The Material Handling Blog

Picture this: your organization is set for growth, but you're trapped in what feels like a life-size Rubik’s Cube, always moving pieces around to navigate your way through the space constraints of your warehouse. How do you optimize your operations when every inch of floor space counts?

KPIs are quantifiable metrics used to measure the success of a particular process or system. They are typically tied to specific objectives and goals and are used to track progress over time. KPIs are an essential tool for businesses to measure the effectiveness of their operations, identify areas of improvement and make informed decisions. This includes the material handling and automation industry.

Does your facility have labor intensive, ergonomically challenging or repetitive operations that involve breaking down a pallet load? If so, robotic depalletizing could be a solution to help eliminate ergonomic strain, lower operating costs and allow for the reallocation of labor to other tasks within your facility.

Automation is not all or nothing. Many businesses start small, expand over time, or implement larger systems when the volume and complexity of their operations require it. The key is to choose the level of automation that aligns with your goals, growth plans and available resources. Automation technologies are used to automate tasks such as inventory management, order fulfillment and material handling, reducing manual intervention and errors.

When new material handling automation equipment is introduced to a manufacturing or distribution center, it is easy to lose focus on continuous improvement efforts. Often it is assumed that technology and automation have created a process which completely maximizes efficiencies and therefore cannot be improved. Kaizen, meaning continuous improvement, is a core tenant in TPS (Toyota Production System) and empowers individual team members to identify areas for improvement and suggest immediate, yet practical solutions. A facility that focuses on continuous improvement does not stop once a process is automated.

Imagine a relay race in which your team has executed every handoff perfectly, but the final runner stumbles just before the finish line. All that effort and strategy are lost in the last few seconds. Many warehouses invest in picking, sorting, and storage automation yet leave palletizing as a manual process. However, inefficient palletizing creates bottlenecks, increases labor costs, and limits throughput, ultimately holding back the full potential of your operation.

A few years ago, a Midwest warehouse faced familiar pressures: limited space, rising labor costs, and growing demand for faster fulfillment. Rather than building new, they retrofitted their existing distribution center. By upgrading within their current footprint, they streamlined operations and gained flexibility without disrupting business. Across warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing environments, companies are rethinking their approach to modernization. Brownfield projects—automation retrofits within existing facilities—are gaining traction as a practical, lower-risk alternative to greenfield construction. Whether due to tighter budgets, uncertain economic conditions, or a desire to move quickly without adding square footage, leaders are seeking ways to do more with what they already own. In many cases, they’re finding that a smart retrofit delivers the operational improvements they need, without the time or capital required to start from scratch.

Leaders in food production, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and other temperature-sensitive industries don’t need to be convinced of the complexity inside cold and temperature-controlled storage facilities. The constraints are familiar - freezing or chilled environments, limited time workers can safely spend in cold zones, high energy costs, and strict standards for product handling. What’s less obvious is how many of these challenges are tied directly to palletizing. Whether you’re moving finished goods into storage or staging for outbound shipping, the way pallets are handled in cold environments has a direct impact on throughput, workforce safety, and product quality. That’s why cold storage requires a different approach to palletizing. One that reduces exposure, automates movement, and keeps your operation running smoothly.

Americold is a global leader in temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics. With more than 175 facilities worldwide, the company is known for its ability to adapt to the evolving demands of food logistics. At its Indianapolis, Indiana site, Americold had already taken a major step toward automation in 2011 by working with viastore—now part of Bastian Solutions—to install a high-density automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS).

Manually unloading pallets is a time-intensive, repetitive process that can lead to physical strains for operators and job dissatisfaction. Moreso, unintentional human errors can result in miscounts, misplacement and bottlenecks. The process of removing product from a pallet can be automated through the use of industrial robotics, in a process is called robotic depalletizing.

When we think about material handling automation, we often picture large-scale systems requiring significant capital and time investments. Yet, small-scale integrations can deliver transformative results for targeted challenges, offering a path to efficiency that many organizations overlook. Entry-level automation can substantially improve efficiency, accuracy, and scalability—all without overhauling the entire operation and minimizing the risk to the business. These solutions are about doing more with what you have, like incorporating carton flow racking to streamline picking or ergonomic packing stations to enhance worker efficiency, unlocking untapped potential, and preparing for future growth.

For fruit growers and packers, every season brings pressure: move product quickly, protect quality, and meet demand without breaking the line or damaging the fruit. Whether you're building a new facility or enhancing an existing one, designing the right accumulation system is key to keeping palletizing operations running smoothly.