根据调查结果我们的仓库和说tribution Center (DC) Operations Survey over the last four years, it’s been tough going for logistics professionals looking to expand on their capabilities inside the four walls. In an economy that’s been slow to recover, reducing operating and transportation costs has continued to be the top priority—with little or no capital to spend. This year’s survey results are only slightly more encouraging. Fifty-two percent of responding companies are planning to spend $250,000 or more for equipment and technology to improve their warehouse and DC operations—just a few points over last year’s 48…
寻找有效的供应链领导人challenge. Above and beyond smarts and great people skills, today’s professionals need to be innovative, collaborative, influential, metrics-driven, tech-savvy, fair, and inspiring. They must possess a true understanding of the supply chain as a collection of interdependent functions—not as silos of operations—that must work together to ultimately give the company a competitive advantage. It’s a challenge that’s taken very seriously by global medical technology leader Becton Dickinson and Company (BD) and its supply chain organization. Ranked third by analyst firm Gartner in its annual Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for two years in…
As the world’s largest office supply company, Staples is committed to providing all types of businesses with every office product they need to succeed. It also strives to ensure that the entire process of ordering and acquiring these products be as quick, effortless, and hassle-free as possible. It’s even their company tagline: “That was easy.” With $24 billion in sales, this customer-centric strategy is clearly working. Staples is the second largest retailer on the Internet, shipping millions of cartons annually to consumers and businesses throughout North America. It accomplishes this by leveraging a highly responsive supply chain and distribution system…
You walk in to your favorite retail store and spot an item you’d like to purchase. A new app on your smart phone lets you “scan” the UPC barcode, which automatically opens up a search engine that finds the same item for less. A few finger slides and clicks on your phone and the wheels are set in motion for you to receive that item the very next day—and you didn’t even have to wait in line at the register. Welcome to the new world of retail where mobile technology, wireless networks, and e-commerce have added a whole new dimension…
From keyless ignitions to moisture-sensing diapers, RFID technology continues to permeate everyday living. In today’s supply chains, the technology relies on readers and passive UHF tags to automatically and wirelessly capture and leverage electronic product codes (EPC) encoded with product information and serialization. Unlike a bar code, these tags do not need to be within line of sight of the reader, resulting in increased operational efficiencies. Unloading an inbound container, for instance, which may take about two and a half hours to individually scan, sort, and count cartons, may now take less than half an hour with RFID-tagged cartons. Despite…
Japan-based ASICS Corporation—an acronym from the Latin phrase, Anima Sana In Corpore Sano (“a sound mind in a sound body”)—employs the latest in scientific research for the sole purpose of staying ahead of the curve when manufacturing the most advanced athletic products in the world. Since being introduced to the U.S. in 1977, the manufacturer has gained tremendous ground as the go-to footwear in this country’s burgeoning population of running aficionados. Today, its American subsidiary, ASICS America Corporation, distributes athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories to a vast array of customers—including major sporting goods stores, department stores, family footwear retailers, and…
Incorporating sustainability initiatives into warehouse and distribution center (DC) design is proving to be a win-win proposition. It mitigates harmful effects to the environment, encourages worker safety and comfort, while winning the respect of your customers and community. But from a more critical business perspective, it also lowers operating costs, ultimately improving a company’s financial performance. “We believe it’s the right thing to do,” says Dana Schneider, senior vice president and practice lead for energy and sustainability services for Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Americas, a real estate services firm. “But at the end the day, my team will always be…
After years of slow economic progress, the results of Logistics Management’s (LM) 2012 Warehouse and Distribution Center (DC) Operations Survey show that there appears to be two schools of thought emerging from the ashes: There are those companies that remain cautious, staying conventional with minimal plans for expansion; and there are those on the verge of making significant investments and changes to their distribution operations. Designed to gauge activities and trends in warehousing and DCs, our annual survey offers a first-hand look into the state of today’s DC and warehouse operations. In September, a survey questionnaire was sent via email…
仓库管理系统(WMS)和voice-directed solutions have independently changed the world of warehousing and distribution, driving up accuracy rates and increasing productivity. About a decade ago, providers of both technologies decided to forge a partnership, offering users a voice-integrated solution that combined the hands-free, eyes-free benefit of voice with the real-time processing and execution of a robust WMS. Over the years, that partnership has grown stronger, with voice providers offering its WMS partners new and improved interface tools, reducing the time to implement voice-enabled flows in DC operations from weeks to mere days. “The latest interface solutions for voice…
Integration with warehouse management systems (WMS)…check. Integration with time and attendance, radio frequency (RF), and voice systems….check. Smart phone and tablet support…check. Web interface and access to cloud computing and storage….check. Clearly, today’s top labor management systems (LMS) are keeping up with the times, evolving from basic standalone systems into sophisticated, packaged WMS-LMS solutions geared towards offering real-time visibility of tasks occurring within the four walls of a warehouse or distribution center (DC). In fact, all of these functionalities have been developed just to make it easier for logistics professionals to manage one of the most complex components of the…
The RFID chatter is getting louder. After conducting successful pilots of item-level RFID initiatives, Walmart, then American Apparel, and now Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Dillards, and JCPenney have all announced plans to roll out EPC-enabled RFID technology at the item level in their stores this year. For the RFID industry, this turn of events has been electrifying. Not only are these premier retailers driving RFID adoption, but they’re also propagating the benefits of RFID throughout each of their supply chains. This, in turn, creates opportunities for significant process and usage standardization across the industry with the mass adoption of the technology. Many…
一年改变了很多事。我们的结果2011年代howed that we were finally turning the corner, with budgets for materials handling equipment spending increasing from an average of $395,000 in 2010 to $451,000 in 2011. However, our 2012 State of Warehouse/DC Equipment and Technology Survey conducted for Logistics Management and sister publication Modern Materials Handling by Peerless Research Group (PRG) shows forward momentum has stalled. Average anticipated spending over the next 18 months has barely budged at $451,700. In an economy that’s still fighting for recovery, 60 percent of the survey respondents are either taking a “wait-and-see” approach by…