The Material Handling Blog

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season now over, many would think that retailers and manufacturers could catch their breath and start to focus on the next season. However, all retailers and online businesses know that there is one more hurdle to cross before closing out this season and that means processing returns! Here are 3 Key Thoughts for Strategically Managing Returns.

Era sólo cuestión de tiempo para que los proveedores logísticos, los integradores y las diferentes empresas multinacionales empezaran a buscar maneras de aprovechar esta tecnología.

As the global effects of COVID-19 continue to play out, demand for contactless shopping via eCommerce is increasing putting pressure on fulfillment. Businesses are scrambling to identify opportunities to increase supply across their distribution networks. Many are seeking support from automation systems integrators (conveyor, robotics, software, controls) across several fulfillment sites at once. While multi-site implementations can be challenging, when executed successfully they can achieve greater results than single-site implementations.

Automated guided vehicles (AVGs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are transforming the way manufacturing and distribution centers operate. They are easier than ever to integrate into your operations and are currently seeing a significant boost in adoption.

Although 2020 has been an unpredictable year with unprecedented commerce demands, this year worldwide ecommerce sales have already increased by 18% more than last year. That’s $3.5 trillion USD, according to Shopify. And, it’s expected to nearly double by 2023 to more than $6.5 trillion. Chances are that planning was already underway to shift processes to accommodate for the expected growth in ecommerce before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, the state of the world during the pandemic greatly shortened the time frame in which updates and changes needed to be made. Companies everywhere scrambled to quickly pivot based on their unique situations.

The term “microfulfillment center” has quickly become one of the top buzzwords in material handling. But what is it and is investing in it the right decision for your supply chain?

Because of COVID-19, many manufacturing companies are finding themselves needing to change operating procedures. Here's how automation is helping one company make much-needed PPE.

Automation in software can be a very powerful thing, when done correctly. Here are some tips on how to analyze whether automating a process is the right decision.

On any given production line, workers pick up different specialized tools to complete different tasks. End of arm tool changers allow robots to do the same.

While there is often a compelling ROI for automating your DC operations, there are several other key factors that should also be considered when building your business case.

I often get asked about automation’s effects on employment. Here are some lessons from history that show how the implementation of automation improved the quality of our lives by changing the kinds of jobs available.

Dealing with returns and reverse logistics can be a struggle for ecommerce order fulfillment - especially in the retail and consumer goods industries. Here's how we helped one client improve their returns process.