ProMat 2015:  We’ve got it covered

Considering that MHI is expecting more than 35,000 warehouse, distribution and logistics professionals at ProMat 2015 in Chicago this month, there’s a good chance that you’re reading this column while taking a break from walking the show floor—which just so happens to be the largest in the trade show’s 30-year history.

In fact, we’d be remiss if we didn’t congratulate the team at MHI, the material handling industry’s trade group and sponsor of ProMat, on booking more than 800 exhibitors that are being showcased throughout the 325,000-square-foot show floor.

According to MHI, this marks an increase from the 300,000 square feet of exhibits booked at ProMat 2013, further validating the heightened role materials handling equipment, automation and software are playing in keeping the U.S. economic engine purring.

If you are taking a break from the floor, I would suggest turning to page 20 where the Modern editorial team has collected more than 110 of the most innovative products being exhibited this year. This special Show Preview section is designed to help cut through the volume of offerings and help highlight those solutions best suited to improve productivity in your operations.

And if you’re looking for even deeper coverage of what’s happening at the event, make sure to pick up your copy of the official “ProMat 2015 Show Daily” that’s produced in print and online by Modern’s editorial staff on site. This year we have seven editors covering more than 50 vendor booth presentations and press conferences as well as all the keynotes in an effort to give readers the latest on new product introductions as well as the general industry buzz.

While much of the discussion on the floor this year will be centered around the strategy and automation necessary for meeting today’s omni-channel fulfillment challenges, the topic of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) is moving center stage as more companies are basing their operational foundations on these automated solutions.

In fact, MRO is emerging as a critical new best practice, one that’s becoming every bit as important as the technology chosen for a system. “MRO is also becoming an area of competitive differentiation among leading automation providers, who are now touting the depth of their technical bench, their ability to monitor a system 24/7, and their expertise at service parts management,” says executive editor Bob Trebilcock.

Realizing the increased importance of uptime and the need for the skilled technicians to make that possible, Modern has developed a special supplemental issue titled “Materials Handling MRO and the Future of the Technical Workforce” that’s being launched at this year’s ProMat.

This special 28-page edition, which you’ll see in the publication bins at the show, neatly defines the role MRO best practices are now playing, shares how users and vendors are working in cooperation to develop the technical workforce, and reveals new research from Peerless Research Group (PRG) that shows where Modern readers stand in terms of implementing MRO practices.

Not only do we have every square foot of ProMat 2015 covered, but our special MRO edition has the leading emerging issue of the next few years well defined for you. As we have done for the past 70 years, Modern is keeping readers one step ahead.