The Material Handling Blog

With the global pandemic only a few years behind us, rising diesel prices, supply chain shortages and a drastically transformed customer shopping landscape, the closing of 2022 should have looked bleaker. However, the “hyper growth” that was seen in ecommerce during the pandemic moved 2025 projections up by years. At the closing of 2022 we’re seeing retail’s first trillion-dollar year. As the meteoric growth of online sales has begun to moderate, and as we look forward to 2023 it will be imperative for retailers to address the past, present and future of retail.

Bag or box? They aren’t the only packing options, but they are certainly the most prevalent when it comes to retail fulfillment. With ecommerce activity on the rise, planning for and designing DC efficiency around single order pick and pack operations is a necessary shift to remaining competitive in the retail industry. Not only does this factor into meeting consumers’ quick turnaround expectations but also in keeping costs low. When it comes to packing and shipping, you can make efficiencies in larger factors such as operations and system design but also in smaller details like the size of the parcel. Shipping fast and cost efficiently is a balancing act that starts in warehouse or distribution center design. Whether you are working with polybags, boxes or both, appropriate automation sizing and integration with surrounding equipment has immediate and lasting impacts.

Warehouse slotting, velocity slotting, re-slotting – these are all commonly used terms when referring to SKU optimization. What does it mean and what does it look like for warehouse operations? Put simply, velocity slotting is an organizational strategy that utilizes storage zones within a warehouse to store products by pick frequency. It’s impact stretches to positively impact costs, inventory performance and satisfying customer service level agreements, to name a few. Let’s take a deeper look at the effectiveness of slotting.

Bastian Solutions will be present at RILA LINK in Orlando, FL this month. Joining the retail order fulfillment and automation conversation with thousands of supply chain executives to connect, learn and explore leading best practices. With over 2,000 retail supply chain leaders in one place, LINK is the perfect event for Bastian to connect with carriers, vendors and other key partners.

Bastian Solutions is excited to join supply chain and logistics professionals for the second annual Manifest trade show, the premiere gathering of industry leaders, innovators and investors for a showcase of innovation and transformation across the logistics and supply chain tech industry. Manifest brings unprecedented access to the people and technologies changing the way the world moves.

Peak season is here. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the biggest sales days of the year, have come and gone, order fulfillment operations are busy ensuring that orders are filled accurately, packaged carefully and shipped on time. For retailers, this is both a time of getting through the peak and also an opportunity to shine ahead of competitors. Handling seasonal peaks requires automation that simplifies the surge in distribution.

From concept to micro-fulfillment reality, Decathlon and Bastian Solutions worked together to create an in-store, customer-facing micro-fulfillment system.

Du concept à la réalité de la micro-exécution, Decathlon et Bastian Solutions ont collaboré pour créer un système de micro-exécution en magasin en contact avec les clients. « L'objectif de Decathlon était de créer un nouveau parcours client unique et amélioré en supprimant idéalement les tâches sans valeur ajoutée pour le personnel », a déclaré Diba Aleagha, responsable des opérations et du commerce électronique pour Decathlon Canada.

In a recent webcast, Matt Kohler, Bastian Solutions’ Applications Director, and other industry leaders discussed how both online and traditional retailers can take advantage of automation as peak season approaches. A key topic discussed during the webcast was the importance of collecting and analyzing data to provide timely and actionable insights for customers.

Como integradora independente, a Bastian Solutions trabalha com diversas tecnologias e marcas. Como tal, não é incomum ser perguntado pelos clientes: “Quantas linhas por hora posso fazer com um sistema de goods to person?” Quando falamos de GTP (sistemas de goods to person), isso pode incluir sistemas de AutoStore, Perfect Pick, ASRS, Scallog, Attabotics, Caja Robotics, Kardex, Servus ou Adapto. Todas essas tecnologias oferecem métodos modernos e facilmente escaláveis de atendimento de pedidos, por meio de diferentes configurações tecnológicas e de design. Portanto, quando se trata de responder “quantas linhas por hora posso fazer”, há muitos fatores que entram em jogo, mas há três elementos principais que ajudam a fornecer uma imagem mais clara e fornecer uma taxa estimada de linhas por hora. Vamos explorar isto.

Bringing products as close and as fast as possible to customers triggered a new way of looking at fulfillment centers. In addition to large regional warehouses, microfulfillment centers (MFCs) are popular topics in retail, ecommerce and food industries. Before implementing any solution, it’s key to carefully review applications and properly prepare for current and future scenarios. This step can help you avoid key mistakes and select the right technology. The last thing you want to do is to install a technology that doesn’t do the job the way you expected or needed.

It’s no secret that, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores has seen a dramatic decrease. Recent reports show a slight increase and recovery but it is becoming increasingly clear that online shopping is the way of the future. How are businesses responding to this trend and what does this mean for parcel shipments?