The Material Handling Blog

In warehouse automation and material handling systems, companies typically fall into two categories: manufacturers (OEMs) or integrators. Manufacturers are known for creating the hardware and technologies that power warehouse automation, while integrators specialize in bringing these diverse components together into a cohesive, functioning material handling system. At Bastian Solutions, we often encounter the question, 'Are you an integrator or a manufacturer?'

The fog of peak season. Does this sound like a similar experience to all warehouse operations team members? It’s earlier than usual and you know you have a very long day ahead of you. The building pulses with an electrifying energy but it's a frenetic, anxious feeling that everyone has in the pit of their stomach. The team knows that its “go time” as the customer order volume is going to be 3X the norm. As you walk out of the office and into the warehouse you are met with the sound of conveyor belts humming and the ceaseless beeping noise of forklifts darting all over the building. What is normally an orderly row of neatly stacked goods near pack out, now resembles a maze, as your team scrambles to locate items with urgency. Every corner of the warehouse is in motion, every aisle alive with the chaos of associates picking, workstations loaded with boxes for packout, and trailers are everywhere.

Conceptually, material handling is simple – store products and move products. Officially defined by MHI as “the movement, protection, storage, and control of materials and products throughout manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, consumption, and disposal,” this concept is an unavoidable aspect of business. It also, like many ideas that start simple, quickly becomes complicated once you start exploring its details, especially given today’s rate of technological improvement. Despite those challenges, however, the need to deliver on orders, navigate and succeed during peak seasons and meet customer expectations remains and needs to be addressed.

In the ever-evolving realm of logistics and supply chain management, innovation is the linchpin. Failure to remain open to and properly integrating innovative solutions can stifle operations from continuing to stay competitive in the industry, whether it’s automotive, retail, healthcare and agriculture, for example.

The fierce competition for warehouse space and fulfillment labor combined with growing customer demands and ever-evolving technology offerings can make it overwhelmingly noisy and difficult to navigate. That challenge can make it hard to identify the solution that will help companies meet business objectives today and in the future. To add to that complexity, the supply chain industry is ever-growing and evolving. Our team of engineers can help guide through the noise that companies may be facing. Bastian Solutions is eager to attend this year’s ProMat tradeshow March 20-23, 2023, to discuss some of these supply chain challenges with attendees.

If It Rolls – We Supply It. This was the motto of Bastian Solutions, then the E.C. Stark Co., Inc., in the 1950s. Hand trucks, casters and carts were the original material handling equipment supplied by the company, which was formed on October 31, 1952, by Elgan Stark, father-in-law of Bill Bastian Sr. Fast forward 70 years, and Bastian Solutions continues to grow as a leading material handling automation company. Although casters and the like are no longer the heart of the business, the vision remains the same – to help companies be more efficient, better serve their clients and make the world a better place.

International Women in Engineering Day is celebrated all across the globe on June 23. This year’s theme, set by The Women’s Engineering Society is Engineering Heroes – celebrating “the best, brightest and bravest women in engineering, who recognize a problem, then dare to be part of the solution; who undertake everyday ‘heroics’ as much as emergency ones.” Here at Bastian Solutions, from project engineering to account management, human resources, controls and consulting, among a number of other roles, we’ve witnessed women in various positions in the last year – a pandemic – come together in a time of crisis to provide guidance and resources. They’ve pulled together to keep us safe and others have helped plan, develop and execute intricate automated solutions for customers. On several different fronts, they’ve fostered innovation and ingenuity to successfully undertake the challenges.

Today, companies around the world are shifting their operations to meet the needs of market challenges – acceleration of ecommerce, microfulfillment adaptation. But, with that too comes a need for maintained quality and reliability.

I was recently on a Sunday afternoon Zoom call (gotta love COVID-19) with some old friends from college – Boiler Up! We all graduated in the early 2000s, thus we’re 15 years or so into our careers. As the conversation progressed through a multitude of topics from the weather to kids to the trials and tribulations of U.S. politics, one of my buddies expressed how much he dreaded Monday mornings. Although he has a great job, he said he feels “uninspired”. My other buddies quickly jumped in acknowledging their agreement. I asked: “What would make you all feel ‘inspired’?” Almost in unison they all said they “want to feel as though their work is truly making an impact.”

In celebration of National Engineers Week – annual recognition of the importance of math, science, and technical skills – Bastian Solutions talked to three of its engineers to understand how they came to be an engineer, their experiences in the field, and how the supply chain industry has changed in the last year.