The Material Handling Blog

As we close the door on a year of tremendous challenge and change, it’s a good time for distribution center (DC) leaders to pause and reflect on how to apply the hard-won learnings of 2020 in order to make course corrections for 2021 and beyond. Despite how early it may seem, now is the time to prepare for the second half of 2021, by which time the COVID-19 pandemic may be substantially behind us. As you chart your distribution operation’s path forward consider a few key questions that take into account your business needs, workforce, trends and technologies. Not only will this help prepare your operations for a smoother process but will help you assess your capabilities as external factors continue to change.

For years, logistics consultants, material handling engineers , and supply chain execution providers have been slicing-and-dicing warehouse statistics in a quest to enhance employee performance for the ultimate purpose of bringing profitable dollars to the bottom line. While having tangible statistics and historical records of warehouse operation is important, I suggest that these benchmarks alone will not drive peak employee or warehouse performance.

The two weeks at the beginning of a project take just as long as at the end of a project. The difference between the beginning and end, is that the beginning is usually less stressful than when a project is getting close to a deadline or a hard Go Live date. It can be easy to let precious time slip! By being efficient during the negotiation stage and clearly communicating the project timeline and milestones at the beginning of the process, you can help your projects run smoother.

With large-scale projects, proper planning is required for success. This is where having a good site supervisor makes all the difference.

Change is not easy and not everyone adapts well. Fortunately, with effective change management, successful transformation can be reached with minimal issues.

All project managers are NOT created equal. Some are more schedule-focused, while others are more budget-driven. Some spend more time on procurement management, and yet others concentrate on ensuring scope creep doesn’t occur. Regardless of what a project manager emphasizes, I’ve found all good project managers have these 3 essential traits. Continue Reading >>