Episode 76 – Military eyes in the Warehouse
Episode 76 – Military Eyes in the Warehouse In this episode, I reconnected with Don White, CEO at SnapFulfil and guest of Episode 71, post-MODEX to talk about a recent article he wrote regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The article is called “Seeing Your Warehouse Operations Through Military Eyes” and takes a look at how some of the things he learned during his time as a US Navy Supply Corps Officer can be applied to our current situation. Key Takeaways First, I want to thank Don for his service and also all of those who have served and are currently serving. As well as all the front line workers that have been supporting us through the current situation. Don served as a US Navy Supply Corps Officer which means he worked on the Navy’s supply chain to help monitor and administer it. Being that the supply chain has its roots in the military, the parallels that Don draws between the Navy and our current situation are great points to share. The first Navy statement that Don discusses is “Every sailor a firefighter.” I love this concept for warehouses because everyone should be ready to fill in when needed. Your operation should work as a whole no matter who is on-site. This is especially true during these times because of the large attendance issues that can be experienced whether you have unexpected workers testing positive or others taking leave to care for the family. You never want to be in a situation where one job cannot get done because there is only one person that knows how to do it and they called out sick. Always ensure your team is cross-trained on all functions. The second statement is “Fight the ship.” This idea centers around the idea of staying mission-focused. On your ship the mission of the ship is to fight so no matter what hardships you endure you must ensure that the ship can still fight and does so. Bringing this concept into the warehouse, you need to look at your mission which is to ship and you need to stay focused on that. Experiencing reduced labor, higher demand, and other factors need to be taken into consideration when looking at what critical tasks need to be done today and now. In most cases, shipping will be your critical task so you need to focus on putting all your resources towards that mission. Listen to the episode below and let us know in the comments how you are handling the COVID-19 situation in your warehouse. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 76: Military Eyes in the Warehouse
Episode 75 – Caster Connection at MODEX 2020
Episode 75 – Caster Connection at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I was joined by Eric Hassen the Director of Business Development for Caster Connection at MODEX 2020. Caster Connection is your source for everything casters. On their site, they have every type of caster that you can imagine and they also provide a lot of great knowledge and resources for choosing the right casters. Eric and I discuss Caster Connection’s business and the ergonomics of push/pull. Key Takeaways Like I mentioned above, Caster Connection is the source for all things caster, and Eric is the caster master. Eric says that he could talk about casters all day and I believe him! Going into this discussion I just knew that casters were wheels and coming out of it I really learned how much of a difference the right caster can make. The concept of ergonomic push/pull is where the caster comes into play the most. When we discuss this concept it is about the movement of the table, cart, or object that is using the caster. As a human move these objects around by pushing or pulling, the force can start to create serious strain, especially in the lower back. Choosing the right caster helps to reduce the amount of force by creating easier, smoother movements of the object. Why is the right caster so important? Well because of the long term financial impact of poor ergonomics and the reduced productivity of an uncomfortable employee. While the caster may seem like a small thing, it makes a big impact due to the reduction in strain and force required to move heavier objects. Eric gives a great explanation of how the right caster can make a big improvement and how the right choices are made. Listen to the episode below and take some time to reassess your caster situation. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 75: Caster Connection at MODEX 2020
Cover Story podcast Episode 74: National Forklift Safety Day
Episode 74 – National Forklift Safety Day In this episode, I was joined by Brian Feehan who is the president of the Industrial Truck Association (ITA). This episode is very special as it is the first in a partnership with Material Handling Wholesaler magazine. Brian discusses the Industrial Truck Association, forklift safety, and the upcoming National Forklift Safety Day. Material Handling Wholesaler Magazine Partnership As mentioned above, this episode is the very first in the partnership between The New Warehouse and MHW Magazine. The partnership will bring new and different content to each of our audiences. For each monthly cover story that MHW publishes, The New Warehouse will be providing a corresponding podcast focusing on the same topic. This episode is a component of the June issue which is the Annual Safety Issue. Its cover story is written by Brian Feehan, this episode’s guest, and talks about the upcoming National Forklift Safety Day which was founded by ITA. The Industrial Truck Association The Industrial Truck Association or ITA has been around for more than 60 years and is the leading organization for industrial truck manufacturers and suppliers of components, parts, and accessories. As you will hear in this episode, the Industrial Truck Association’s membership base is compromised of all of the major forklift manufacturers that you have most likely heard of. For these members, they provide statistical reporting, industry engineering practices, market development, networking, and most importantly, training. Safety is Top of Mind As we all know, powered industrial trucks like forklifts can be dangerous due to the nature of the work that they do. The Industrial Truck Association works closely with OSHA to be able to provide the latest safety practices and ensure that the industry is following these best practices. They also develop and distribute safety materials for the workplace. Brian and I talk to some extent about the importance of safety and as we mention in this episode safety should always be the number one priority in any workplace, especially one where powered industrial trucks are present. Due to the importance of creating awareness around this, the ITA started National Forklift Safety Day as a way to increase awareness around proper safety standards. National Forklift Safety Day National Forklift Safety Day has become a highlight of National Safety Month which is during the month of June. Happening on June 9th this year, it will be the 7th National Forklift Safety Day since it has begun. Typically held in person, due to the COVID-19 restrictions and for everyone’s safety, this year’s event will be held virtually and can be found on ITA’s website here. The focus of this event is to create awareness around forklift safety and it has had great success in doing that. Brian mentions the incredible increasing media reach that has come out of each annual event. Additionally, if you look at the number of forklift accidents each year it has come down about half of what it was 20 years ago while the number of forklifts purchased each year has steadily increased. The key to this is increased awareness and more rigorous training regulations. Even though the event will be virtual this year, it is sure to be packed with lots of great information from industry leaders discussing the very important topic of forklift safety. Watch the video below for more information. Episode 74 Be sure to listen to this episode featuring Brian Feehan below. Let us know in the comments what you are doing for National Forklift Safety Day at your facility. The New Warehouse Podcast MHW June 2020 Cover Story
Wholesaler podcast: Episode 73 – Inspekto at MODEX 2020
In this episode, I was joined by Harel Boren who is the CEO and Co-Founder of Inspekto. Inspekto uses machine learning to do quality checks and brings a plug and play setup to the industry. Harel and I spoke at MODEX 2020 via video chat while he was about 12,000 miles away due to COVID-19 regulations just beginning at that time. It was a great discussion and a really interesting product. Key Takeaways While machine vision has been utilized for inspections for a little bit, what has been missing is a plug and play application. That is where Inspekto comes into the industry. They provide an application that can easily be set up in your operation without the need for integrators or other assistance. Harel discusses how vision systems like this have typically been for projects involving integrators but Inspekto saw the gap in the market and has been able to change that notion with their solution, the S70. I was able to try out the system in their booth at MODEX and see just how effective their system works. The system was very simple and took up just a small footprint. When they explained how to set it up and how it arrives I was really amazed at how simple the setup was. In just 30-45 minutes you can be set up with the system and it only takes about 30 captures for the system to learn the item. The great thing about the system is the use of machine vision that continues to learn the items it is seeing. As it learns it quickly catches any defects in the item. It was incredibly interesting to see at the beginning of the show how they were setting up the systems and having it learn the demo items and then to see it recognize just a little bit later defects in the items that it had learned. Definitely a great system to help with increasing QA checks and address labor shortages. Listen to the episode below and also take a look at the video showing how the Inspekto S70 learns new items. The New Warehouse Podcast Inspekto at MODEX 2020
Episode 72 – Jeanette Barlow of IBM Sterling
Episode 72 – Jeanette Barlow of IBM Sterling In this episode, I am joined by Jeanette Barlow of IBM. Jeanette is the Vice President of Strategy & Offering Management for IBM’s Sterling team. We discuss the current state of the supply chain during the COVID-19 Pandemic and how IBM is helping its customers to create a smarter supply chain to get through the current situation and also reduce their vulnerabilities for the future. Key Takeaways IBM Sterling is a supply chain focused software suite that gives you end to end visibility utilizing real-time insights based on your different systems as well as AI that looks into different environmental factors that could impact your supply chain. Based on these datasets the Sterling platform is able to give you recommendations on how to avoid disruption in your supply chain and even identify opportunities to pivot to help identify growth opportunities during disruptions. With the current pandemic, we are seeing a lot of change in consumer behavior for all categories of the consumer due to the shutdowns and certain businesses not being open or having a limited supply. The model for obtaining goods is changing significantly as we see more orders online, more businesses doing curbside pickup and additional fulfillment models being utilized. Jeanette discusses how there is an opportunity for companies to utilize these different distribution models to more effectively manage their inventory. If there is increased visibility to where inventory is available then it can be fulfilled from those different channels. For example, a warehouse may be out of stock but a retail store may have some stock, in this case, the order should be able to be fulfilled from the retail store just like it would be from the warehouse. In the current situation, AI is becoming more appealing as it can give you the ability to prepare for situations like this. IBM Sterling looks at different factors that can help you be prepared. The reason that AI helps to improve your business and supply chain overall is that it can look at so many different data points so quickly that opportunities and risks can be realized at a much faster rate than if it were to be done by human data mining and analysis. Jeanette discusses how customers are increasing their demand and awareness of the need for AI in their supply chain now as well. While the pandemic is a very serious thing and the impact it has had globally on humanity and the population is a negative thing, there is an opportunity within this time for businesses. The opportunity is to take a look at how your business was impacted by the pandemic and see where the gaps were that allowed the impact to happen. As Jeanette mentions, it is an opportunity to look at how you can manage exceptions instead of exceptions managing you. Take a listen to the episode below. Please remain safe during these crazy times and leave a comment below on what your experience has been. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 72: Jeanette Barlow of IBM Sterling
Episode 57 – Live from SEE Conference
Episode 53 – SEE Conference & Mavpak In this week’s episode I was able to connect with Laura Hayes and former guest Lora Steele to discuss the upcoming SEE Conference. You may remember Lora Steele from Episode 29 where we discussed all the great things that are happening for the logistics world in the Hendricks County area of Indiana. Now she is organizing the SEE Conference which is happening next week! Laura Hayes is the Director of MAVPAK Leadership at MAVPAK and will also be a speaker at the conference. Laura Hayes of MAVPAK Laura discusses how MAVPAK came to be and the different types of products and services they offer. They are primarily a packaging supply company but over time they had customers starting to ask them about their leadership and culture. Their mission is to serve and from that, they developed a training arm of their business which Laura leads. The training is all about leadership and developing a culture that continues to grow leaders. Key Takeaways Building trust with your team is key to having a solid team that can communicate and works well together. Part of this is understanding your teammates and learning how to communicate with them. Learning to understand your teammate is all about understanding how their personality works. Through the training with Laura, employees’ personality types are identified so others can understand why they behave in a certain way and also understand how to effectively interact with that person. Being able to understand how to communicate with your team is key to building trust but also a key to being successful as a team. Ask intentional questions to employees. Ask what was your best day of work in the last 3 months or what was your worst day in the last 3 months? This can tell you a lot of things about that employee. Laura’s classes are over the course of 6 months which makes them much more effective because there is more reinforcement and accountability. This is a big contrast to a lot of the one day or two-day training that often does not stick. She also uses peer pressure to help influence those that might be resistant to the concepts to participate and eventually embrace the concepts. Overall, the growth of not only the leaders being trained but the employees that work under those leaders helps to build a culture that will truly make a difference in your operation. Pallet Games MAVPAK is also the brains behind the Pallet Games which Hendricks County Economic Development and others have partnered with her to host the last few years in Central Indiana. It brings teams from local logistics companies together to compete against each other. They compete on games that are centered around all the activities we do within the warehouse. Think racing through obstacle courses with pallet jacks. This is a really great team-building event they put together and has gotten very big with over 60 teams competing this year. I love the way the logistics community has been built up in this area and think it is a great example of how you can enrich your area as well. SEE Conference The SEE Conference is being hosted by the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership and is going to be a supply chain focused event bringing the Hendricks Count community together as well as others from across the country (I will be there myself on Friday). It is two days on March 12th and 13th in Plainfield, Indiana. SEE stands for Supply chain education & exposure which is incredibly important in our rapidly growing industry. For the education portion, there will be multiple speakers from across the industry representing companies like Hyster Yale, FedEx and Bastian Solutions as well as academics from Butler University and Purdue. For the exposure portion of the conference, they will be having multiple companies exhibiting their solutions, and probably the most exciting thing is that they will have a robotics playground. The robotics playground will be a chance for attendees to be up close and personal with some robotic solutions. Really looking forward to the first SEE Conference and cannot wait to see how it grows over the next few years. If you can make it to the conference I would highly recommend it. Listen to the episode below and leave a comment on a creative way that you engage with your employees. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 53: SEE Conference & Mavpak
Episode 58 – Raymond at MODEX 2020
Episode 58 – Raymond at MODEX 2020 The first in our series of interviews from this year’s MODEX, I am joined by Jack Kaumo of The Raymond Corporation. Jack is the Director of iWAREHOUSE Technology Solutions, Telematics, LMS, Automation, and Virtual Reality. Basically, he is the expert in all things technology that Raymond offers. We discuss The Raymond Corporation’s concept of optimizing before automating, which we first discussed in Episode 32 with CEO Michael Field, and how they have laid out these concepts in their MODEX booth. The discussion goes from virtual reality training to their iWAREHOUSE platform and then covering their automated products. Virtual Reality Definitely one of the coolest things at MODEX and one of the coolest things out there in our industry right now is Raymond’s virtual reality training platform. This platform allows companies to safely train and assess forklift operators without risks to people, property, or equipment. The virtual reality platform is incredibly realistic making the operator feel like they are actually operating the equipment. Myself and my intern Eric got a chance to try the virtual reality platform at the Raymond booth and we were both really impressed with how well it is put together and just how realistic it is. With comprehensive training courses, the platform allows for a very thorough training with grading that allows you to understand at what level the operator is and where they need to improve. If you get a chance to work with this platform or a chance for a demo I highly recommend it. You can see a video of the platform below. Connect The Raymond booth was set up displaying the optimize before automating in order of optimizing, connect, and then automate. The connect phase is through their multiple data connection points which include the iWAREHOUSE suite. Once you have begun to optimize, you then start to introduce these different technology points that allow you to gather important data regarding the use of your equipment. All of this collection is done through the iWAREHOUSE platform and ranges from equipment usage to safety checklist failures. With this data you can optimize your fleet by seeing what is not used as often and potentially swap those machines for machines that will be used more frequently. It also can allow for gaps in training with operators that may be failing checklists or that may have safety issues with impacts registering on their machines. Semi-automated On the path to automation, Raymond provides semi-automated solutions as well. Jack discusses their wire guidance that has a zoning and positioning component to it. Wire guidance allows for the forklift to be locked in so that the operator can only control the forward and backward direction of the machine with no ability to turn the machine. This allows the operator to be safer as they are traveling through the aisles and keeps them from potentially turning into the racking. With the zoning and positioning component, wire guidance is taken a step further. This will actually communicate with your WMS to determine where the next location is and take the operator to that next location through the fastest and most efficient route. It is essentially autopilot for your forklift and creates an incredibly safe environment where the concern of an operator making a miscalculated turn or maneuver is greatly reduced. Time to Automate! Once Raymond has helped you to optimize as much as possible then you are ready to explore their automation solutions. Raymond has been developing its automated offerings and has made great strides. Recently, they were recognized as a finalist for the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year award for their 3030 Stacker which uses an industry-first Seegrid vision system. What is remarkable about this vision system is that it does not require any alteration to your infrastructure. As you hear Jack say in our discussion, this truck can be up and running with an assigned task in just one day. Really innovative and a big step in the right direction for implementing automation solutions. Listen to our discussion below and let us know what you think in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 58: Raymond at MODEX 2020
Episode 59 – Barcoding at MODEX 2020
Episode 59 – Barcoding at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I am joined by Peter Zalinski of Barcoding, Inc in The New Warehouse booth at MODEX 2020. Peter is the Supply Chain Architect at Barcoding and we discussed barcodes (of course!) and also everything that Barcoding can help you with to enable your operation to be more efficient, accurate, and connected. Key Takeaways A third of businesses are still not using barcodes to help track their product. Peter discusses how to start implementing them and what benefits you can see from using them. Start using barcodes! Standardization utilizing GS1 Standards is key in allowing the supply chain to have full traceability from end to end. This means that from supplier to customer the product can be traced utilizing different traceability technologies dependent on your product. The most simple being a barcode but other more advanced options are available for higher cost items and items that have stricter regulations like pharmaceuticals. Keeping your WMS upgraded or implementing a warehouse/manufacturing execution system (WES/MES) will ensure that you can continue to keep using the latest standards. Peter points out that many operations are using an older version of a WMS that cannot fully handle certain barcodes that can tell you much more as well as other technologies that can help you increase the efficiency of your operation. Peter says the best approach to improve is to start from the inbound and outbound sides of your operation to start to create efficiency through using barcodes and scanning. This helps to start creating efficiency gains as the product is coming into the building and then also helps to increase traceability as well as quality control checks when the product is leaving the building. From there, you can start to create efficiency in between by implementing scanning into additional processes like cycle counting. Episode and Video! Excited to bring you the first video podcast from The New Warehouse as well. We will be posting videos for most of our MODEX 2020 interviews and would love to hear your feedback on them. Be sure to check us out on YouTube and of course, you can listen to the audio episode below as well. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 59: Barcoding at MODEX 2020 In this episode, host Kevin Lawton is joined by Peter Zalinksi of Barcoding, Inc. in The New Warehouse MODEX 2020 studio. They discuss barcodes, GS1 standards and overall operational efficiency improvements.
Episode 60 – InVia Robotics at MODEX 2020
Episode 60 – InVia Robotics at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I am joined by Lior Elazary of InVia Robotics at MODEX 2020. Lior is the CEO and Co-founder of InVia and is a serial entrepreneur developing multiple startups over his career which he mentions at the beginning of the episode. He discusses how the robotics landscape is changing, the journey to start InVia, and how the InVia system works. Key Takeaways InVia Robotics gets its roots from the DARPA Robotics Challenge which challenges researchers to develop a robotic solution to do a series of tasks. From doing this, Lior and his co-founders focused their ideas on creating a robotic solution for the home. The most interesting part of their journey is how they were abusing Amazon by constantly ordering parts during development including sheets of aluminum and started to wonder how Amazon was able to keep sending them these things and get it to them so quickly. Lior explains how this was the moment they decided to pivot to creating a robotic solution for distribution. At the beginning of the episode, Lior gives some interesting insights into how the landscape of robotics has changed. We are moving from the idea of designing warehouses for robots to being able to bring robots into existing facilities with more ease. He also comments on how accessibility has increased for robotics. I am seeing this to be very true as well as innovation increases and as more companies adopt robotics due to the issue of labor shortages. The InVia Robotics solution is a very flexible solution being able to carry out multiple tasks. It is able to handle picking, replenishment, and cycle counting. This is very interesting because it allows you to use the same solution throughout the course of the day and take advantage of an opportunity time to replenish your bins and also check inventory counts. Lior also discusses how they recently developed a new workflow that allows the InVia Robot to fill a put wall for pickers to pick from. This new workflow allows for 400-500 lines to be picker per hour which is really incredible. Coming from an inventory control background, I am most intrigued by the automation of the cycle counting process by InVia. In our discussion, Lior talks about how the robot can do cycle counting through weight. This is really a step forward for automating the cycle count process and it goes a step further by being smart enough to follow up on checking the locations that had an activity that day. As you hear us discuss, inventory mistakes were one of the biggest pain points InVia was hearing from people they talked to in the industry when developing their solution. I could not agree more as an inventory issue can have a large negative ripple effect on all other tasks and ultimately your customer. I am happy that they tackled this issue with their solution. See how the system works in the below video and listen to the episode as well as view the video from MODEX 2020 below. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 60: InVia Robotics at MODEX 2020
Episode 61 – GreyOrange at MODEX 2020
In this episode I am joined by Samay Kohli of GreyOrange. Samay is the CEO & Co-Founder of GreyOrange and discusses the solutions they offer which include their GreyMatter software, Ranger line of robots, and new Command Center. One of the biggest themes throughout this discussion is how AI can help to adjust to our ever-changing environment. Key Takeaways GreyOrange focuses on combining piece picking with case picking for their robotics solutions. The majority of their customers, as Samay mentions, have an omnichannel fulfillment model. For GreyOrange, the big differentiator is their AI-driven software platform called GreyMatter. Samay explains the importance of having strong software to go along with their Ranger line of robots. When both the software and the hardware come together it helps for the whole operation to interact properly. GreyMatter allows for the robots to now interact with each other, the other systems in the warehouse, and everything that is changing within the environment. Samay makes very good points about how change is inevitable within your business and the supply chain environment overall. Predicting these changes is not done easily but what is important is being able to make the right decision when the change happens. GreyMatter allows for the right decisions to be made so that all systems and hardware can be optimized to handle whatever change or disruption is occurring. With capabilities to make 2 – 2.5 million decisions every second, GreyMatter is a truly robust system. Command Center was recently debuted at MODEX 2020 and is GreyOrange’s set of dashboards that allows users to view what is going on in their operation. The unique feature of the Command Center is that it utilizes AI to call out what things you should be looking at. Instead of displaying a ton of information in front of you, that can be distracting or confusing, it will call out what you should be looking at. The example that Samay gives is where a barcode is not working and GreyMatter is tracking how many times that issue is happening which is then called out on Command Center so it is something that can be addressed. Listen to this episode and view my interview with Samay at MODEX 2020 below. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 61: GreyOrange at MODEX 2020 In this episode, host Kevin Lawton talks to CEO & Co-founder of GreyOrange, Samay Kohli about GreyOrange’s solutions. They discuss GreyMatter, Ranger robots, and their new Command Center.
Episode 62 – Quadient at MODEX 2020
Episode 62 – Quadient at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I am joined by Bas van Steenoven of Quadient. Bas is the Global Director of Marketing for Quadient and stopped by The New Warehouse booth at MODEX 2020 to discuss their solutions, how they help to improve efficiency, reduce costs and also help to make the supply chain more sustainable. Key Takeaways Quadient (formerly Neopost) operates in a wide range of different solutions all with the focus on allowing its customers to create a stronger connection with their customers. They do this through a few different approaches but what my discussion with Bas was focused on was their automated packaging solutions which help to improve efficiency and reduce costs for your operation. They have two different automated packaging solutions in the CVP Everest and CVP Impack. The CVP Everest is focused on high-velocity output with the capability to package 1,100 packages per hour. The CVP Impack is also focused on having high output volume but also customization of your packaging to create a better customer experience. Automated packaging is a huge efficiency improvement and costs savings because it takes the guesswork out of what packages to use for each order. The system will make packaging to fit the order specifically so there is no void where space is waste and essentially money wasted on void fill or extra corrugate. Additionally, the big savings is on reduction in labor costs because the machine is doing the packaging and there is less labor allocated to your packaging process. As you can imagine, these are huge savings and Bas discusses just how big the impact can be in this episode. Bas also discusses how their system can help to tackle the optimization of dim weight charges when it comes to shipping parcel through FedEx, UPS, or others. It can communicate with shipping software to tell what the calculated dim weight is at the time of packaging so that further down the line the best option for the lowest cost shipping will be selected. One of the other important points that we discuss in this episode is the important environmental factor that automated packaging helps to address. With these solutions, less waste is created because less material is used. Also, less void fill is used, which oftentimes is not so environmentally friendly. I believe this is a big deal because as we look at the future of our industry technology is important but so is being environmentally and socially responsible. Check out Quadient’s automated packaging solutions in action below. Episode and Video Interview The New Warehouse Podcast EP 62: Quadient at MODEX 2020
Episode 63 – ProShip at MODEX 2020
Episode 63 – ProShip at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I am joined by Justin Cramer of ProShip at MODEX 2020. Justin is the co-founder of ProShip and currently heads up their sales engineering department. ProShip is an automated multi-carrier shipping software that helps you to stay carrier compliant, ship faster, and optimize costs. We discuss what ProShip is, how it works, the benefits, and also how ProShip was founded. Key Takeaways ProShip multi-carrier shipping software comes into play after your WMS and will select the proper mode of transport based on classification of items, compliance with carriers, and also based on the best cost. This allows your operation to run more efficiently because there is no stop to make a decision for this. The software makes the decision for you and not only decides how to ship it but also helps to optimize on cost so that you get the best rate for the service needed. This is big as many different shipping options can have many different varying rates. Streamlining this can really help you to save on cost especially if you are shipping high volumes. Justin also explains to us the ability of their software to stay up to date with current shipping restrictions or rules to keep you from being penalized by carriers. Since the software is automated, it will automatically start to shift shipments for these cases. This is a big win for large shippers who can easily get close to certain carriers’ quotas. On the omnichannel fulfillment side, ProShip recognizes that many companies are now recognizing there are multiple channels to fulfill their orders from including their retail stores. Working with the different systems that are in your stack, ProShip is able to recognize where the opportunity to ship is and can shift based on where orders are at and also what is the best option to get the order out. What I like best about what Justin discusses here is that he says the system does not need to have a call out to the user because it is delivering the right answer or in this case the right label to you. Not having to look for a call out and take action yourself is a huge time saver and something that cannot get lost in the shuffle. When it comes to service levels, Justin explains how they can help improve on this as well. Automatically optimizing the best mode to ship allows for the best service level possible on each order. In the episode, you will hear Justin discuss a very impressive example of how they were able to help Kohl’s reduce their overall service level by half a day. If you think about the scale of orders and shipments that Kohl’s does that is a huge gain. For additional industry news, the ProShip blogs also update very frequently and can be found here. Check out the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 63: ProShip at MODEX 2020
Episode 64 -PERC at MODEX 2020
Episode 64 -PERC at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I am joined by Jeremy Wishart who represents The Propane Education & Research Council also known as PERC for short. Jeremy is the Director of Off-Road Business Development for PERC which means that he works with all propane-powered vehicles that do not go on the road so in our case, forklifts. We discuss what PERC does, how they are working towards emission reductions, safety with propane, and the viability of propane as a fuel option. Key Takeaways The Propane Education & Research Council deals with everything propane. They invest in technology surrounding propane to help the use of this fuel to progress in the industry, provide education on propane, and also provide safety guidelines for those using propane. With about 500,000 forklifts in the industry currently being powered by propane, it is important to advance the technology and continue to create awareness. Some of the technology that PERC was demonstrating at MODEX was a company that is providing a solution that lowers emissions which is a big step in creating better indoor air quality. They are also looking into hybrid drive technology where the propane will generate power to recharge batteries reducing the need for plugging in a machine. Safety is a big part of what PERC provides to the market. Jeremy discusses how safe propane tanks are with strong walls that keep from being punctured. Additionally, the ease of swapping propane cylinders creates additional safety measures as it does not need to be refueled by the operator and is an easy swap. PERC continues to work towards creating awareness of propane and helps to continue the growth of the propane usage in our industry. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 64: PERC at MODEX 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=lZB4Y8pzpwo&feature=emb_logo
Episode 65 – Pallet Alliance at MODEX 2020
Episode 65 – Pallet Alliance at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I was joined by Tyson Steffens of The Pallet Alliance at MODEX 2020. Tyson is the Principal at The Pallet Alliance and talks to me about the necessity of warehousing, pallets! We discuss what pallet alliance does including audits, sourcing, and their smart IoT enabled pallet, the IntelliPallet. Key Takeaways The Pallet Alliance provides a tailored pallet program for your company. They go very in-depth in auditing your current pallet usage to determine the best way for your pallet program to operate. This includes looking at the actual pallets you are using and how you are using them, how they are being sourced, and how they are being retained and retrieved if needed. Through their audit, they are able to determine if there are custom pallets that would better suit your needs and help to improve your process. Their vast network of pallet suppliers allows them to design and create any pallet that could help to better your operation. This helps to make sure that your product is stored in the best possible way, prevents damage to the product if a standard pallet is not large enough for your product, and helps to ensure it is shipped properly with the exact footprint needed. One of the great things about The Pallet Alliance is that they become your point of contact for pallets. Often times operations will have a few suppliers for pallets and they need to remain in touch with them just in case the other one cannot deliver or supply enough on time. Having The Pallet Alliance as your one point of contact allows you to not worry about sourcing your pallets as they can tap into their extensive network and get you what you need when you need it. Basically, you get The Pallet Alliance to run your pallet program and you never really have to worry about pallets again. Their biggest innovation is the IntelliPallet which is an IoT (Internet of Things) enabled smart pallet. Yes, this is a regular wooden pallet that is now connected to your network! To me, this is really a huge innovation because it has so many different possibilities of how it can be used. When connected you now have the ability to track the pallet and essentially track anything that is on it. It also allows for the ability to track things like extreme movement for possible damage, humidity, and temperature. From an inventory control and loss prevention perspective, you can also figure out where that pallet is in your facility or outside of your facility depending on what type of tagging you have. The other important aspect is that if you invest in custom pallets and need to retrieve them or bring them back to your facility you can now track where these assets are located. IntelliPallet is really amazing technology and I am excited to see how it grows. Watch and listen to the episode below. Let us know in the comments what your pallet program currently looks like. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 65: The Pallet Alliance at MODEX 2020
Episode 66 – Taylor-Dunn at MODEX 2020
Episode 66 – Taylor-Dunn at MODEX 2020 In this episode I am joined by Aaron Stegemann who is the Director of Commercial Sales at Polaris Industries. We discuss the Taylor-Dunn side of the Polaris business and their new tow tractor the TT-416. Key Takeaways Polaris has been a big name in the off-road vehicle industry for many years. Originally founded when they created snowmobiles to get through the snow in Minnesota. They acquired Taylor-Dunn which allowed them to have a product offering for the commercial industrial space. As Aaron says, Polaris focuses on moving people. The big highlight of MODEX 2020 for Taylor-Dunn was the debut of the TT-416 which is their latest tow tractor model. What I like the most about the innovation in this model is that they worked closely with some of their customers to really understand what their pain points were and what issues they had been dealing with when it came to their existing tow tractors. One of the big issues addressed by the TT-416 is the comfort level of the operator. In tackling this issue they set out to deliver the most ergonomic tow tractor in its class. This was accomplished by enlarging the operator compartment for added comfort and adding both front and rear suspension for a more comfortable ride. Addressing the comfort level of the operator allows for better productivity and efficiency as fatigue and strain are less likely to occur in a more comfortable work setting. What I like best about this is how they listened to their customers and delivered on what they were saying. As you will hear Aaron says the early reactions to the new model were disbelief in how comfortable it actually is. This is very important to keep your employees going and keeping productivity high. Listen to and watch the discussion below to hear more. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 66: Taylor-Dunn at MODEX 2020
Episode 67 – Six15 Technologies at MODEX 2020
Episode 67 – Six15 Technologies at MODEX 2020 In this episode I was joined by Rich Ryan who is the CEO of Six15 Technologies. You may be familiar with the HD4000 heads up display from Zebra Technologies from previous episodes of the podcast (Episode 40) where we discussed the HD4000 and Fulfillment Edge, Six15 is the creator behind the heads up display technology. Rich and I discuss the background of Six15, how the partnership came about with Zebra, and the future of using their heads up display technology. Key Takeaways Similar to logistics, Six15 Technologies has its roots in military applications. They began to develop their HUD technology for the defense sector and as they looked to address some pain points of the most demanding environments they realized that the technology would apply well to the warehousing environment. When looking at applications for their technology, they were able to recognize how the HUD could increase productivity, reduce safety incidents, and give workers an overall improvement to their comfort level when picking. As I have previously mentioned about this technology, allowing the picker to be truly hands-free is a huge advantage to the improvement of workflow and allows the worker to be more focused on their task without having to pick up a device to verify the information. Bringing their ST1 Head-Up Display hardware to the Zebra HD4000 is what allows Zebra to deliver such a fine-tuned, truly hands-free picking device. As Rich discusses in the episode, Zebra’s Fulfillment Edge platform allows for the HUD hardware to be fully optimized for the picking environment. Fulfillment Edge streamlines what the operator sees in the HUD optical while the ST1 projects the information clearly in the operator’s view and senses the operator’s movements. Rich also talks about the future of the technology which is already partly built into the device. There is a head tracker, microphone, and camera already built into the HD4000 which can allow the device to give you a true augmented reality experience through the optical. One of the really interesting applications that Rich discusses is how the device can be paired with a Zoom or GoToMeeting so that those on the other end of the conference line are able to view what the operator is seeing and pictures are able to be captured and sent back to other remotely. This is a great application for remote training or even remote guidance for technicians or other types of maintenance roles. Listen and watch the episode below. Let us know in the comments what you think about the future of this HUD technology. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 67: Six15 Technologies At MODEX 2020
Episode 68 – MHS at MODEX 2020
Episode 68 – MHS at MODEX 2020 In this episode I was joined by Dean Terrell of Material Handling Systems, Inc. (MHS). Dean is the Senior Vice President of Development at MHS working on their research and development. You may remember MHS from previous episodes like Episode 31 but over the course of the last year, MHS has grown in many ways. I speak to Dean about what is in development for MHS and also how they have grown over the year. Key Takeaways MHS has an extensive portfolio of offerings that is in line with its mission to be the most trusted and reliable global partner in intralogistics. They cover parcel, distribution, fulfillment, and eCommerce. As mentioned above, they have been growing pretty rapidly and their booth at MODEX is certainly a testament to that. You can see a video of their light installation below but overall it was one of the coolest booths at MODEX, in my opinion. Right now, Dean tells us that one of their big focuses from a research and development perspective is around robotics. Specifically looking at the tasks that are in between the big processes that we initially think of when it comes to our process flows like picking. The robotics they are now looking into is for those tasks that get the product to where it needs to be picked from. As Dean mentions, a lot of these in-between tasks are still very manual. I agree and think that the industry as a whole needs to start focusing on automating more of these in-between tasks especially as automation picks up in other tasks and potential bottlenecks might occur on the manual side. Dean also talks to us about one of the biggest pain points their customers are experiencing which is a shortage of labor. As we know in the current state unemployment has jumped up significantly but at the time of MODEX unemployment was incredibly low. Due to the low levels of unemployment, the ability to get enough workers to keep up with fulfillment demand is quite difficult. Coming out of the pandemic I believe it will still be a similar case. As Dean discusses, automation is getting higher demand due to this issue and the need to be able to complete all of these tasks with limited labor. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 68: MHS at MODEX 2020
Episode 69 – Hyster From MODEX 2020
Episode 69 – Hyster From MODEX 2020 In this episode, I was joined by Steven LaFevers who is the Vice President of Emerging Technology at the Hyster-Yale Group. While this interview was conducted at MODEX 2020, Steven was unable to make it due to the recent Coronavirus issues so we connected by phone while I was in our booth at the show. We discuss Hyster and its emerging technology department including power options and telemetry. Key Takeaways Hyster has been around for many years and thus has seen many innovations in the lift truck space over the years. Now, they have created the Emerging Technology department which Steven heads up to look into what is next for lift trucks and create solutions based on those. Some of the current technologies they are focusing on are different power options, robotics and telemetry. Steven discusses how Hyster has changed dramatically over the 20 years that he has been there. It has moved from a manufacturing and parts operation to a company now looking at these emerging technologies and what is next. As operations became leaner over the years their needs and requests for lift truck options have evolved. Noted by Steven in the interview, demand for lift trucks as a service and all in one KPI’s were a big driver for this. Motive power has been a big emerging technology over the last decade with multiple options developing including fuel cells. Steven discusses how the importance of the right battery has driven some customers to even spend more money on a battery than the truck itself. With the importance of keeping trucks going for a full shift, operations are looking to have longer battery life and flexibility for their fleet. He gives a great example wherein our personal lives, we do not plan our day around getting gas but a warehouse associate will plan their day around when they can get a charge or getting a machine that operates better than the others because of the battery life. Hyster’s telemetry setup allows for more visibility into your fleet. This solution can give you more visibility into battery life and safety measures like impact alerts and checklist notifications. Having more visibility into your fleet gives you even more data points to allow you to improve your processes and operation as a whole. Listen to the episode below and let us know in the comments if you’re currently using a Hyster truck. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 69: Hyster From MODEX 2020
EP 70: Right Hand Robotics at MODEX 2020
Episode 70 – Right Hand Robotics at MODEX 2020 In this episode, I was joined by Vince Martinelli who is the Head of Product & Marketing at Right Hand Robotics. Right Hand Robotics is focused on doing physical piece picking with a robotic arm for e-commerce fulfillment. You may remember Right Hand Robotics from one of last year’s ProMat Episodes. Vince and I discuss the origins of RHR, how their technology works, and also some partnerships they are involved in. Key Takeaways Right Hand Robotics like many current robotics companies in our industry has its origins from the DARPA competition which led their founders to create unique robotic arm gripper technology. When the competition was over they were left to figure out what to do with their gripper technology and were guided towards material handling. Now, Right Hand Robotics is focused on e-commerce fulfillment specifically doing piece picking. One of the interesting things that set Right Hand Robotics apart from other robotics companies in our space is that they are focusing on actually doing the pick of the individual piece. Most other robotics companies are using some type of shuttle robot to get the product from one area to another but it would still require the human to pick the individual pieces. RHR has done quite well with its technology and even won an award best innovation at last year’s ProMat for its RightPick2 solution. What they have been able to accomplish is pretty remarkable when you think about the complexity of picking up items of varying sizes, shapes, and materials. To get the gripper to be able to recognize the product and then handle it in the correct way is something that they are doing very well already and continuously improving upon. Vince discusses how their entrance into Japan and Japan’s higher quality standards helped to get RHR to figure out how to adjust things with the gripper to ensure there was no type of damage caused during picking. Partnerships and collaborations were a huge theme of MODEX with many different companies showing off partnerships and announcing them. In our discussion, Vince tells us about some of the collaborations and partnerships Right Hand Robotics is involved in. We specifically discuss the partnership with Manhattan Associates and how it is allowing for robotics solutions to better integrate with WMS or other systems. This communication between systems and solutions is incredibly important in our industry as we move towards increased automation and robotics. It allows for easy integration and easier implementation of new solutions. Listen and watch the episode below for more information. EP 70: Right Hand Robotics at MODEX 2020
Episode 71 – SnapFulfil at MODEX 2020
In this episode, I am joined by Don White who is the CEO of SnapFulfil. SnapFulfil is a cloud-based WMS provider that allows a lot of flexibility for operations that need a top tier WMS but also need a budget-friendly and quick implementation option. Don and I discuss SnapFulfil’s WMS, how it works, and their new SnapCart. Key Takeaways SnapFulfil is a software as a service (SaaS) product which makes the adoption of the system and implementation very easy. Don mentions that due to the way the software is built it is more configuration than custom coding so even the most complex customers can get up and running in under 80 days. When it comes to customer requests, Don tells us what they see from SnapFulfil’s customers is that they all have a unique situation. Even though warehousing is a standardized overall process throughout the industry, there is a lot of variabilities depending on the products you distribute and the customers you serve and SnapFulfil has taken all of this into consideration in order to make the most robust WMS possible so it can adapt to all these different needs. As mentioned in previous MODEX posts, partnerships are playing such a huge role in pushing our industry forward. SnapFulfil has partnered with Jitterbit which is a SaaS integrator that allows SnapFulfil’s WMS to better communicate with other systems and integrate with them more easily. This helps to increase the implementation time even more. Don also talks to us about their new innovation which is the SnapCart. The SnapCart is a new robotic picking cart that can hold up to 48 totes. Much like the cost differentiator on their WMS, the SnapCart costs 1/3 of some other robotic solutions. The cart utilizes pick to light technology to help pickers determine which tote their pick should be placed in. With the cart moving from picker to picker it creates higher efficiency in the warehouse and reduces fatigue on the pickers because of less walking time. At the time of MODEX, the SnapCart was just starting to be publicly displayed so stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. Listen to and watch the episode below. Let us know in the comments what some of your biggest pain points with your WMS are. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 71: SnapFulfil at MODEX 2020