Topic: Warehouse and DC

Automatic data capture just got a new ally: the edge. The technology allows everything from scanners to voice systems to process data on the edge of where it is collected. The result is real-time decisions that deal with reality, not a plan that no longer applies.

Manufacturers, dealers and users of lift trucks are jointly navigating a brave new world of lift truck integration with broader systems and processes.

The combined forces of a strong economy, e-commerce growth and a tight labor market are making it more important for distribution center (DC) operations to find ways to make their existing infrastructure and people more productive. Software and automation continue to prove to be a vital part of the solution.

Here’s how the next generation of warehouse and inventory management systems are evolving to help logistics operations operate more efficiently and improve their bottom lines in our brave, new digital age.

Not only do ERP suppliers offer WMS solutions, they’re pushing the envelope for functions including e-commerce, advanced analytics, prebuilt IoT applications, and global visibility and collaboration hubs. Enterprise Resource Planning offer Warehouse Management Systems solutions.

Survey respondents indicate a desire to apply more IT solutions and keep up on capital expenditures as they confront complex issues like bigger facilities, labor issues, high SKU counts and the growing reality of omni-channel.

Automated data capture (ADC) products and solutions are established and proven, but they’re changing to help meet the pressures of today’s omni-channel fulfillment environment.

Capital expenditure plans for materials handling solutions are ebbing overall, but restrained spending on hardware is balanced by steady investment in the information solutions that tie equipment together.

Distribution centers are dealing with more inventory and more SKUs than ever, and the need to fill orders for multiple channels is making inventory management more important and more complex. Here’s a list of tips for the omni-channel era.

The federal government’s mandate to require electronic logging devices (ELDs) in all interstate commercial trucks by late 2017 is being hailed as a boon for safety as well as a potential gain in efficiency for fleets seeking to squeeze every hour of available workers in an increasingly tighter regulatory environment.

Seeking better efficiencies and workforce productivity, logistics organizations are slowly, but consistently embracing the idea of mobile technology within the four walls.

After major parcel carriers introduced new ground package rate structures nearly a year ago, the industry is still scrambling to identify and eliminate every cubic inch of waste.

Lift trucks used to be about brawn. The lift truck of the future will be about intelligence, automation, and software—and the future is closer than you think.

eBay Enterprise’s Kentucky distribution location was chosen for its proximity to both coasts, but also for its proximity to parcel shipping hubs beyond Louisville and Memphis. The e-tailer’s campus puts a premium on flexible processes and absolute speed to the customer for e-commerce fulfillment.

Having sprouted from mere lift truck maintenance, fleet management is now budding into a powerful and integral part of labor management.

As e-commerce demands continue to drive up the need for faster pick speeds, voice technology is infiltrating the warehouse and DC, helping operations gain efficiencies, improve order accuracy, and get products into their customers’ hands faster than ever.

Fleet costs don’t stop at the purchase price. Today, expanded collaboration between fleet managers, dealers, and finance partners is changing the way fleet costs are managed over time.

As automated data collection (ADC) technologies become affordable and ruggedized, a wider swath of logistics operations are turning to a range of equipment and software to gain efficiencies and meet the growing demands of their customers.

Our consulting team defines the key concepts of inventory management and elaborate on the decisions and cross-functional collaboration required to be more effective.

Though often characterized by feast or famine, this year’s view into warehouse and distribution spending plans instead strengthens a pattern of deliberate investment. Today, readers are determined to get the most out of every dollar spent.