EP 218: RJW Logistics Peak Season Tips
In this episode, I reconnected with Kevin Williamson and Greg Forbis of RJW Logistics. You may remember that Kevin and Greg joined me earlier this year to talk about the middle mile and what it means. For this episode, we discussed how RJW prepares for peak season and how they are so successful at retaining employees. Key Takeaways RJW Logistics has been growing with great success since the last time we spoke. Kevin shares the great news of how they have added one new warehouse and are opening a new one soon which will see them hiring an additional 250-300 people. Interestingly, they are still remaining with the centralized model in the Chicago area and just expanding on their footprint. This helps them be centralized and have the inventory in one place allowing for them to achieve their very high fill rates. When it comes to peak season RJW Logistics starts prepping in May for the Q3 and Q4 season. However, Kevin is clear on letting us know that their business means that they experience peak-like demand through the majority of the year. Due to this, it allows them to constantly be operating at peak levels not only working towards meeting their demand but also at peak efficiency to ensure they are meeting the service level agreements of their clients as well. Greg and Kevin also discuss when the right time to consider a 3PL as a partner is which is before it’s too late. The biggest indicator is when your service levels start to slip. What I was most interested in hearing about from them was how RJW Logistics is able to have such a low turnover rate from their employees at just 3%. With the incredibly difficult labor market in the past year and a half, it is really incredible to hear that they have been able to manage such a strong retention rate. Kevin credits their ability to properly train and develop their employees. Being able to give them a clear path for their career helps to ensure that they have something to look forward to at RJW. He even shares a story about how an employee started as a temp worker in the warehouse and is now running one of their warehouses. It shows that investing time in your employees can really go a long way and help you succeed. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 218: RJW Logistics Peak Season Tips
EP 217: FedEx Autonomous Trucking
In this episode, I was joined by Suman Kharbanda of FedEx. Suman is the Director of Advanced Technology and Innovation at FedEx and has been very instrumental in developing their autonomous efforts. We discuss how FedEx preps for peak season, their new autonomous truck pilot, and what’s next for FedEx on the technology front. Key Takeaways I was very excited for this episode because I have been seeing all the amazing things FedEx has been doing with robotics and autonomous vehicles in our space and also because my guest from Episode 02 texted me recently asking how far do we think autonomous trucks and FedEx is here to deliver, as usual. FedEx has started piloting a line haul route between Houston and Dallas in Texas with an autonomous truck. This is the result of a partnership between FedEx, Aurora, and PACCAR. Suman explains how this industry-first three-way alliance is helping to ensure the autonomous truck is successful and first and foremost safe. The involvement of the trucking OEM was crucial in the process of ensuring full safety for anyone that will be around the truck due to the autonomous pilot being conducted on a regular highway with normal traffic. A huge step forward in technology and innovation and I cannot wait to see how it grows from here. Suman also shared how FedEx prepares for peak season with 18 million+ packages being shipped per day. This staggering number is a normal day for FedEx and you can only imagine what happens at peak season. However, the preparation for peak season never ends. According to Suman, FedEx begins planning for peak season in January and the key to being successful is the data. As you will hear, Suman explains how the team at FedEx relies very heavily on data to make the right decisions on how to ramp up capacity and plan for future growth or investment in technologies. This is a huge key for companies to be successful in the supply chain spaces now and into the future, you must not only collect data but be able to interpret it properly to make the best-informed decisions. At the end of the episode, Suman gives amazing advice on automation which is really insightful. She explains that simply automating a single task is not the key to moving forward in our world. You really need to drill down into the processes and the actual physical movement of the materials. When you fully understand these and how they can work together in a better way then you can begin to automate the tasks that make up the movements. It allows you to get the materials and the people at the right place at the right time. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 217: FedEx Autonomous Trucking
EP 216: FactoryFix
On this episode, I was joined by the Founder of FactoryFix, Patrick O’Rahilly. FactoryFix is utilizing smart algorithms to help bring you top talent in the industrial space. We discuss how FactoryFix got started, how their scoring system works, and some tips on attracting and retaining employees in competitive markets. Key Takeaways FactoryFix was born out of a necessity that Patrick saw through his previous company Compass Automation. Through that company, he was building robotic and automated solutions for factory applications and saw that his customers were constantly struggling to find skilled employees to operate the equipment that he was building for them. He recognized the need and started FactoryFix on the side and it eventually grew to where it is today. The mission of FactoryFix is very clear. It is not just a regular job board, it is a dedicated recruiting and job search tool for industrial-type jobs. They are dedicated to finding skilled workers for your industrial needs. The key factor in getting the best-skilled workers through FactoryFix is the algorithm that they have built and utilize. Patrick explains how the algorithm utilizes machine learning and AI to score candidates to help ensure they are the right fit for your job. It looks at over 400 data points to help determine the strength of the candidate and takes into account things like work history, length of time in roles, and responsiveness. This is incredibly important when looking for candidates especially in the warehousing space. Through my experience, I have found that there can be a lot of candidates that bounce around warehouse jobs too much because they are unreliable and have attendance issues. Since Patrick is working on the side of helping companies find the best candidates, I wanted to ask him about his tips for recruiting and retaining people in such a difficult market. Patrick points out that in the current market the labor has the power because during the pandemic many did not necessarily need the work so it has created such a high demand from employers that it has really driven wages up. His advice is to really understand what candidates you are looking for and when you find a great one you need to be prepared to overpay for them in order to keep them. I believe this is something that is really important to understand because if you decide to keep wages low then you will most likely end up with low-quality candidates and ones that will not stay long. His other advice is to start younger which is a great tip. He discusses how he believes there should be more emphasis on recruiting individuals right out of high school to get them started on a career that can help them make money right away instead of them figuring out what to do if they are not going to college. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 216: FactoryFix
EP 215: R&D with the Raymond Corporation
In this episode, I was joined by Fernando Goncalves of The Raymond Corporation. Fernando is the Director of Research and Development Services at Raymond and is at the forefront of innovations for the company. Raymond has been on the show multiple times showcasing their many innovations in the material handling world. For this episode, Fernando and I dig into how innovations are happening within Raymond and what innovations are to come. Key Takeaways Fernando’s role at Raymond is to head up their research and development arm which is critical to keep the material handling industry moving forward. His group is looking for next-generation technology that will help to support the next wave of material handling needs and create better flow. With Raymond and their optimize, connect and automate motto they are really going through a thoughtful process of how and what to innovate. Fernando emphasizes that when they innovate they rely on the voice of the customer to really tell them what the need in the market is. Of course, I had to ask him what type of technology is exciting to him right now and he is excited to be working with sensors that are still early on in development. These types of sensors are going to have the ability to really change the way the material handling equipment will navigate and react. In addition to this being what excites him right now, he also said that his favorite innovation in his time at Raymond has been the virtual reality training platform. What was exciting to him about the virtual reality training was that it was so out of the box for the industry which I agree with. I remember seeing it and thinking how incredible it was but it is really an interesting story to hear from Fernando about how it came about. When it comes to what is next in innovations from Raymond, Fernando cannot totally say but he does give the sense that it will be around operator assistance. The operator assistance technology is growing throughout the industry and it is a great innovation to make all of our operations and employees safer. Not only will this help new operators when they are training to feel more comfortable and prevent them from making mistakes but it will also help veteran operators from becoming complacent. It is not only a preventative measure but also a reminder for operators from a training perspective. This type of technology is incredibly exciting to me. Raymond is also hiring and to join the team tells them you heard Fernando on the podcast! Check out their available jobs here. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 215: R&D with the Raymond Corporation
EP 214: Kindred.ai
On this episode, I was joined by the CEO of Kindred.ai, Marin Tchakarov. Kindred.ai is bringing together advanced robotics and artificial intelligence to bring smart sortation to life in the fulfillment world. We discuss the origins of Kindred.ai, its Sort product, and its recent acquisition by Ocado. Key Takeaways I remember seeing Kindred.ai’s Sort solution way back at ProMat in 2019 and being really intrigued by the way it looked. It seemed like nothing else I had seen and it is an incredibly interesting solution to solve a very complex problem. The spherical put wall, as I would describe it, utilizes artificial intelligence and a grasping robotic arm to sort through deformables like poly bags to put them into their proper cubbies. This reduces the sort time needed by humans and helps them to concentrate on fulfilling the right orders after the intelligent sort. Marin stresses that these are collaborative solutions helping to elevate the human’s tasks and he also shares how they have created a competitive environment amongst workers to increase the fun. The Sort system itself is very complex and really remarkable in what it can do. It is taking something that is very difficult for a robot to do which is grasp a soft item and really doing it with ease. Where this really comes into play is with deformable items like poly bags that you would typically find clothing items in, hence their big partnership with Gap. I asked Marin why the team decided to take on such a challenging problem to solve and he explains how it was pure ambition and really the curiosity to solve something that had not been solved before. This is the way that the world innovates and it is really incredible to see how taking on a complex problem that might scare others away can turn into a great solution. Kindred.ai was recently acquired by Ocado Group which has its roots in grocery fulfillment but as Marin explains they have grown into focusing on changing the way people shop. This includes bringing in new technologies and automation solutions to the fulfillment world. The acquisition will allow Kindred.ai to expand further and keep pushing more innovation into their Sort solution and other future solutions. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 214: Kindred.ai
EP 213: UgoWork
In this episode, I was joined by Charles Girard of UgoWork. Charles heads up Energy Partnerships at UgoWork which is a lithium-ion battery provider. We discuss their battery solutions, energy as a service, and their data analytic platform. Key Takeaways UgoWork provides lithium-ion batteries for forklifts and is very focused on delivering incredible value to the material handling market. With a team full of engineers they have gone through continuous improvement of their batteries to bring the best version out as possible. Their batteries are incredibly sustainable with 95% of the internal parts of the battery being recyclable and the entire battery compartment being recyclable. Additionally, they are very focused on sustainability in the manner of reducing energy waste as well as forklift waste through their analytics. The batteries themselves have chargers built into them so it makes for easy charging throughout your facility and reduced infrastructure charges. Charles also discussed their business model of energy as a service where you only pay for the energy you are consuming. We have seen many “as a service” companies on the podcast and it makes complete sense for distribution companies to be utilizing this type of offering for their business. It allows you to move to opex spend vs. capex spend which can really help you get newer technologies or solutions into your operation sooner. With new batteries often being very expensive investments for a company, it can be difficult to get the approval needed before something breaks. This allows you to get the approval sooner and manage your batteries in a more cost-effective way. On the sustainability side, UgoWork has always set out with a mission of not only creating an effective product but also creating one that is beneficial to the environment. While the majority of their batteries are recyclable, what also helps their sustainability efforts is their data analytics platform and fleet optimization tools. We discuss how there is tons of data but oftentimes there is no discernible way to easily decipher it. Charles explains how UgoWork helps you to understand the data and make the proper decisions so that you are not stuck with assets in your fleet that you do not necessarily need. He explains how by implementing UgoWork they are seeing on average a reduction of one vehicle per every six trucks which is a huge savings for operations. Listen to the episode below and let us know if you’re moving to lithium-ion in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 213: UgoWork
EP 212: Blue Horseshoe
On this episode, I was joined by the VP of Digital Strategy at Blue Horseshoe, Steve Shebuski. Blue Horseshoe is a supply chain integration company that helps companies leverage technology to move into the future of their business. We discuss Blue Horseshoe, high automation solutions, and where to start with automation. Key Takeaways Blue Horseshoe is focused on bringing technology to your company in order to help disrupt your business and maximize efficiency for growth into the future. When I asked Steve what they do, basically there is nothing they don’t do when it comes to bringing technology to the supply chain space. Steve explains how their team has a diverse background from all different parts of the industry and is really able to come together to offer multiple solutions for the whole supply chain process. Steve speaks a lot about high automation and how it has become a hot topic for the supply chain world due to the pandemic. High automation refers to the type of automation that is lights out where no human interaction is needed in the distribution process. Blue Horseshoe has been implementing high automation solutions and helping companies to go lights out to combat the labor shortage and become more efficient. One interesting about high automation is that even though it may be a great fit for your business model right now there would be something that disrupts your business model. While Steve agrees that high automation solutions make for a safer environment, there is also that case that high automation limits what you can do. For example, we discuss how a company could be shipping strictly cases in a high automation environment but then consumer behavior shifts and they need to break cases but the automation solution is not built for that. Where to start with automation? This is always an interesting question and I really enjoy hearing the varying answers. Steve makes some incredibly good points about automation and how many people get caught up in automation being robots or conveyors but automation can go down to the level of new handheld scanners. These points help to show how automation can be a slow incremental journey. As you learn about new solutions and try out new solutions you can start to see how we will do things better in the process you are addressing. With these small incremental changes, a lot can add up over time. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 212: Blue Horseshoe
EP 211: Chunker
On this episode, I was joined by Brad Wright of Chunker. Brad is the CEO and Founder of Chunker which is the Airbnb of warehousing space. We discuss the origins of Chunker, how it is helping warehouse space being better utilized and why so much empty warehouse space has been going unnoticed. Key Takeaways Chunker was founded after Brad connected with a friend who was involved in commercial real estate specifically targeted at warehousing space. They had a discussion on how it was difficult to find partial warehouse space because it was not typically advertised or visible. With Brad’s software background, he was able to come up with the idea for Chunker which is essentially the Airbnb of warehousing space. Their platform allows companies with unused warehouse space, no matter the size, to list it for availability. Companies are then able to browse the listings and secure the space through the entire Chunker platform. As Brad says, they are solving the warehouse space issue one chunk at a time, which is where the name Chunker comes from. One thing I was curious about was why has this space gone unnoticed for so long. As Brad explains, most brokers will get a lease signed up, and then they are on to the next deal. They are not necessarily staying in touch asking if they have partial amounts of space available. The other constraint has been time on the side of who has space available. For example, a company buys a 300,000 square foot facility as a move towards their future growth but only currently needs to utilize 200,000 square feet but they do not have time to market the other 100,000 square feet for lease since they are focused on their core business. No one would ever know that this space was not being used because it appears the facility is in use. Chunker helps to solve this problem by providing an easy platform for companies to turn their unused space into money. The idea behind Chunker is very simple but it is such a great resource for companies to utilize to generate additional revenue from their unused space. No matter the size, there is a demand even down to 1,000 square feet of space. Brad also says that in the future they will be working on providing current market rates and what could be expected revenue from your space. I am looking forward to seeing how this platform grows. Listen to the episode below and let us know if you’ll be turning your space into money in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 211: Chunker
EP 210: Vector
On this episode, I was joined by the CEO and Co-Founder of Vector, Will Chu. Vector is providing paperless solutions for the transportation and logistics industries. We discuss the origins of Vector, why paper has been so prevalent in our industry and how their solutions work. Key Takeaways The origins of Vector actually remind me of a previous podcast on DCL Logistics where there was a well-established company that resulted in a younger generation coming in to make it more technologically advanced. Will explains how he had a friend whose father owned a trucking company that had gotten pretty large but got to a point where he did not want to run it anymore. Will was invited by the friend to help him work on the business and as Will was looking at the business he was seeing there was a lot of paper being moved around, mostly BOLs, that was causing many inefficiencies. With his software background, he was able to look at a way to create electronic BOL’s to eliminate paper in many of the steps of carrier pickups and drop-offs. He then turned that into a company that is now Vector. Vector is on a great mission to eliminate paper in the supply chain and I believe that is critical not only for being more sustainable but also for speeding up the supply chain and making us more efficient. The results that Vector has seen speak for themself with Will reporting that they are seeing average paper times of 66 minutes being reduced all the way down to 11 minutes. That is almost a savings of an hour per truck which if you think about how many trucks are moving around is an enormous amount of time. In their mission, they have created and are a part of the Contactless Standard which is bringing companies together to create a paperless standard for the industry. The mission to go paperless is something that recently sparked my interest because of an encounter I had with a trucker. He was signing some BOL’s and explained to me that he had been driving for 40 years and cannot believe that the technology has never changed. Will related to this explaining that it is something that has been foundational to trucking and it has been difficult for people to see the change because it works. Oftentimes disrupting the flow of things can be scary especially when it is messing with the potential of on-time shipments but if we can improve in such a substantial way then a little bit of pain during a change will be worth it in the end. Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 210: Vector
EP 209: Capex vs. Opex with Picavi
On this episode, I was joined by the Senior Sales Manager at Picavi, Larry Olson. You may remember Picavi from last year’s MODEX where I got a demo of their pick by vision platform but if you do not they provide a picking solution that is based on the Google Glass platform. Larry and I discuss the latest from Picavi, how the technology has evolved, and also the benefits of opex vs. capex. Key Takeaways Picavi has a very futuristic solution to picking which is already a reality. When I initially learned about it I thought it was a great idea and I still think it is an incredibly practical use for the Google Glass platform which, as Larry states, was a pretty big flop on the consumer side of the market. They have been able to take this great technology and harness it for the enterprise in a very smart way. What it allows your pickers to do is see the information they need in order to make a successful pick right in front of their eyes at all times as it is projected through the glasses. This creates an almost completely hands-free picking solution that speeds up the pick time and increases accuracy as well. One of the developments for Picavi since we last spoke at MODEX 2020 has been their rollout of the vision as a service offering. This offering allows customers to essentially lease the units on a monthly basis without having to heavily invest in large amounts of hardware. I am a big fan of these types of offerings in our industry because we have a tendency to go up and down in the number of units we need on hand. This is especially true during peak seasons where we need more units but the remainder of the year we may end up with units just collecting dust. With the vision as a service model, you are able to get just the number of units you need for that point in time and then return the others when you don’t need them. It also has the advantage of quick swap-outs when a unit is damaged or not working properly which helps to maintain your capacity. Another benefit from Picavi’s vision as a service offering is the financial aspect. This is where we get into the discussion on capex vs. opex. Capex is short for capital expenditure which is a large expense that will go towards some type of asset investment with longer than a year of life. Capex will hit your balance sheet and can sometimes be difficult to get approved in the corporate environment with more hurdles to go through. In contrast, opex is short for an operational expense which is the normal operating expenses incurred by a company. Opex has the ability to be written off during tax time whereas capex needs to be capitalized so getting something approved by your company that is opex will certainly be easier than something that is capex. Listen to the episode below and leave a comment if you can see yourself using Picavi’s solution. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 209: Capex vs. Opex with Picavi
EP 208: Hatio
On this episode, I was joined by the Co-Founder and Group CEO of Hatio, Bernard Hor. Hatio is a Southeast Asian-based supply chain cloud software provider helping to push the market in that area into the future. Bernard and I discuss what Hatio does and the Southeast Asian warehousing market. Key Takeaways Hatio is on a mission to help supply chain companies in the Southeast Asian market move into the future. Bernard explains how the Southeast Asian market is still relatively young when it comes to e-commerce and high technology warehousing solutions. Hatio recognized that the market was about to grow and decided that they needed to bring in supply chain software solutions like WMS which was not very present in the past. The approach they took was to take something that was traditionally expensive and a high barrier for entry and make it more accessible at a lower cost. As Bernard puts it, they wanted to bring the BMW i8 in at a Toyota price. A very noble thing to do to help push the market forward and the growth is being seen from that decision. One really interesting point from the conversation is that the name Hatio is a Korean word meaning big heart. The name was chosen as a reflection on Bernard’s co-founder as he wished to be able to not only bring a solution to the market that would help advance operations but also wanted to be able to grow the supply chain talent pool in the market. They are doing this by helping to get younger students interested in the supply chain and develop their talents for the future of the market. This includes getting them exposed to new software and technologies which will be vital in helping the expansion of more efficient operations. I am always interested to hear about the logistics and warehousing markets of other geographical areas so I was very curious to know what the market is like in the Malaysia area where Bernard is based. Interestingly, Malaysia is in a perfect spot to reach most of Southeast Asia in a fairly equal amount of time which is why Hatio decided to set up shop there. Bernard explains that the warehousing market is rapidly developing because e-commerce has just recently begun to take off which means that companies are now starting to looking for more warehouses and larger warehouse spaces. He even mentions how some business owners are now expanding their businesses into the distribution space because of the demand. One challenge that he says is that the space has often been tight so it is difficult to get a quick turnaround for trucks and things of that nature but as the market grows they are rethinking how these things are handled. With the digitization of the supply chain, companies are starting to see how they can be more efficient and also give workers a better overall work-life. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts on this expanding market in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 208: Hatio
EP 207: Energy Management with Enersys
On this episode, I was joined by a previous guest, Harold Vanasse of Enersys®. Harold is the Senior Director of Marketing for the Motive Power arm at Enersys and has been a long-time friend of the show. He was on one of the first episodes when I did my coverage of ProMat 2019 and has always been very supportive of the podcast. This time around we discuss how the motive power industry was impacted by COVID-19, new energy management tools, the total cost of ownership, and what is coming next for battery technology. Key Takeaways Enersys is one of the largest battery providers and I was curious to know how the battery market did through the pandemic. As we know supply chain was the center of attention and as certain industries like grocery surged, Harold explains how the increase in demand made companies need more material handling equipment which ultimately means they needed more batteries to power them. Definitely a great sign for our industry as consumer behavior has made a major shift to e-commerce and ordering things online. One other thing from the pandemic is how can companies get creative with cutting costs and Harold mentions about their recent launch of lithium-ion batteries which is part of their move to make their batteries as maintenance-free as possible resulting in lower costs. In addition to launching the new lithium-ion batteries, Enersys also recently launched some energy management tools that can give you further insights into your batteries. These products are the WI-IQ, E Connect, and Truck IQ which all have their own purpose and help to improve your overall battery maintenance costs and life. The WI-IQ is a monitoring device which is collecting the information and sending it out so it can be analyzed in many different ways. The Truck IQ is the dashboard on the truck itself that gives the operator more insights into the battery they are utilizing at the moment. I was very impressed to hear about the E Connect which is an app for your phone that can give you better visualization into your fleet. One of my favorite features of the app is that it can sync up with the charger and give you insights or push insights to a tech over the phone which potentially avoids waiting for a service call to show up. Harold helps us to understand what total cost of ownership (TCO) means in this episode which is incredibly important when you are looking at purchases like batteries for your equipment. When calculating this you are taking in the total cost throughout the life of that item which is not just the initial upfront cost, it includes the maintenance, accessories that may be needed, and anything else that is a cost related to the item. This is incredibly important to understand because in some cases the upfront cost may be higher but when you calculate the total cost over the life of the item it can end up being less if there is less maintenance or if you don’t need other things to support it properly. Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 207: Energy Management with Enersys
EP 206: Cargo Cove
On this episode, I was joined by Blake Read of Cargo Cove. Blake is the sales representative at Cargo Cove which is a third-party logistics company focused on e-commerce. We discuss what Cargo Cove is all about a recent partnership that they entered into with both Rufus Labs and inVia Robotics. Key Takeaways Cargo Cove is a third-party logistics company with headquarters in Northeast Florida and a satellite location in Las Vegas and they focus primarily on e-commerce companies with Shopify stores or Woocommerce stores. The origins of the company come from the CEO being an e-commerce store owner himself and then eventually getting into shipping his own goods. This leads him to open his shipping business to other e-commerce sellers. With the growth in e-commerce, they are seeing a lot of demand coming to them as more consumers move to order their goods online. Just in the last year, they went from 3,000 orders a day to anywhere from 7,000 to 9,000 orders a day. Definitely, huge growth is being seen across e-commerce. With all of the growth in e-commerce, Blake discusses how many companies that have only been brick and mortar for several years have now approached them saying they need to get an online presence as well to keep up with consumer behavior changes. In addition, through the pandemic, many e-commerce at home businesses have popped up as well. Blake gives guidance on when these at-home businesses should start to look for a 3PL partner and start to automate some of the distribution side of the business. His guidance is that whenever you get to the point of thinking about shipping your orders first instead of growing the business and revenue then it is time to look for a partner as that should not be your main focus. One of the big challenges for Cargo Cove during this rapid growth was being able to get labor which many companies have faced during the pandemic. As they ramped up from a team of 40 to 120 in a short time they found it difficult to remain efficient and get their new hires to the same proficiency level as the original 40. When this came to be an issue they started to look to automation solutions to solve their problem. After exploring a few options they were able to get a unique partnership with Rufus Labs and inVia Robotics. They really wanted to reduce the amount of travel time in their facility so they went with inVia’s goods-to-person setup that allowed them to pick orders more efficiently. From a handheld perspective, they were utilizing some older simple devices that they were having multiple issues with and had many instances where pickers could not pick because of malfunctions. With Rufus, they were able to utilize the subscription model and get new devices whenever there was an issue. In addition, the Rufus devices were also much easier to use and train new hires on. This is a great partnership and I hope that the industry starts to see more of this to make smarter decisions when it comes to optimizing operational flows. Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 206: Cargo Cove
EP 205: ERP with WBSRocks
On this episode, I was joined by Sam Gupta, Principal Consultant at ElevatIQ and the Founder and host of WBSRocks. Sam is a fellow podcaster and an ERP expert which is the focus of his consulting through ElevatIQ. I was a guest on Sam’s podcast, WBSRocks, and he has now come on my show to discuss ERP and how it relates to distribution and warehousing. Key Takeaways Sam’s background is rooted in manufacturing and distribution from his family side. From this, he has a natural taking to this world, leading him to find his place in the ERP world. Along the way, he has tried some different start-ups and eventually landed in the consulting field where he helps companies implement ERP systems and guides them through different phases as well. This is the ElevatIQ side of things. Through this work, he has also created an amazing community called WBSRocks which connects individuals from all aspects of the supply chain world. ERP stands for enterprise resource planning which Sam says is really just a marketing term that can throw some people off. He advises not to think that an ERP system will solve all of your business needs as many are built for a specific purpose. Sam also discusses some of the necessary extensions to an ERP like a WMS. Often, implementations are not successful due to choosing the wrong ERP system for the goal you need to accomplish. When it comes to the implementation of any system it can be a scary time for companies because a lot is riding on these moves. Sam gives some advice on how to have a successful implementation. The one key thing is setting the correct foundation, ensuring you understand all your processes and have them documented. This is key to understanding how your new system needs to work and needs to be set up. Listen to the episode below and leave a comment with your implementation stories. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 205: ERP with WBSRocks
EP 204: ForwardX
On this episode, I was joined by Jonathan Chang of ForwardX. Jonathan is the Director of Global Expansion at ForwardX which is a China-based robotics company focused on medium-sized goods. We discuss the robotics scene in China, ForwardX’s offerings, and the impacts of the pandemic. Key Takeaways ForwardX is providing robotics solutions to not only China-based companies but also to the world with its recent launches in different countries. As Jonathan explains, their focus is on the in-between jobs that often times get lost when looking for automation solutions. What he means by this are the jobs that lead up to picking or are after picking. Many robotics companies are focused on the picking process which is great but we also need to focus on those other jobs that happen in the warehouse and ForwardX is trying to handle that. They are also focusing on the medium-sized goods market which is slightly underserved as many robotics companies are looking at smaller piece picking and larger pallet moving. One thing that was very interesting to me is to hear about the robotics scene in China and how quickly it is moving. We discussed how there is a very collaborative environment in the United States and how the contrast in China is a bit more competitive because of the mindset of being first to market. Jonathan explains that one thing driving this is the cultural norm of having a lot of options to choose from. He describes how typical menus in China have many options of food to order and the same is true in other companies so many robotics companies are offering several different models for operations. He also discusses how e-commerce and logistics is growing rapidly so the technology is accelerating along with it to help companies keep up. With Jonathan being based in China I was curious to know the impact of the pandemic there since it was where cases were first detected. He explains that there was an absolute shut down which really made a large impact on the supply chain as a whole across the globe as we all experienced in some way. The other thing that is interesting is that the business has not quite picked back up to where it was prior to the pandemic most likely due to other countries sourcing from other areas but internally the logistics and e-commerce business is thriving in China. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 204: ForwardX
EP 203: MassRobotics
On this episode, I was joined by the Executive Director of MassRobotics, Tom Ryden. MassRobotics is a non-profit that helps to accelerate the robotics industry and give a space for an upcoming robotics company to get to the next step. We discuss MassRobotic’s mission, Tom’s tips for deployment, and the new industry-changing interoperability standard. Key Takeaways MassRobotics was founded by Daniel Theobald who I spoke to previously when he was representing his company Vecna Robotics. Tom runs MassRobotics now as the Executive Director and comes from a history of working with technology companies including iRobot. MassRobotics is on a mission to help robotics companies get their start and get on the road to success. They also are focused on helping all robotics companies come together and make the industry more standardized for the greater good of users and solution providers. In Massachusetts, they have an incubator space where start-up robotics companies can come in as residence and utilize the resources to help grow their technology. Tom provides some great tips on robotics deployments for your operation which should be considered. For many, deploying robotics at this point in their first exploration into this world and it is important to understand how to be properly prepared. One big tip that Tom gives is to have a strong wireless network implemented. As he points out, robots need a strong wireless network to operate on and be able to communicate properly with each other and your systems. In many warehouses, the wireless network is not as strong as it should be and can be quite spotty which robots can not always tolerate. The big news from MassRobotics is their recent release of the interoperability standards 1.0. This is a huge help for the robotics industry and for operations that are looking to utilize multiple robotics solutions. The standards help to ensure that different robotic solutions from multiple companies can communicate with each other. This is important because many robotics companies are focusing on just one part of the process to automate and operations will be looking for solutions for all of their processes. In order to do this effectively, each solution needs to communicate with each other and the interoperability standards will help to do this. It will be exciting to see how the standards develop over the next few years. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 203: MassRobotics
EP 202: Seegrid swings for the fences
On this episode, I was joined by Todd Graves of Seegrid. Todd is the recently appointed CTO at Seegrid and has been tasked with putting together an amazing team for research and development called Blue Labs. We discuss how Todd ended up at Seegrid, how they are going for home runs with their technology, and what Blue Labs is all about. Key Takeaways I spoke to Seegrid earlier this year at ProMatDX to learn about their offerings and their Palion AMRs. In this episode, we focus more on how Seegrid is developing these solutions and pushing the technology forward. Todd shares how the development of Blue Labs brings focus and energy on bringing the newest technologies at Seegrid to life. There is some really great insight in this discussion on how to ensure that focus remains on research and development to help your company continue to grow. I find that oftentimes, especially in warehousing, teams that are set up to do specific tasks like projects or research get sucked into handling regular operations and lose the focus on what their original intention was. When Todd was discussing the team at Blue Labs and how he is managing them, he says that he is encouraging them to swing for the fences and try to hit home runs. While he wants small wins initially, the true goal for Blue Labs is to develop the innovations that will lead the material handling world into the future and look at solutions for the next 3-5 years or even beyond. I love this mindset and motivation for the team. He is bringing together incredibly intelligent and talented people in the space to develop these solutions so the perfect way to keep them creative is to encourage them to dream big. It will be great to see the developments that come out of this group well into the future. Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 202: Seegrid Swings for the Fences
EP 201: Hyster Reaction
On this episode, I was joined by a previous guest, Steven LaFevers of Hyster. Steven is the VP of Emerging Technology and he came on the show to discuss their newest technology called Hyster Reaction which is an operator assist technology to help you improve forklift safety in your operation. Key Takeaways Hyster Reaction is the latest in safety technology to come out of Hyster and it is really helping to reduce forklift accidents. It is an operator assist technology that helps enforce industry best practices for forklift operation. Not only does it help prevent accidents from occurring but it also helps to make operators better and keep learning. This is a huge advantage because even the most seasoned operators can become complacent and forget to do some of the fundamentals which can result in dangerous situations or accidents. One of the most fascinating things about the technology is how it sees the space it is in. Not only does it have object detection which alerts the operator when there is something in the way or a pedestrian but it is able to sense when it is approaching an area that needs caution or should be stopping. For example, it can sense an intersection is ahead and it will slow down the machine or stop the machine if that is what is needed. You can also set these areas so if there is an area where the speed should be reduced it will automatically happen. Hyster has now developed a very full suite of safety technology products that are incredibly impressive. I previously spoke with them about Yale Vision Impact Camera as well. One thing that Steven and I discussed is that even though the technology is there to help prevent and significantly reduce forklift accidents, it is still incredibly important to fully train the operators. This should not be used as a replacement for training and operators should still be developed so that they are operating safely no matter the technology involved. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 201: Hyster Reaction
EP 200: Getsett
In this episode, (the 200th!!!) I was joined by Getsett Founder and CEO, Deema Adada. Deema comes from the freight world and saw a problem with scheduling at the docks so she set out to solve that problem with Getsett. We discuss her background, self-driving trucks, Getsett’s mission, and how Getsett combats dwell time. Key Takeaways Deema has an extensive background in freight coming from the carrier side. She started out helping Coyote Logistics grow their business and then moved on to Uber Freight where she was able to get some exposure to the next big frontier in trucking, self-driving trucks. We have an interesting discussion about self-driving trucks and where the industry is really heading in that aspect. Deema believes that it is not too far off and from her exposure, the one big hurdle is the variation in regulations from state to state. Since self-driving trucks will handle a lot of long hauls, they need to go interstate but right now the regulations are preventing that. As regulations become more adapted to this technology, we will see a great interest from individuals to become “pilots” of these trucks and really elevate the position for some. Through Deema’s experience in the freight industry, she noticed one big issue, scheduling. She noticed that there were many inefficiencies and wasted time when appointments were either early or late. From our discussion, there is no easy way to be flexible when these incidences occur and they occur often. With Getsett she is aiming to make scheduling appointments at the dock seamless and to handle all of the exceptions that come their way. This is beneficial to both the shipper and the carrier as it will reduce wasted time, confusion and save money for all involved. For Getsett, dwell time is the enemy and Deema is on a mission to help reduce it. Deema gives a great definition of dwell time which is basically any time that the trucker is waiting at the shipper to be unloaded. While there is usually a given window of time when an appointment is given for unloading, oftentimes a trucker will show up earlier than their appointment hoping to get unloaded but the shipper cannot handle it and the trucker ends up sitting and waiting. With Getsett the shipper will be able to know that the driver is ahead of schedule and alert them whether they can come or they should take care of something else in the meantime. Listen to the episode below and leave your scheduling frustrations in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 200: Getsett
EP 199: Ohmnilabs
On this episode, I was joined by Aaron Campbell of Ohmnilabs. Aaron is the Strategic Partnerships Lead at Ohmnilabs where they have developed some robotics products with their flagship being their teleconference robot. We discuss their offerings, how the idea developed and what the future of their robotics offering might be. Key Takeaways The main product for Ohmnilabs is their teleconferencing robot which is essentially a robot with a video screen and camera on top of it. Seems simple and maybe similar to just having a video conferencing setup in a conference room but where Ohmnilabs takes it to the next level is that the video conferencing becomes mobile and you can control it. The robot base is small but very nimble so that it can easily be navigated around an area with the video conferencing platform on top of it. You can see what the robot is seeing and your video will actually be displayed on the robot’s screen like you are the robot. I think this is really the next level because it gives you so much more flexibility in being able to really visualize something that is going on. When it comes to the supply chain it gives you an easy way to be in different buildings when needed without having to hop on a plane. A huge time savings and cost savings when you are looking at reducing the amount of travel needed. The Ohmnilabs robot is also a great tool for those teams that are remote and do not have a presence in certain buildings. For example, you may not have IT on-site and this gives them the ability to go check out something that is not working properly without having to go back and forth through emails asking what something looks like. The future of Ohmnilabs seems to be the autonomy of the robot. Currently, the robot needs to be controlled by the user but in the future, there is the opportunity for the robot to have scheduled paths. From my perspective, if this can be paired with some type of computer vision to detect when things are out of place you could essentially automate your GEMBA walks and your security rounds. Either way, I think this technology is getting us closer to having a better presence at all of our sites. Listen to the episode below and check out the demo I got with the robot in the video. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 199: Ohmnilabs