteryear are giving way to cus- lean production. In warehousing and
tomized carts that account for dozens distribution, the small and frequent
of ergonomic factors. “Ten years ago loads that are common to piece picking
we thought we were setting the world operations are driving makers of carts,
32 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

33. Find
everything
you’re
Carts that are bolted together and not welded can be reconfigured on the fly. looking
for...
voice-picking and pick-to-light systems that performs exactly as you’d expect,”
into innovative collaborations. Modern he says. If customers buy the wrong
spoke with some industry experts to get caster for an application with high heat,
a sense of how end-users are using carts corrosive materials or outdoor use,
and casters to move their companies problems will develop quickly.
forward. “It’s not about putting casters on four
corners of a frame. A caster is nothing
Build from the caster up but a tool engineered into a solution,”
According to Mike Twitty, sales engi- says Larry Tyler, vice president of sales
neer with RWM Casters, any engi- and marketing for K-Tec, who says there
neered cart system will only be as good is a vast amount of variation and detail
as the casters on which it is based. that has to be attacked. “Shopping for
Casters are available in an array of casters alone is like telling a conveyor
sizes and component materials, but supplier you need conveyor in your
the objectives of the application should whole facility, but you’re going to buy
make caster selection simple; its impact rollers first. You have to consider where
on rolling resistance, noise or cost will casters are placed on the frame, the
be informed by the overall goals of the ratio between pivot points, their static
engineered cart system. and dynamic ratings. Most people aren’t
The wrong tread, bearing, diameter interested enough to dig into the excru-
or finish can have a dramatic impact ciating details, but that’s what creates a
on ergonomics, cart performance and successful program.”
maintenance costs. Too often, casters Steve Lippert, executive vice presi-
are one of the last things that are con- dent of Hamilton Caster, says an aware-
sidered, says Twitty. “If you’re carrying ness of these concerns is gradually
an item worth thousands of dollars, it’s growing among his customers focused
usually better to get a caster product on lean methodologies and reducing
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 33

34. MODERN Equipment report
the risk of injuries. “You want to make
the environment easier to work in, not
harder,” says Lippert. “A maintenance
associate that has to repeatedly replace
cheap casters does not help ergonomics
or efficiency.”
Carts are just one of the places where
customers look to casters for operational
improvements. Keith Soderlund, vice
president of sales for Creform, refer-
enced the 5S methodology of workplace
organization (sort, straighten, sweep/
shine, standardize, sustain/improve the
practice). As it turns out, one of the best
ways to cover all five bases is to just put
everything on wheels, including equip-
ment, workstations, flow racks, display
boards, and anything else you might
need to sweep beneath.
Cart trains can increase efficiency, but might require adjustments to a facility’s
“Part of it is housekeeping, but
layout for best results.
it’s also about repositioning,” says
Soderlund. “This month, the cell looks
like this. But next month, volume has custom solutions. “In the past, those ment, Lippert says. Carts designed
changed or we’re introducing another customers tended to want off-the-shelf for the flexibility of mixed production
model. I can unlock the wheels, move solutions,” he says. “They would then and smaller lots now ferry only what is
things around and reconfigure my work adapt their processes to match the cart. needed from one process to the next.
space. Supporting that flexibility is very Now we’re building the cart around the According to Brown, carts can also
popular right now.” Many customers best process. The continuous improve- help move product between facilities.
say they don’t want anything on feet, ment philosophy that started in the When customers come to him, he asks
he says, and prefer the ability to move production area is starting to move into if they’d like to go upstream. “They ask
things without a forklift or maintenance warehousing and distribution.” what that means, and I ask: ‘Why not
crew. They want to empower operators In manufacturing, waste reduction put the carts right on the semi trailer?’”
and plant supervisors to make adjust- initiatives have spurred a transition Then, instead of offloading to a cart
ments on the fly. from batch manufacturing to produc- with a forklift one load at a time, an
tion cells that bring a product from entire train of carts can be pulled off
Carts from factory to DC raw materials to finished product in a the trailer all at once. “We’re seeing a
In warehousing and distribution, much smaller footprint. The old ways lot of this approach. In fact, in some
Soderlund is seeing a new willingness resulted in more waiting, more forklifts systems we often see raw materials
on the part of customers to develop and much less efficient product move- arrive on a cart, the cart follows them
Getting started quickly
Collaboration between suppliers and says. “After participating in the pro- fast. “These technologies are not new,
end-users is evolving as technology cess, they are fully invested in the cart but in the last three years, they have
puts more tools in the hands of front- by the time it hits the floor.” become an incredibly powerful tool,”
line cart and caster salespeople and From the first meeting of supplier says Larry Tyler, vice president of sales
the workers who will be using the and customer, simple PowerPoint and marketing for K-Tec. “There used
carts. The value of end-user input is presentations allow for quick pre- to be an extensive back and forth with
critical to the success of a cart system visualization at little or no cost. Cart CAD folks, which wasted our time
and the philosophy of continuous suppliers no longer burden the costly and the customer’s time. Now we can
improvement, says Keith Soderlund, computer-assisted design (CAD) draw from a library of hundreds of
vice president of sales for Creform. department at the introductory phase, past solutions, including application
“The closer the design and assembly instead relying on sales engineers to shots, and these services can be pro-
is to the point of use, the better,” he create models and concept drawings vided the same day.”
34 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

35. Mother/daughter carts
offer efficient solutions
for kitting and sequencing
applications.
...and we
through the process, the
same cart is used to deliver
mean
finished products to a distri-
bution center, and products
EVERYTHING
don’t leave the cart until
they are shipped.”
At the DC, Soderlund
also notes an increased use
of carts in picking applications, which ing number of customers who prefer
News
he believes is due in part to the e-com- lift trucks stay off the production floor.
merce boom. “We’re seeing a lot of “As a worker in those areas, I might Blogs
customers picking high-volume orders have the right of way, but they’re bigger,
and smaller orders,” he says. “To sup-
port that, there are a rising number of
heavier and faster than I am.”
Customers phasing out lift trucks
Reports
creative cart-based picking systems in a process will have to contend with
integrated with lights and voice.” The facility constraints, and might want Case Studies
customer’s desire for balanced pack- to plan to bevel the corners of aisles
ages has pushed suppliers of carts and
picking technologies into closer collab-
or move equipment toward the aisle,
instead of having roller lanes 8 or 10
White Papers
orations than ever before, since if the feet from the aisle where a cart can’t
worker likes the voice but can’t stand pull up alongside. Otherwise, move- Webcasts
the cart, the system will be a failure. ment will be slowed and cart users will
Ergonomics and safety
exert more effort. Tyler advises cus-
tomers to be prepared to make facility
Research
In warehouse environments, custom- changes early, and budget accordingly.
ers want carts to be light, customizable “For some, the last phase of a proj- and more!
and ergonomically friendly. “The big- ect is to replace forklifts with carts
gest change I’ve seen in the warehouse in a certain application. Carts often
is the safety and ergonomics side,” says become an add-on, and that’s where Introducing
Lippert, who offered the example of the constraints become difficult,” he
carts that mate with forklifts to facili- says. “The perception that they’re a
tate picking or putaway in elevated commodity puts them at the end of
environments. “They used to climb out the trail, and in past years, that was
into the racks to pick a carton, but now probably true. But they’re no longer The most comprehensive
they wear restraints and the carts must just carts, they’re cart systems.” Ⅺ resource for logistics,
be fastened positively to the lift. The transportation, warehousing,
days of the cowboy in the warehouse Companies mentioned distribution, and supply chain
are gone.”
In addition to height, reach, pinch
in this article professionals.
points and angled protrusions, cart TOPPER INDUSTRIAL,
ergonomics include factors such topperindustrial.com Site Launch Date: 4.1.13
as noise levels, which can also be CREFORM, creform.com
impacted through tread and caster
Please join the experience.
HAMILTON CASTER,
selection. “There’s a lot of thought that hamiltoncaster.com
goes into the human interface,” says K-TEC,ktecinc.com
Soderlund, who explains that another RWM CASTERS, rwmcasters.com
big safety concern is seen in the grow- www.PeerlessMedia.com
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 35

36. SPECIAL REPORT
Emerson Industrial
Automation displays
modular plastic belts
New heavy duty and extra heavy duty modular plastic
belts from Emerson Industrial Automation provide a
non-skid, energy-efficient conveyor surface for mov-
ing walkways, automotive assembly lines and general
A look material handling of heavy loads, such as barrels,
drums, kegs and pallets. The System Plast heavy duty
and extra heavy duty belts handle loads up to 5,400
lb/ft and 7,800 lb/ft and are among the highest in the
at the
industry for 2- and 2.5-inch (50.8 mm and 63.5 mm)
pitch belts.
“These new belts allow for more load on the
conveyor, a longer belt or more and heavier items on
the belt,” said Matt
show
Stoneburner, direc-
tor of marketing,
material handling.
“The smooth, flat
top allows for an
As an indicator of the continued economic easy transfer of
recovery of the materials handling, supply chain
product with no
and logistics industry, U.S. and international
rust, dirt or grime
attendees registered in record numbers for ProMat
2013—the premier North American manufacturing that will damage
and supply chain trade expo. the product.”
The show was held in Chicago’s McCormick Both belts are
Place from January 21-24 and was sponsored by ideal for mov-
the Material Handling Industry (MHI). ProMat was ing assembly line
co-located with Automate 2013, and that show floors where the
saw a 62% boost in attendance, reflecting a rising corrosion resistant
global interest in automation. belt’s solid surface
Emerson Industrial
Hosting exhibitors and visitors from 125 prevents tools,
Automation’s heavy duty
countries, ProMat 2013 covered 300,000 net
modular plastic belts can be fasteners and small
square feet of exhibit space with 785 exhibiting
easily retrofitted into existing parts from being
companies. Total registration for the event was
conveyor frames, said Matt trapped, Stone-
34,085. Visitors included key decision makers in
Stoneburner, director of burner added.
virtually all manufacturing, logistics, distribution
marketing, material handling. The new belts
and supply chain industries including a majority of
the Fortune 1000 and Top 100 Retailers. are available in five
Attendees were high in quality, with 85% different material types and provide a quiet, energy-
of attendees having buying authority and 34% saving alternative to chain and live-roller conveyor for
planning on spending $1 million or more over the general handling of heavy loads.
next 18 months on equipment and systems. The belts’ unique design allows pusher bars to be
Here’s a look at what our editors saw during attached, removed or replaced by the user at any time
the show.
without disassembly of the belt, using drilling loca-
tors molded in on 1.96 inch (50 mm) centers. Both
belts utilize a patent-pending retention clip for the
hinge pin.
36 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

37. Dematic enhances multi-channel
distribution solution
Dematic introduced the next genera- to dynamic, on-demand workflows
tion of its Multishuttle, a high-speed because they no longer know what their
automated storage, retrieval and picking work load will look like ahead of time.” Mike Khodl, Dematic’s vice president
solution for cases, totes and trays. The The suite of order fulfillment solutions of solution development, discussed
multi-channel distribution.
system is part of Dematic’s overall solu- relies on high-speed picking, high-speed
tion set designed to optimize the use conveyor and high-speed outbound sorta- and growth,” Khodl said. “Most designs
of inventory, labor and space in multi- tion technologies to distribute products incorporate a storage buffer strategy that
channel distribution environments for to provide appropriate pick and ship shares inventory across multiple distribu-
retailers and wholesalers. methods for each channel, increase order tion channels, but Dematic solutions
“Multi-channel distribution is driv- processing speed to ensure promised de- have peak capacity flexibility built in to
ing important changes in our industry livery, and guarantee order quality check- accommodate seasonal, promotional and
today,” said Mike Khodl, vice president ing and reverse logistics. Warehouse weekly order surges.”
of solution development. “Retailers control software brings these technolo- For companies that deploy dedicated
want to fill orders for large and small gies together. “The Dematic solution set DCs for each channel to market, De-
store formats and e-commerce from one for multi-channel distribution operations matic also offers channel-specific designs
single inventory cube. To do that, they is centered around flexible modules that support large and small retail stores,
need to transition from batch-based that scale to changing operational needs e-commerce and route or home delivery.
Intelligrated unveils new control Raymond
system functions announces
Chris Cole, Intelligrated founder and CEO, shared the com- new fleet
pany’s current corporate outlook—announcing that bookings
in 2012 had exceeded $600 million with 20% growth in the management
company.
“This shows we have some real momentum with our cus-
products
tomers and supports that we hired more than 275 new asso- Raymond Corporation announced a
ciates throughout the U.S. in 2012—the vast majority being new class of fleet management and
technical hires in engineering, services support and software labor management systems. Its iWare-
engineering,” said Cole. He also noted the company’s recent house product has been divided into
square footage expansion at their Mason, Ohio, headquarters two new products. iWarehouse Essen-
and plans to add another 150 personnel in 2013. “Our joint tials is focused on the fleet optimization
venture with SDI is now up and running in Brazil, which needs of operational staff, collecting
Intelligrated’s booth supports our growth in sales outside of the U.S., which data points such as impact, compliance
highlighted a new now represents 18% of our sales,” added Cole. and utilization in real time. iWarehouse
zone-logic controller
Intelligrated’s newest senior VP by way of the com- Enterprise turns collected asset and
and software
solution.
pany’s recent acquisition of Knighted, Dan Napoli, the labor information into actionable data
company’s founder and former CEO, described his for executives with an eye toward ware-
company’s integrated WCS and WMS solution that combines slotting, yard man- house optimization.
agement, voice and labor management. Browser-based with drag-and-drop set-up Raymond has already successfully
functionality, the software is driven by customer-defined parameters, which made deployed the solution with what it says
it a good fit for the Intelligrated selection of offerings, said Jerry Koch, director of is the first-ever integration of a labor
corporate marketing. management system (LMS) and fleet
Koch further highlighted Intelligrated’s new ZoneFlex zone-logic controller for the management system (FMS). Partner-
IntelliQ and Accuglide systems to provide adjustable, high-density accumulation for ing with LMS provider Easy Metrics,
gentle carton handling. Also introduced was the company’s I-Watch software that al- the solution has led to a one-year ROI
lows the controls to acquire sensor information, aggregate it and send it to Intelligrat- in a 410,000-square-foot facility man-
ed’s customer service team for remote, real-time monitoring, diagnostics and support. aged by 3PL provider Genco.
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 37

38. SPECIAL REPORT
Convert corrugated on-demand Technologies
to right-size packaging improve picking
Engineered specifically to eliminate the
void created by using standard corrugat-
using the system throughout its supply
chain to reduce air pillow use by 60%
accuracy
ed boxes to pack products destined for
individual consumers, Packsize Interna-
and the average cardboard box size by
20%, Kiessner said. “Staples calcu-
in vertical
tional’s compact iQ FUSION corrugated lated that they’ve reduced their annual carousels, VLMs
converting machine produces custom- carbon footprint by 30,200 tons—or
sized boxes on demand. 120,000 trees—annually,” he noted. In a press conference, Kardex
The system’s 48-square-foot footprint “Further, they justified their investment Remstar’s Chelsea Tarr, market-
allows it to be placed at the end of any in the system based solely on customer ing communications coordinator,
pack line. It uses the company’s z-Fold satisfaction levels as a result of eliminat- introduced two new technologies
material that can be creased, cut and ing unnecessary packaging.” to improve order picking in the
scored into an infinite number of box Additionally, the system helps reduce company’s Megamat RS vertical
sizes and styles. pollution and emissions from air and carousel and Shuttle vertical lift
“On average, e-retailers ship 40% vehicle freight. “Major shipping com- module (VLM).
air in every package they send to a panies have told us that with current For use with both VLMs and ver-
customer,” said CEO Hanko Kiessner. packaging practices they fill their planes tical carousels, the Logicontrol ma-
“Cutting each shipping container to the and trucks with box volume, not by chine control combines hardware,
right size has a fundamental impact on weight capacity,” Kiessner concluded. software and an operator terminal
the environment, on cost and on the “By eliminating the unnecessary air, into a simple-to-use touchscreen
customer experience.” companies can reduce their fuel costs interface. The system controls
Office product retailer Staples is as well.” the machine as well as enables
inventory management with no
PC workstation required. Targeted
TGW is mapping to smaller warehouses and stand-
the logistics alone applications, Tarr noted that
a single Logicontrol can operate up
genome to three storage systems, and man-
age up to 1,000 different articles,
100 quinvigintillion. That’s how many Kevin Thuet, 8,000 storage locations and seven
different ways there are to configure an director bin sizes.
automated distribution center given all of systems Adding a QuickPick LED- or
of the different technologies and order development at laser-light pointer to the Shuttle
fulfillment requirements in the market TGW Systems VLM helps an operator quickly
today. In case you’re wondering, that’s identify the exact part to be picked
100 followed by about 80 zeros. techniques to the design of order or location to be replenished, yield-
TGW Systems introduced Logistics fulfillment systems. The approach ing a significant boost in accuracy,
Genome Mapping as a new technique uses a series of eight different deci- said Tarr. The light is located inside
to sort through all those possibilities sion algorithms and four mathematical the machine above the operator
and determine the best solution to meet programming techniques to analyze access window. Mounted to a slider
a company’s needs today and in the automated materials handling sys- that travels horizontally on a guid-
future. tems, considering present and future ing system, the light swivels in the
“With so many different ways to needs. “We know mathematically what depth direction to directly illumi-
configure a solution, we wanted a data- solution has the highest probability nate to the required SKU at any
driven approach to reduce our custom- of success for specific materials and position in the VLM’s tray.
er’s risk and design the best solution,” distribution requirements,” said Thuet. Both systems are offered as
said Keven Thuet, director of systems “We combine that with our experience optional, add-on features to new
development. to come up with the best solution.” equipment, or as retrofits to exist-
Similar to the Human Genome Proj- TGW demonstrated Logistics Genome ing installations, Tarr added.
ect, TGW is applying genetic analysis Mapping at its booth.
38 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

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40. SPECIAL REPORT
Hyster’s new electric Energy-efficient, low-
truck is ready for maintenance sortation
grueling applications equipment
In a continuing effort to develop products based on direct At its booth, Beumer showcased a cross-belt sorter, double-
customer input, Hyster showcased its J70XN, an electric density tilt-tray sorter, scaled-down cross-belt sorter and
pneumatic lift truck ruggedized for hard outdoor use. a Crisplant LS-4000E shipping sorter. The company also
With an integrated fast-charge system, the electric highlighted real-time sorter performance management dash-
model is designed to compete with even the most intensive boards on large-screen monitors.
three-shift applications typically suited to internal combus- “Our focus is on improving overall productivity with accu-
tion lift trucks. The truck rate, productive equipment that’s easy to maintain and can
features wet brake axles, be configured to suit any building’s floor space,” said Tony
which last more than Barr, Beumer’s chief marketing officer and VP of corporate
twice as long as their development.
dry counterparts, and The centerpiece of the exhibit—the BS 7 high-capacity
fully protected undercar- cross-belt sorter—is used by Chico’s, DSW, Land’s End in
riage and electronics. e-fullfillment, retail/wholesale replenishment and parcel
When compared to IC operations, said Barr. Booth visitors were invited to induct
alternatives, the forklift their own product and test system performance with three
is capable of saving an sample discharges: direct to bag, direct to tote, and accu-
end-user $14,000 over mulation chute. The sorter features a contactless energy/
the lease term. data supply and linear induction motor drives to sort a
Hyster’s new tur- variety of items safely and gently to the right destination,
ret truck is capable of regardless of size, shape or surface characteristics, he said.
putaways to the left Jonathan Dawley, president On the other end of the spectrum, the low-cost
and right of the direc- of Hyster distribution Crisplant LS-4000E loop tilt-tray shipping sorter enables
tion of travel. Capable goods to be discharged on either side in a guided, two-
of operating in 6-foot dimensional process without any catapult effect. “It is
aisles, the lift truck is also equipped to handle duties at built to handle large boxes and small polybags on the same
the dock, in manufacturing, and elsewhere in the facility. system,” said Barr. “The LS-4000E can be configured with
This can eliminate the need for dedicated lift trucks for pre-engineered manual, semi-automatic, or fully automatic
specific tasks. induction lines.”
System Logistics creates is delivered to a packing station, orders
the perfect sized box are picked directly into the shipping
container. The system comes standard
System Logistics unveiled a new auto- Tom Coyne, CEO. “The shipping box with a low-res printer to print license
matic packaging solution that creates a requires almost no void fill and utilizes plate bar code labels and branding in-
shipping box of any size on demand. 100% of the corrugated to eliminate formation on the side of the box. It can
The FreeBox system is designed waste.” also be upgraded to a high-res printer
to integrate with a split case picking Coyne added that the system is tar- to print shipping labels on the box. The
system, including highly automated, geted at retailers and distributors filling printer can also print packing slips or a
goods-to-person systems or more con- e-commerce orders or less-than-case customized marketing message on the
ventional pick-to-light or put-to-light replenishment orders. The machine inside of the box.
systems. produces 360 boxes an hour. Designed to integrate with automated
“The systems evaluate the cubic In addition to savings on corrugated picking processes, System Logistics
dimensions of all the pieces to pre-cube and dunnage, FreeBox eliminates plans to market the product to its cus-
an order and then manufacture the handling in split case picking opera- tomers and also work with other systems
perfect sized box for that shipment,” said tions. Instead of picking to a tote that integrators and consultants.
40 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

41. The Dodge® Quantis® product line
offers a full line of modular gear
drives engineered for flexibility,
greater torque density in a
compact housing configuration,
and increased horsepower
capability from 1/4 to 75Hp.
The Quantis family of products
offers the customer three types
of gear reducers: In-Line Helical
(ILH), Right-Angle Helical Bevel
(RHB) and Motorized Shaft Mount
(MSM).
And, you can find Dodge Quantis
gear drives at your local Motion
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42. SPECIAL REPORT
Jungheinrich house Navigation. The new system is Swisslog brings
shows man-up
capable of improving productivity by
25%. goods-to-person
Once the operator applies the ac- Swisslog announced the second gen-
turret truck celerator, the lift truck automatically eration of two unique products. The
Jungheinrich offered visitors an op- determines the perfect speeds for lat- Click&Pick fulfillment system repre-
portunity to operate its EKX man-up eral movement and turret extension, sents the addition of ergonomic pick
turret truck equipped with Ware- advancing to the next pick location stations to the company’s shuttle-based
along the most efficient route. For AutoStore system. Ideal for storing
pallet retrieval, the forks will come small items, the system uses a series
to rest precisely in front of the pallet. of independent robots to retrieve items
For case picking, lights on the lift from stacked bins. The high-speed
truck will indicate the right pick face. goods-to-person approach is suited to
Capable of navigating 72-inch-wide e-commerce and delivers sustained
aisles by wire or side guide rollers, the rates of 1,000 picks per hour per selec-
lift also reads RFID tags embedded in tor. Highly scalable, the system utilizes
the floor to decelerate or stop at the space in three dimensions for optimal
end of an aisle, or to prevent colli- storage density.
sions with elevated obstructions. The Swisslog also announced the
system is compatible with a WMS, or AGVPick, a semi-automated pallet
can accept user inputs in paper-based jack capable of advancing to pick faces
warehouses. based on standard voice-picking com-
mands. Available in single, double or
triple-pallet fork lengths, the units will
Glen Lystiuk, warehouse product automatically depart for shipping when
consultant for Jungheinrich, teaches
full. At the same time, an empty unit
an attendee how to use a man-up
turret truck.
will arrive at the picker’s location to
keep the picker more productive.
Daifuku Webb’s DUOSYS dual-crane mini-load
AS/RS makes North American debut
The modular DUOSYS mini-load quencing items in less floor space with
automated storage and retrieval system fewer personnel.”
(AS/RS) runs more than four times The DUOSYS cranes are managed by
faster than similar systems because a single off-board controller that—dur-
it employs two cranes that function ing maintenance on individual cranes—
simultaneously in the same aisle to allows others to continue to operate.
maximize throughput, said Robert Multiple systems can be stacked on top
Schmit, executive VP of Daifuku of each other for scalability. The sys-
Webb. The DUOSYS made its first tem’s first domestic installation is with
appearance at ProMat. a major snack food company, said Sarah
“The system has two cranes that Carlson, marketing director.
function simultaneously and indepen- Also in the booth was the company’s
dently without interfering with each model 100ST SmartCart automatic
other’s travel,” Schmit explained. “This guided cart, a low-cost automatic guid- Sarah Carlson, marketing director,
allows it to operate as a highly efficient ed vehicle (AGV) that navigates along said multiple DUOSYS systems
sortation system by buffering and se- easily-changed magnetic tape paths. can be stacked for scalability.
42 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

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44. SPECIAL REPORT
Lenze highlights energy with a GKR bevel gearbox and the 8400 Motec inverter drive.
“Virtually every aspect of automated material transport and the
efficiency in motor drive plant infrastructure rely on electric drives. Our intelligent sys-
technologies tems cut energy use by as much as 30%,” explained Deb Kling,
director of commercial marketing for the company.
Lenze Americas has expanded its support of materials handling To ensure suppliers get the motor drive and control
systems with a fully integrated, energy-efficient package of soft- components they need, Lenze offers its Drive Solution
ware, plus drive- and controller-based systems for automation. Designer software to dimension each system for optimal
The company showcased multiple frequency (MF) gear motors energy use, Kling added. Further, L-force MF three-phase
AC geared motors are ideal for tasks with variable setting
ranges, delivering constant torque in speed ranges of 24:1
(in comparison to 12:1 adjustment range for conventional
motors). Finally, the cabinet-free 8400 Motec inverter drive
offers an energy saving function in no-load and partial load
operations in combination with MF geared motors, forming
a compact, complete mechatronic unit.
Help for retailers with
omni-channel strategies
Robert Gradischnig, strategic marketing manager for Lenze To help merging brick-and-mortar and online retail channels
with two key issues—visibility into incoming online demand
and aligning this demand with in-store labor—Manhattan
Associates announced a new partnership with Kronos. To-
gether, the companies will help retailers profitably integrate
NO their stores into their digital selling strategy with a new solu-
tion that helps retailers efficiently execute store fulfillment
DESIGN processes while better staffing their stores accordingly.
These two solutions, when paired together, will account
COST. for labor demands from all selling channels and from all
non service-based activities now required to support the
NO omni-channel initiatives. This will allow retailers to increase
customer satisfaction and drive sales by freeing up trapped
MOLD inventory in the store, while managing labor costs, said David
Landau, vice president of product management for Manhat-
COST. Just rollers when you need them.
No need to deal with all the
tan Associates.
“As omni-channel initiatives increasingly turn to stores
problems associated with special and store inventory to help meet customer demand, the
NO orders. Our in-stock line up now
includes urethane covered bearing need for process integration between store fulfillment and
workforce management will be an imperative for maintain-
LEAD and press fit rollers in addition to
our solid, DuraSoft ® no crush and
finned rollers. They are available in
ing profit margins,” Landau explained.
TIME. a variety of styles, mountings and
durometers and can be custom
Fairlane Products, Inc.
modified for your specific application.
And they’re available when you need
Complete
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them without the design and mold
cost or the lead time.
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44 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

45. Solutions for
Unit Material Handling
®
Drive Conveying Mounted Ball Raider® Plus
Components Components and Roller Worm Gear
Bearings Reducers
Morse is a registered trademark of Borg-Warner Corporation, used herein under exclusive license.
Browning, Emerson, Emerson. Consider It Solved., Emerson Industrial Automation, Jaure, Kop-Flex, McGill, Raider,
Sealmaster, System Plast and Valu Guide are trademarks of Emerson Electric Co. or one of its affiliated companies.

46. SPECIAL REPORT
Bill Pfleger, president
Yale showcases tions, the pallet jack
receives direction from of Yale distribution
new products the WMS and follows
the picker from pick face Yale’s new Certified
and services to pick face. Remanufactured program
The Yale Vision Wire- is being rolled out to the
Among its new products offered on less Asset Management dealer network. After pass-
display this year, Yale Materials Han- System provides a tiered ing a 200-point inspection,
dling showcased three new products offering of wireless receiving a new paint job,
and services. monitoring, access and and having certain parts
Remote Pick Assist is a new feature verifications. Highly cus- mandatorily replaced, the
that turns a pallet jack into a semi- tomizable, the system can certified lift trucks are
autonomous vehicle. As a voice-enabled automatically notify maintenance, super- available to customers at a significant
picker issues standard pick confirma- visors or service providers as needed. discount.
Gorbel increases options for safer work at heights
Gorbel has increased the options for its harnesses to a rigid rail system that has Gorbel. The shorter, safer fall distance
Tether Track fall arrest systems for pro- less falling distance than a wire rope- is a benefit of all Tether Track systems,
tecting workers who need to perform based fall arrest system because the rail he said, but the initial design was based
tasks at heights. doesn’t have the “give” that a wire does, on a track attached to fixed posts, which
Tether Track secures workers with said Jeff McNeil, marketing manager for potentially can be in the way of some
Polymer
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46 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

47. Newcastle Systems puts
power on the move
To keep their line of power cord reel holder
NB mobile powered and a digital remote
workstations up and meter with LED dis-
Jeff McNeil, marketing manager for
running 24/7, Newcastle play that shares battery
Gorbel, with a Tether Track design Systems introduced the status,” Wheeler noted.
that allows the fall-arrest track to be new power swap system. “To recharge the battery,
folded out the way. Consisting of a battery it simply plugs into a stan-
mounted on swivel cast- dard power outlet.”
operations when the system is not in use. ers that can be swapped With the battery
To address this need, said McNeil, in and out of the work- system, a single worksta-
Gorbel has developed a Tether Track station base in less than tion can power printers,
swing arm design and one with a folding 30 seconds, the system computers, scales and
arm design. These designs allow the track boosts productivity with other hardware for up to Chris Paquin, sales
to be swung or folded out of the way minimal interruption to 24 hours a day—replac- development
when not in use. “There is strong interest workflow, said Christine ing up to three worksta- coordinator
in having work done safely in heights in Wheeler, marketing tions, she added. The
many settings—in manufacturing of large director. company also highlighted cabinet that measures
pieces of equipment, in vehicle mainte- “The power swap its PowerPack series 20 x 21 x14 inches, the
nance, or in aviation, to name a few,” Mc- system includes a 16 x of portable AC power system includes a battery,
Neil said. “We’ve expanded the designs 16 x 12 inch ventilated systems. Housed in a inverter, smart charger
so they ideally meet the space and safety cabinet, cabinet handle, sealed, ventilated steel and fusing system.
needs of different situations.”
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 47

48. SPECIAL REPORT
Top-apply labeling High-speed mini-
system achieves load and AGV
rates up to 80 ppm from Muratec
New ProMat exhibitor Bell and Howell un- Muratec introduced new automated
veiled a gantry-style, top-apply labeling machine Bell & Howell’s storage and AGV products at ProMat.
that uses a single head to achieve top speeds up ParcelMgr deploys The FX Quad is a high-speed mini-load
to 80 packages per minute—nearly three times linerless, print-cut-apply automated storage and retrieval (AS/
the output of traditional systems. The Par- labeling technology. RS) crane capable of handling one, two
celMgr deploys linerless, print-cut-apply label- and four cases at a time.
ing technology to accommodate in-line package Designed to provide high-density
height variances from 1 inch to 36 inches. storage for high-throughput distribu-
“The system is ideal for distribution centers because the print and apply unit tion applications, the crane features
uses servo based movement to automatically adjust to the height of each package, travel speeds of 300 meters per minute
then applies the label with a pneumatic stroke,” said Tim Palmer, Bell and How- and hoisting speeds of 180 meters per
ell’s sales manager for logistics systems. “It adjusts the distance between parcels minute. It handles load capacities of
automatically for closer gapping, as well as prints while raising and lowering to approximately 650 pounds and can
boost processing speeds.” handle up to four cases at a time using
Additionally, Palmer noted that the linerless substrate can be cut to variable twin fork and double-deep storage
lengths on-demand without manual machine adjustments. To increase uptime, capabilities.
the linerless labels allow up to 220% more labels per roll—and eliminates The Premex SLX, a new automatic
paper waste. guided vehicle, delivers high speed
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48 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

49. and flexible travel in small spaces is powered by a three-wheel drive eliminates the need for reflecting
through a combination of a travel system for a minimal turning radius. It plates, lasers or magnetic tape. The
speed of 90 meters per minute and also features a unique vision-guidance vehicle can operate in temperatures as
multiple driving capabilities. The unit and mapping navigation system that low as -13F for freezer applications.
OPEX unveils goods-to-person
piece picking technology
Showcasing the Perfect Pick goods-to-person both ends of an aisle. Designed as a redundant
piece picking solution, OPEX Material Han- system, Perfect Pick has no single point of fail-
dling (Booth 619), director of marketing Beth ure making it a reliable picking solution ideal
Ann Haven Ferner noted that the system has for manufacturing and order fulfillment, said
been engineered to eliminate the complexity David Stevens, CEO.
associated with other shuttle technologies— “The autonomous iBOTs can be quickly and
and attendees at the show noticed. easily extracted or introduced back into the sys-
“We’ve had a lot of interest in the system’s tem without any disruption to ongoing opera-
iBOT intelligent wireless vehicles, which tions,” he said. “To expand, a single aisle system
provide full access to the inventory in a single can accommodate more iBOTS at any time.”
aisle without elevators, lifts or conveyors. They The company has almost completed an
CEO David Stevens simultaneously stock items and deliver totes installation in Hebron, Ky., for a 10-aisle sys-
showed the Perfect or trays directly to a picker at rates up to 1,000 tem with 20,000 SKU locations at a height
Pick goods-to-person dual cycles per hour,” she said. of 32 feet, and 100 foot-long aisles, Ferner
piece picking solution. Picking stations can be located at one or added. Ⅺ
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mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 49

50. MODERN productivity solution
By Josh Bond,
Associate Editor
Retailer adds modules to WMS
to monitor and enable growth
Company that took orders by fax 15 years ago
now commands 30% market share.
D avid's Bridal, a national supplier of bridal
gowns and accessories, offers a vast selection
of designer wedding gowns in a variety of sizes in
expanding its growth and improving order accuracy.
The company soon opened several new retail loca-
tions and a new warehouse to split its inventory. As the
stock at each of its 300 stores. As recently as the company took on more retail locations and broadened
late 1990s, the company supported 40 stores with its inventory selection, balancing customer demand
a paper-based special order system and a manual with supply became more challenging. The company
distribution process. But, by installing a new ware- had to deliver orders on time to satisfy customers, but
house management system (WMS) and slowly add- needed to avoid excess inventory in its warehouses.
ing functionality over time, the bridal chain has The WMS (Manhattan Associates, manh.com)
been able to support growth and a near 100% on- was upgraded to create a centralized order system
time delivery rate of its gowns. for enterprise-wide fulfillment. It also helps David’s
With the old paper-based system, stores would Bridal procure items across its supplier network,
fax orders to the fulfillment office, and the distri- minimize delivery times and generate performance
bution team would process them in the order they reports to measures its supply chain process.
were received, says Caryn Furtaw, CIO. “As busi- Today, the company leads its market, owning more
ness grew, it was not uncommon to walk into the than 30% of the bridal gown industry. “Inventory
fulfillment office and see the bank of faxes running accuracy increased, our pick rate and throughput
with reams of paper spilling over to the floor,” says improved tremendously, and with the aid of the sys-
Furtaw. “We had reached our tipping point.” tem we have full confidence in our commitment to
David’s Bridal opted to automate these processes, deliver our customer orders on time,” says Furtaw.
50 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

51. WMS helps bring distribution
in-house amid strong growth
After cutting ties with
a 3PL, retailer easily
handles 50% spikes in
daily order volume.
B atteries Plus is a national fran-
chise that specializes in help-
ing consumers and businesses with
their battery and light bulb needs.
A flexible warehouse management
system (WMS) helped the company
bring distribution in-house to a new
100,000-square-foot facility, where it
now ships 11,000 order lines a day to
more than 530 stores.
Originally an all-battery retail
store, the company expanded its
offerings to light bulbs in 2009 to
meet the growing demand for more
energy-efficient products. With its strong growth, the that is often subject to government regulations. “The
expansion to light bulbs, and an increased need for ability to configure the WMS ourselves was a signifi-
space, the cost and complications of using a third-party cant reason for choosing this solution.”
logistics provider (3PL) became too great. In addition, The company has increased its product line and has
the lack of communication between systems—such as seen no dip in picking accuracy. Even when order vol-
the inability of the Batteries Plus enterprise resource ume jumps 50% in a day, the WMS provides the vis-
planning (ERP) system to access the 3PL database— ibility to ship accurately and on time. In addition, the
was hampering visibility across the network and creat- company can now pull data from the WMS and ERP
ing doubts about the data’s accuracy. and display the information on the same screen, provid-
The company’s new national DC outside ing a more complete picture of the network.
Milwaukee, Wisc., carries 4,300 distinct items, 80% The WMS also features a collection of applica-
of which are picked as eaches. To accommodate this tions that allows them to adapt without interruptions
volume and diversity, the company needed a flexible to workflow. “I can choose an app on a Friday, pull it
WMS (Highjump, highjump.com) that would integrate down over a weekend, test it and have it implemented
smoothly with its current systems and give a reliable, by Tuesday, all without doing any development work,”
accurate view of operations. explained Victor Lecato, WMS system analyst. “The
“We believe in self-help and doing things for our- ease and cost effectiveness of simply downloading the
selves,” says Michael Lehman, CIO, who says that solution has definitely made a big, positive impact on
Batteries Plus has unique processes and merchandise our business.” Ⅺ
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 51

52. A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO:
Top 8
guidelines to improve
inventory management
Our panel—representing a combined 80 years of inventory
experience—gets back to the basics, reviewing critical
strategies that some organizations have been neglecting
over the past several years.
BY MAIDA NAPOLITANO, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
L
et’s keep it simple: Inventory is the life- movement of the physical goods from your
blood of the supply chain. It’s what flows suppliers in, say, Asia to your stores all over the
from node to node. And at each node it’s United States. It’s also about managing the vast
critical to figure out that perfect balance amount of information associated with those
of supply and demand, or else suffer dire goods to keep it moving to the next node—even
consequences. If you have too little inventory you before it gets there.
risk lost sales and customers from “out of stocks.” Over the next few pages, our inventory
If you have too much inventory, you’ll need more experts—who bring a combined 80 years of ex-
of everything—more space, more transportation, perience to the table—present eight guidelines
more handling, more labor and more money. for managing inventory in the supply chain. Our
Even after figuring out the correct amount panel approaches this exercise from both plan-
to keep in stock, you’ll still need to execute the ning and execution perspectives and investigates
proper flow. But it’s not only about the timely the latest in leading-edge technologies that can
52 MA R C H 2013 Modern Materials Handling mmh.com

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54. Special Report: Inventory Management A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING
be used to put these guidelines into action. And, the panel
More expert inventory management gets back to the basics, reviewing critical strategies that
some companies have been neglecting in the past several
advice from our panel: years.
“Model your inventory and fully understand
1
where it comes from, what attributes are criti- Consider inventory optimization tools
cal, where your safety stock will come from, Inventory optimization tools have been gaining ground
and what levels you must have to keep costs as companies seek to evaluate their entire network
down. Don’t let yourself be surprised by stock
and determine the best inventory policies for each product
outs. Think down the road so that you can be
flexible and do better than your competitors.” at each node in their supply chain. These are typically
stand-alone software tools that use data from WMS and
— Curt Sardeson, Managing Principal,
The Open Sky Group ERP systems.
“These optimization tools take into account demand
“Perform continuous and appropriate periodic
review of inventory. It shouldn’t be a one-time
variability, supply variability, and replenishment parameters
activity. Promotions don’t happen only once. to determine how much inventory to hold in order to guard
The nature of the supply chain is that things against that variability,” says Dave Wheeler, principal of
can happen all the time.” supply chain services for consulting firm St. Onge.
—Aman Sapra, Sr. Project Manager, Inventory Aman Sapra, senior project manager of inventory and
& Supply Chain Strategy and Analytics, supply chain strategy at St. Onge, attributes the increasing
St. Onge Company popularity of these tools to the realization by more compa-
“Maintain open communication with your sales nies that the transactional systems running their DCs do
and operations planning team so you know not provide enough cutting-edge optimization capabilities.
what’s coming down the pike in terms of addi-
However, Sapra cautions against optimization tools that
tional volume. Is there a big promotion that in-
ventory planners need to know about and plan are simply “great analysis, smart math monsters.”
for? Is there a new contract with a customer “You want something that when the results come out,
that will drive demand to increase two-fold?” and with minimal human intervention, it can execute on
—Dave Wheeler, Principal, Supply Chain Services, those results. It may seek approval for a few items, but will
St. Onge Company work seamlessly with business systems on most recom-
“Ask your vendors if they have a solution that mendations.”
can be mobile-enabled and at your level of
sophistication. Do they have something that will
2
Employ business solutions that use real-time
allow you to crawl, then walk, and then run? Do analytics under one platform
they have an inventory solution that will meet all
of your future business growth, not just ware-
According to Michael Wohlwend, vice president of
housing, but perhaps reverse logistics and repair SAP Americas and this year’s vice president of the Ware-
or manufacturing? Do they have a solution that housing Education and Research Council, “the days of
will give you the granularity of information that you managing inventory using Excel spreadsheets are passé.”
require to make better planning decisions?” Powerful sales and operations planning solutions are
— Jennifer Sherman, Senior Director for Fulfillment, now using real-time analytics that take a unified data
Applications Strategy, Oracle model of demand, supply chain, and financial data, analyze
“Ensure speed to value. The quicker you have them at any level of granularity, and instantly provide re-
the information the more valuable and perti- sponses. “You can even perform rapid, interactive scenario
nent your decisions are going to be—and the
planning and simulation with this data to support inven-
more agile and flexible your company will be.”
tory and other planning decisions,” says Wohlwend.
—Michael Wohlwend, Vice President of SAP
Operating on one platform where data is shared is key,
Americas, Vice President of the Warehousing
Education and Research Council (WERC) says Jennifer Sherman, senior director for fulfillment appli-
cations strategy for Oracle. “You have one picture of inven-
“Standardize the data so that everybody can
see the same information and standardize the
tory, one picture of costs, and one platform to plan against.
process so they know what to do with that This allows you to have real-time inventory within that one
information.” model and even track who owns that inventory—even if
— Chris Jones, External Vice President, I’ve got a product that has been consigned to me from my
Marketing and Services, Descartes supplier, it’s still in the same inventory model.”
With all of these systems providing users so much real-
54 MA R C H 2013 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com

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56. Special Report: Inventory Management A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING
time information at their fingertips, minimizing the resources used on the Group, a consulting firm specializing
managers can capitalize on unique less profitable C items. Each segment in supply chain management solu-
opportunities for moving inventory, will then have different forecasting and tions. “If you used subcomponents
such as completely bypassing the DC. stocking policies. and subassemblies that you mix into
Chris Jones, external vice president your product, you also need to know
4
marketing and services for Descartes, Keep an eye on your suppliers those lot numbers in case your prod-
explains that companies can now treat There are suppliers that don’t uct has a recall.”
ocean carriers as mobile warehouses, necessarily stick to their schedule The key is how to efficiently capture
allocating inventory before it even gets or deliver on their commitments. “It’s these attributes without increasing labor
to the port. not only in terms of timing, but also or handling costs. Sardeson recom-
From the port, it typically goes to fill rate,” says Wheeler. “If you ordered mends electronically capturing data
a deconsolidator who then sends it to 1,000 cases of pencils and the order such as country of origin (COO), serial
the DC, who then decides to send it shows up at the door with only 900, numbers, and vendor lot number then
from there to a retail store. “The latest then that’s a problem.” automatically sending that informa-
software cuts out one big step from Our experts suggest closely monitor- tion via EDI/ASN to the next node on
the process,” says Jones. “So, because ing supplier activity. Most systems track the supply chain. “Without it, manual
you know what’s coming and you have the inbound receipt of an item: There is intervention, space utilization, and labor
it labeled with accurate electronic a promise date, an actual receipt date, can get out of control quickly.” The
information, when it gets to the de- quantity ordered, quantity received, and increased tracking also affords trading
consolidator you can process it to go the condition in which it was received. partners with increased visibility and the
directly to the retail store.” These are metrics that can be tracked ability to make more timely decisions.
and analyzed to determine a supplier’s
3
Don’t treat all SKUs the same
6
reliability. “All of that data is typically Leverage mobile devices
There is no such thing as a one- available in a WMS,” says Sapra, “but Mobile technologies and mobile
size-fits-all solution. “Each and has anybody really looked at it to deter- user interfaces are now ubiqui-
every product does not have the same mine unreliable suppliers?” tous for capturing data on inventory.
supply and demand variability pattern,” After identifying unreliable sup- “It’s time for even businesses that
says Sapra. “Focus on those 20% that pliers, you can deal with them and don’t see themselves as complex to de-
statistically make up 80% of the volume resolve any issues and work toward mand mobility solutions for accuracy,”
and manage that inventory really well, improving a supplier’s performance— says Oracle’s Sherman.
so you maximize sales and profits.” or hold more of their inventory to SAP’s Wohlwend points out how
“Some companies will not only plan guard against their variability. most sales associates on the store floor
for items differently, but they might now have mobile devices with real-
5
also have different targeted fill rates for Track essential attributes time inventory of the store. “Not only
each item category,” explains Wheeler. Over the past few years, tracking are they able to improve customer
“My fast-moving A items should be product genealogy and traceabil- service, but when inventory is low,
filled at a rate of 99%, B items at ity are at the top of inventory manag- they’re able to generate a replenish-
98%, and C items at 95%. It’s called ers’ must-have lists. ment from the DC down to the store.”
service-level differentiation.” The goal, “It’s not enough to just track your Mobile devices allow quick access
he adds, is to maximize resources on lot number,” says Carl Sardeson, to accurate information and data so that
the more profitable A products, while managing principal of the Open Sky managers can act quickly on their inven-
tory decisions, especially in the DC. It
also eliminates the errors and delays
associated with a paper-based operation,
improving accuracy, efficiency, and the
general speed of your business.
7
Be smart about your slow-moving
and obsolete items
While it makes sense to focus on
your more profitable fast movers, you
56 MA R C H 2013 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com

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58. Special Report: Inventory Management A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING
can’t ignore your slower-moving mer- “The more DCs that you store an sible locations, minimizing travel dis-
chandise. Every day that these items item in, the more inventory you’re go- tance and maximizing overall through-
are not used or sold, they occupy ing to have,” says Wheeler. “If you pull put and productivity. Unfortunately
space, utilize labor and resources, run that inventory back into a single DC, many companies tend to neglect their
the risk of obsolescence, and in many you’re able to aggregate your demand slotting.
cases actually get in the way of your variability, which allows you to reduce “In the best companies, slotting is a
more popular items. your required safety stock.” daily activity not a quarterly or annual
“It begs the question: Do I even It doesn’t matter where you put activity,” says Open Sky’s Sardeson.
need these slow movers in all of my slow movers; many DCs will need “As a daily activity, you can stay on
warehouses?” says Sapra. to deal with them. “Control your top of it because it’s only a little bit of
SLOB—slow moving and obso- work and completely manageable. If
lete items,” adds Sapra. “These are you slot annually it becomes a major
products that everyone conveniently undertaking.”
forgets about. Well-managed opera- St. Onge’s Wheeler also suggests
tions are going to put it on sale or investigating if two items have a high
send it to thrift channels and off- probability of being ordered on the
price retailers.” same order. “If so, you want them
close to each other in the picking area
8
Lastly, don’t neglect slotting so that your travel distance is mini-
Proper slotting not only delivers mized, reducing your labor costs.”
much needed space, but ap-
propriately locates the fastest-moving Maida Napolitano is a Contributing
items closer to docks and more acces- Editor to Modern Materials Handling.
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58 MA R C H 2013 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com

59. Aigner Label Holder Corp. Buckhorn
Learn how Aigner Label Holders pay Buckhorn® introduces collapsible 60-gallon drum
you in time saved, by helping to make Innovative container offers 25% better cube utilization
the most effective management of Buckhorn Inc. will be exhibiting its new collapsible 60-gal-
time and space. Introducing “Angle- lon plastic drum at ProMat. The drum’s unique rectangular
Vu™”, an adjustable label holder for design allows four assembled drums to interlock and cube
high or low wire shelving. No more a 48” x 40” pallet, stacking up to five pallet loads high in
climbing or bending to read or scan storage. It has a 24” x 20” x 40” footprint, and the side-
labels! This flexible PVC label holder has been engineered to snap onto walls are hinged in the center for a one-way inward fold,
major brands of wire shelving at three (3) different angles: 90° (flat), 60° allowing the drum to fold flat in seconds. Because of its
and 30°. The clear plastic window protects the insertable label or barcode. smaller footprint and greater capacity, Buckhorn’s 60-gal-
lon drum offers 25% better cube utilization than the standard 55-gallon
alternatives currently on the market. Additionally, 480 collapsed drums fit in
AIGNER LABEL HOLDER CORP. a 53’ truck for a superior 3:1 nesting ratio.
218 MacArthur Avenue
New Windsor, NY 12553
800-242-3919 Buckhorn Inc.
Fax: 845-242-3919 800-543-4454
info@aignerlabelholder.com sales@buckhorninc.com
www.aignerlabelholder.com www.buckhorninc.com
Dematic DM Logic
Power at Your Fingertips stepLogic is a software development tool that
Dematic Mobile Monitor replaces development tasks with configura-
Access warehouse data whenever and tion steps. The product provides decision tree
wherever you want with a few taps of analyses to allow users to configure their cur-
your finger. Dematic Mobile Monitor rent WMS to meet their specific needs. User
delivers crucial information via your created dialogues can automatically update
mobile device, eliminating the need for the appropriate tables and parameters and
you to be at your desk, in your ware- provide the user with recommendations—
house or even the same country. all without changing any code.
DM Logic
Dematic Bob Kennedy, Vice President,
1-877-725-7500 Business Development
dematic.us 301-704-3022
bkennedy@dmlogicllc.com
www.dmlogicllc.com/steplogic
Emerson FORTE
Emerson’s new System Plast™ branded FORTE is focused on driving high-performance distribution
heavy-duty modular belts feature acetal operations through:
clips that are designed for easy installa- Supply Chain Consulting — Consultants with extensive
tion, easy removal and are inset deeper operations management experience who utilize advanced
into the belt, allowing longer belt life when business intelligence and analytics tools
side load pressure is present. The belts MHE Systems Integration — 30+ year track record of
also have an anti-skid surface. With the success in facility automation design and implementation as well as in the com-
highest load rating on the market for their plex requirements of supply chain execution software integration
pitch size, these belts generate less noise due to a unique System Plast material. Software Technology — FORTE’s Smart Warehouse Suite™ is a lean, agile
When used in combination with the Nolu-S wear strip material, the coefficients of warehouse control system software platform that is quickly and cost-effectively
friction are reduced, leading to greater sustainable energy savings. configurable to each client’s needs, designed to extend the functionality of legacy
systems or augment WMS functionality while providing actionable intelligence to
Emerson Industrial Automation support operational and strategic planning
7120 New Buffington Road
Florence, KY 41042 FORTE
866-743-4392 / 859-342-7900 6037 Commerce Court
Contact: Jackie Catalano, Manager, Mason, OH 45040
Global Marketing Communications, 513-398-2800
Power Transmission Solutions sales@forte-industries.com
www.powertransmissionsolutions.com www.forte-industries.com
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 59

60. Hawker Herkules
HAWKER® is the leading provider EnKon Systems, Herkules Equipment Corporation’s
for advanced, customized motive brand name of lift systems, displayed the latest
power solutions. With more than 85 technological advancement in scissor lift table sys-
years of motive power experience tems at the ProMat 2013 Show. EnKon’s Electric
and innovation, and more than 25 Belt Drive Scissor Lift provides tremendous control
years of high-frequency charging for manufacturing, assembly and automation, with
experience and clear leadership in its ability to remain in a static position indefinitely
the area of smart charging and optimizing fleet utilization, HAWKER® offers a to +/- .01 inches, and provide precision control to
complete line of battery and charger motive power solutions. HAWKER® power +/- .06 inches. The lift’s triple belt design offers
solutions are designed to reduce environmental impact, lower operational costs, a high level safety factor, and requires very little
increase productivity, and improve customer operations. maintenance. Contact EnKon for more information
on how an Electric Belt Drive Lift can improve your application.
HAWKER
PO Box 808 Herkules Equipment Corporation
9404 Ooltewah Industrial Drive 2760 Ridgeway Court
Ooltewah, TN 37363 Walled Lake, MI 48390
423-238-5700 800-444-4351
www.hawkerpowersource.com 248-960-7100
Email: info@enkon.pro
www.enkon.pro
Hytrol ID Systems
PROSORT 400 ELITE I.D. Systems offers a range of patented wire-
Hytrol’s ProSort 400 sorter is specifically less Vehicle Management systems for forklifts,
designed to handle high-speed applica- tow tractors, and other industrial vehicles. Our
tions where product diverting needs to PowerBox™ and PowerFleet® solutions have
be both positive and gentle. The ProSort become a best-practice for improving fleet safety,
421 is designed to sort products at a reducing material handling costs, and increasing
22-degree angle where higher speeds supply chain productivity. For as little as $1.50
are required and close divert centers are a day per truck, you can create a culture of
not so critical; speeds of 700 FPM are possible. The ProSort 431 is designed to accountability, reduce maintenance costs, reduce
sort products at a 30-degree angle where close divert centers are required and damage, automate safety checklists and improve
speeds of 350 FPM are possible. productivity and fleet utilization.
ID Systems
Hytrol Conveyor Co., Inc. Greg Smith
2020 Hytrol Street gsmith@id-systems.com
Jonesboro, Arkansass 72401 123 Tice Blvd., Ste 101
870-935-3700 Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677
info@hytrol.com 201-678-7755
www.hytrol.com www.id-systems.com/promat-2013
Intelligrated Kardex Remstar
High throughput conveyor Kardex Remstar provides accessible, secure
and sortation solutions and ergonomic automated storage and retrieval
Ideal for high-capacity operations that demand solutions for small parts, tools, items and media.
gentle product handling, Intelligrated’s broad range Within distribution, manufacturing and ware-
of conveyor and sortation solutions are designed house facilities as well as government buildings,
to maximize throughput at minimal speeds. offices, institutions Kardex Remstar systems
Intelligrated sortation solutions include tilt-tray, recover up to 85% of valuable floor space,
cross-belt and high-speed sliding shoe sorters. increase worker productivity by 2/3, improve
Intelligrated conveyors provide quiet, positive transportation and zero-pressure accuracy up to 99.9% and improve worker ergonomics over manual cabinets,
accumulation for rapid, virtually damage-free handling of products. Intelligrated shelving and racks. Local sales, service and installation provide free space and
sliding shoe sortation solutions feature patented “soft touch” diverting technology productivity analysis.
for unparalleled product handling and are designed to exceed today’s demanding
sortation requirements. Intelligrated tailors all sortation and accumulation
conveyor solutions to suit your specific requirements. Kardex Remstar
Contact: Christina Dube
christina.dube@kardexremstar.com
Intelligrated www.kardexremstar.com
866-936-7300
www.intelligrated.com
60 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

61. Kenwood Lenze Americas
Kenwood’s NEXEDGE® NX-220/320 5 Watt portable two-way Lenze Americas, based in Uxbridge, MA, is a sub-
radios are ultra –compact, full featured. They feature high sidiary of Lenze SE in Germany, a global leader in
performance RF specifications combined with MILSTD 810 & industrial automation systems. As a manufacturer
IP54/55 ruggedness. The 20 Series portables come in three of electrical and mechanical drives, motion control
user interface configurations, including a non-display model and automation technology, Lenze’s solutions are
for users needing a limited number of channels or trunked talk found in many material handling applications: roller
groups. True to the NEXEDGE multi-system migration-ready and belt conveyors, rotary and scissor lift tables,
tradition, analog, NXDN® conventional and NXDN trunking lifting stations, palletizing systems, storage and retrieval units, monorail
are included in all models. NX-220/320 NEXEDGE models overhead conveyors and AGV systems. Our drive and automation solutions
also include programming and groundbreaking NEXEDGE® guarantee a smooth connection to any upstream or downstream system—
enhanced audio refinements. steady or dynamic, lifting or lowering, moving or positioning—increasing
the productivity of your logistic systems.
Kenwood USA Corp.,
Communications Sector Lenze Americas
3970 Johns Creek Court, Suite 100 630 Douglas St., Uxbridge, MA 01569
Suwanee, GA 30024 508-278-9100 / 800-217-9100
800-950-5005 www.lenzeamericas.com
Sales Email: ecomm@kenwoodusa.com
http://nexedge.kenwood.com/
Polymer Solutions SSI Schaefer
Founded in 1997, Polymer Solutions Goods-to-Person Workstation
International is a global manufacturer of a Schaefer Systems’ patented Goods-to-Person
wide variety of Radiopaque, FDA-approved, workstation enables you to get a 70% higher
or FM-approved fire retardant reusable picking efficiency over traditional picking
plastic pallets and racks, including export methods and achieve over 1,000 picks per
pallets (one-way), nestable, stackable hour. The ergonomics workstation has been
pallets, rackable pallets, and custom designed with your employees’ safety as a top
pallets. Made from 100% recyclable, priority. In return, your employees will have
FDA-approved materials, the company’s less down time due to work related injuries
products are ideal for pharmaceutical, general industry, food, and a significant increase in productivity,
beverage and warehousing applications. For more information, ultimately increasing your bottom line. Our Goods-to-Person workstation
visit www.prostackpallets.com. allows for efficient, ergonomic and error free picking while guaranteeing
delicate product handling.
Polymer Solutions International
15 Newtown Woods Road
Schaefer Systems
Newtown Square, PA 19073 International, Inc.
651-270-1606 877-724-2327
www.prostack.com news.ssi-schaefer.us
Vidir Vocollect
“Vidir’s newest offering boasts improved overall Vocollect helps companies
performance as well as improved carrier stability. run a better business through
By utilizing vertical technology the Pan Carousel optimizing their operations,
not only saves space but increases productivity improving business decision
by changing the operator to product mentality to capabilities and creating a
product to operator. Newly added standard features premier worker experience.
include a stainless steel workbench, paneled Vocollect and its global team of
siding, automation, and a slimmer design. over 2,000 certified Vocollect
Additionally Vidir has released a variety of new solution professionals help
options to accompany the Pan Carousel including customers save $20+ billion
a Bi-Parting Security Gate, Pic-to-lite, Bar code annually.
scanning, inter-changeable shelf dividers, intermediary
shelves, durable storage bins, and inventory software.”
Vocollect
703 Rodi Road
Vidir Pittsburgh, PA 15235
Box 700, PR326 412-825-8145
Arborg, MB, Canada, R0C 0A0 Fax: 412-824-9465
204-364-2442 www.vocollect.com
www.storevertical.com
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 61

62. FOCUS ON Tuggers/Casters/Carts
Zinc-plated casters feature Tow up to 8,000-pound loads
double ball swivel raceways The Pack Mule BCG-6200 electric tow vehicle’s heavy duty,
With a durable zinc-plated finish, Encore dolly steel uni-body frame construction can tow up to 8,000 pounds.
casters feature double ball swivel raceways for Combined with a heavy-duty transaxle, the vehicle’s dual-wheel
durability and improved performance. They are front fork has been reinforced to withstand bumps, potholes,
equipped with a non-marking, gray thermoplastic curbs and other obstacles. Powered by either a DC or AC drive
rubber wheel that resists cutting or tearing, and system, the burden carrier’s oversized battery compartment and
a maintenance-free, single insert-molded wheel frame accommodate the space and weight of industrial batteries.
bearing for smooth rolling. A total lock brake Under heavy loads, the rear suspension
stops the wheel and the swivel simultaneously to secure moving helps deliver a smooth ride. The vehicle
dollies, medium-duty materials handling carts or stock carts. The features 36-inch wide front and rear cargo
casters come in a variety of swivel and rigid models with capaci- decks to hold product, equipment or tool
ties up to 260 pounds, and in wheel sizes from 3 inches to 5 boxes. Wesley International, 800-241-
inches. Colson Caster, 800-643-5515, www.colsoncaster.com. 2869, www.packmule.com.
Spring-loaded upper frame Bag compartment cart protects
helps auto rotate cart loads low-volume, high-value
To reduce operator timing requirements, the Auto-Rotate cart’s composite parts
spin function is faster than comparable carts. Featuring a four- To protect composite parts during in-plant han-
wheel cart base bottom frame, the top portion has a manual dling and delivery, a custom-compartmentalized
hand-operated rotate frame equipped with a spring mecha- bag cart provides an efficient, economical way
nism. To operate, a worker pulls the frame by hand with a twist to handle uniquely shaped, lightweight items. The bag compart-
back motion to spring load the cart when ments keep the parts from nesting or tangling, while facilitating
it hits the detent. The frame stays in place easy identification and unloading at multiple assembly points.
until the operator engages the foot pedal, Built from plastic-coated steel pipe and metal joints, the cart has
allowing it to return to its original position. a 350-pound load capacity and measures 70 x 37 x 75 inches.
Topper Industrial, 800-529-0909, www. Loads glide on six 6-inch diameter casters (four with brakes and
topperindustrial.com. two fixed). The bags are constructed of industrial grade nylon,
and can be sized to accommodate specific parts and compo-
Wildeck, Inc. Yale
™
Wildeck unveiled its new 4XLift four-post VRC design Introduced at ProMat 2013, the new Yale®
at ProMat. The VRC includes, as standard, the company’s full- MO25 center rider lift truck eases second
featured AutoSenz D-Series Overload Detection System (U.S. level order picking through fully adjustable
Patent No. 7,408,317). According to Hue Schlegel, Director of electronic power steering, automatic speed
Marketing at Wildeck, “The 4XLift sets a new standard for heavy reduction in cornering and an elevating
material lifting and has more available safety features than any platform with an operator sensing floor
other 4-post VRC on the market today.” mat. The electric steering eliminates high
In addition to the standard AutoSenz safety control system steer effort. The MO25 truck features
that continuously monitors motor current and immediately stops the lift should a numerous operator compartment and plat-
jam occur, the 4XLift is designed and manufactured to meet ANSI/ASME B20.1 form advantages for efficiency and ergonomic benefits. The control handle
“Safety Standard for Conveyors” and is guaranteed to meet all codes and regula- reduces the arm movement needed to change directions, helping to reduce
tions that pertain to VRCs. Additional products featured included three mezzanine fatigue, increase productivity and allowing the operator to remain inside the
platforms, multiple stair structures, Wildeck’s popular Pivot Safety Gate for mez- truck footprint for protection.
zanine access, EdgeGard Folding-Rail Dock Gates, and Wilgard Guard Rail; which
can withstand a 13,000 lb. load impact traveling at 4 mph. Yale
P.O. Box 89, 405 Commerce Street Ryan Fisher
Waukesha, WI USA 53186 864-272-3023
262-549-4000, 800-325-6939 Ryan.Fisher@jacksonmg.com
FAX 262-549-3466
www.wildeck.com info@wildeck.com
62 M A R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

63. nents. They hang on sewn-in web loops Two models of low-profile,
from the top layer of pipe on the carts, manual tilt trucks offered
and have one enclosed side. Adding a A line of manual tilt trucks includes two
hitch allows the carts to be towed by an new low-profile models manufactured
AGV or manned vehicle. Creform, 800- from 13-gauge steel with reinforced
839-8823, www.creform.com. corners. The 0.38- and 0.75-cubic-yard Precision casters for carts,
trucks stand 30 inches tall at the top dollies and shop trucks
Long lasting, easy of the push handle, while the bucket Configured for ease of movement, the
rolling wheels measures 24 inches from the floor to the 18 series caster offers capacities up to
Ultralast wheels are built to last under top edge. Ideal for manual handling of 1,250 pounds per caster. It can be paired
heavy loads and with continuous, higher materials up to 1,000 pounds, the trucks with a round tread polyurethane wheel
speed use. Made from high-performance, roll on 6 x 2-inch mold-on rubber casters. or a glass-reinforced nylon wheel. The
liquid-cast polyurethane, the wheels roll Jesco Industries, 888-463-1242, www. polyurethane wheel protects floors with
smoothly and easily with loads up to 7,200 jescoonline.com. non-marking tread and provides quiet
pounds. They are ideal for power-towed operation in both manual and towing
and higher-speed applications on smooth use; the nylon wheel is engineered for
surfaces because their construction mini- strength and resilience to provide long
mizes heat buildup. Offered in two stan- lasting service in heavy-duty applica-
dard configurations, tions. The casters are ideal for mobilizing
the wheels come with shop carts, dollies, floor trucks, waste
either a 0.375-inch disposal trucks and shop trucks. Albion
thick tread chemically Industries, 800-835-8911, www.albion-
bonded to a heavy- casters.com.
duty, cast iron center
or with a 1-inch tread
molded to a super heavy-duty forged steel
center. Applications include heavy manu-
facturing or industrial use in automotive,
aerospace, food and beverage manufac-
turing. Hamilton Caster & Mfg., 513-863-
3300, www.hamiltoncaster.com.
Hybrid caster for
manufacturing
The HybridKP 45 series caster combines
a drop-forged raceway with a cold-forged
top plate and kingpin. Rated at up to 2,000
pounds, the caster’s heavy-duty yoke is
ideal for manufacturing and tow-line appli-
cations in automotive, food processing
and waste equipment industries. Features
include an induction hardened and sealed
single-ball raceway for tighter tolerance
and limited play in swivel motion. The
caster’s cold-forged ASTM 1045 top plate
is 0.25-inches thick and attached with a
heat-treated, 0.75-inch diameter kingpin to
prevent failure. Options include side-lock,
tread-lock brakes, four-position swivel
lock and 304 stainless steel construction.
Everest Casters and Wheels, 866-532-
1698, www.everestcaster.com.
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 63

64. FOCUS ON Tuggers/Casters/Carts
Concealed drum brake
prevents runaway casters
Featuring a concealed drum brake
inside the wheel, the rigid dead-
man brake caster remains locked
when stopped. It will not rotate until
the brake is released by activating
a cable connected to an integrated lever. Carts and equip-
ment that ride atop the caster will not move until an operator
manipulates them. Ideal for equipment that may be left to
roll or move freely on uneven surfaces, the caster reliably pre-
vents injury and damage to products and equipment. Blickle
Wheels and Casters, 888-558-7878, www.blickle.us.com.
Float 2,500-pound loads across the
floor with movement assist device
Using on-board compressed air, the LoadRunner helps one
operator easily move loads up to 2,500 pounds by floating
them across the floor. By greatly reducing friction, a fraction
of normal operator effort is needed to move the load. The
unit is offered as a replacement for hand trucks, pallet jacks
and forklifts. Completely self-contained, it features a low pro-
file deck, 2-inch insertion height and intuitive, throttle-style
fingertip controls. Quiet and
emission-free, the device is
ideal for manufacturing, clean-
rooms, assembly, and ware-
house applications requiring
redundant and recurring load
movement. AeroGo, 800-
426-4757, www.aerogo.com.
Casters absorb shocks, reduce
vibration and noise
Engineered to reduce vibration and noise, the FootMaster
GDS series of shock-absorbing casters are made with a
firmly bonded polyurethane tread. Offered in lemon yellow
color with an aluminum center, the casters are attached to
a pressed steel plate with an aluminum die-casting bracket
containing bi-level balls upon ball seats in the swivel head.
Features include a rubber cushion to absorb shock, a nylon
brake system, and dynamically pressed kingpin and bolted
wheel axle. Options include a black bracket and an anti-static
wheel. The casters operate in temper-
atures from 14 degrees Fahrenheit
to 114 degrees Fahrenheit and each
handles a load up to 220 pounds.
DoRodo, 866-3620-3226, www.
dorodoint.com.
64 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

65. Export and Domestic
Pallet Solutions
Mobile carts in shelf, drawer configurations,
offer portable tool storage for technicians
Flexible and maneuverable,
the Technician series of mobile PRES
PALL
carts provide heavy-duty,
Minimize Waste
lightweight tool storage and Cut Packaging Co
transport for service person- Free of Bugs, Mold
TCP and TCA Che
nel. Carts come with either
Reduce Fork Truck
shelves or shelves and draw-
ers. The shelf-only version Reduce Shipping
Costs
has 2-inch deep pan shelves, Increase Product
covered with a ribbed rubber Protection
mat, at the top and bottom. Reduce Shipping
Damages
Drawer units include a core lock and two keys, and a mesh
drawer liner. Offered in two widths—17.5 or 31.75 inches—and
Which Pallet
multiple configurations, the carts hold up to 400 pounds and
travel on two fixed and two swivel-with-wheel-lock casters. Lista
International, 800-722-3020, www.listabox.com.
Will You Choose?
Lockable, portable facility maintenance cart
Ideal for storage and transport of items that require security, LITCO International Pallets
Export and Domestic Pallet Solutions
the mobile facility maintenance cart measures 36 x 18 x 38.375 855-296-2891 www.litco.com
inches and includes three-point locking doors and a lockable
handle. The cart is equipped with six drawers in two heights, SPACS95-8/12
each capable of holding up to 100 pounds, and nine 4 x 5 x
3-inch hook-on bins for organized storage of smaller parts and
items. Featuring sturdy, all-welded construction of 16-gauge
Efficient.
steel, the cart travels on 5 x 1.25-
inch polyurethane casters (two
swivel, two rigid). Additional stor-
age compartments can hold lad-
ders and florescent bulbs, while Productive.
the cart’s work surface is covered
with a black rubber mat for dura-
bility. Durham Manufacturing,
Safe.
Increase your order picking
800-243-3774,
productivity and minimize
www.durhammfg.com.
workplace injuries with Pallet
Dispensers from Cherry’s.
800.242.3919 800-350-0011
www.aignerlabelholder.com
info@aignerlabelholder.com 600 Morse Ave. Elk Grove Village, IL
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / M A R C H 2013 65

66. MODERN 60 Seconds with...
Bob Babel
Forte
TITLE: Vice president,
executive consultant
LOCATION: Mason, Ohio
EXPERIENCE: 43 years in the
materials handling industry
PRIMARY FOCUS: Materials
handling system consulting and
engineering, from design through
customer acceptance
Modern: At ProMat, we saw a
number of solutions to bring
automation and technology to
processes that aren’t usually part
of an automated process. Some
of the examples are technologies
to make boxes on demand or
to automatically unload trailers.
Are we beginning to integrate
processes at the docks and the
packing stations into the overall
system?
Babel: We are seeing that and as a Babel: E-commerce is definitely playing For an apparel accessories
systems integrator, we are looking at a role. The volumes are growing and client with a rapidly growing
that. One of the challenges to these that’s driving people to look at areas e-commerce business, we ended
solutions is that they can be hard to such as automating the manifest up re-engineering their processes
justify. They may not provide a return process. There are some amazing from the workstations back. We
on investment in the time frame that technologies that automatically print designed one workstation for their
someone is looking for. Or, they get and fold a packing slip, insert it into an single-line orders and a different
chopped in the capital allocation envelope, and apply it to the outside workstation for their multi-line orders.
process. The client needs to trim of a shipping carton. That may only That was a result of creating some
the budget, so the automatic truck save a few seconds per order, but when mocked-up workstations and getting
unloader gets cut in favor of picking you get to a certain level of volume of out there with a stop watch as we
technologies. orders, those seconds are starting to packed different types of orders. You
add up. We’re all working to quantify wouldn’t think that there are three
Modern: What is driving this
what the volume of orders is to get a or four different ways to design a
change?
payback. workstation, but we learned that
Babel: One is that ergonomics is there are more efficient ways to
Modern: With all the handling
becoming more important than ever. pass an item from one person in
associated with e-commerce, is the
Clients are beginning to quantify the the process to the other. In the case
packing station one of those areas
medical costs related to back injuries of this client, the designs we came
that’s getting a second look?
and carpal tunnel syndrome. And, up with allow them to handle their
there are labor savings. Babel: It is. We did some engineered cyber-week business without adding
time studies of the packing station additional workstations. It was a little
Modern: Is e-commerce playing
as part of our last few projects. thing that made a big difference. Ⅺ
a role?
66 MA R C H 2 0 1 3 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING mmh.com

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