Tag: warehouse efficiency

Material Handling Product Sales Are Booming – All The Way to 2018

The proper material handling equipment helps companies operate more efficiently and protects employees from accidents and back injuries. It reduces the damage that can occur to materials during movement and storage. Increased competitiveness in all industries requires every business to look for ways to maximize their available space, improve customer service, and lower indirect labor cost. Research by the Freedonia Group shows more industries are implementing advanced automation equipment and investing in material handling equipment to ensure their continued success.

Mike Deneen is a senior industry analyst for the Freedonia Group. Deneen says much of the strong gains for material handling equipment will be in the area of large-scale factory automation and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that contribute to automated warehouse environments. He expects U.S. demand for AGVs and robotics to increase by about 6 percent, with durable goods manufacturers accounting for half of the material handling equipment demand through 2018.

In addition to manufacturers and global distribution companies seeking to reduce labor cost, more small service and trade companies are also recognizing the benefits of energy efficient products like car pushers and electric lift trucks. These easy-to-use pieces of equipment can move cars and trucks of up to 20,000 pounds on a flat surface, increasing productivity for mechanic shops and car dealers, while protecting employees from injury and keeping vehicles damage-free. With a low-maintenance design and simple 36 volt, 3 battery system, these car pushers have little maintenance cost.

DJ Products has a full line of energy efficient caddies and tugs for any size business. Contact our knowledgeable Sales Engineers at 800.686.2651 to discuss which solution best fits your individual material handling needs.

What New Material Handling Innovations Were Showcased at ProMat in Chicago?

New Warehouse Equipment.
New Warehouse Equipment.

As anticipated, ProMat 2015 unveiled a wide variety of exciting new tools and solutions for warehouse efficiency. Chicago hosted the annual convention recently, and leaders in the material handling industry learned about innovative new products and advances in the field that are bringing great value to businesses — in the future and right now.

Highlights from ProMat 2015

We are particular excited about the products that boost efficiency by making it easier to store, move, and track inventory. At the Modula booth, for instance, the shelving and storage innovator showed off a new vertical storage solution. The new Modula VLM makes it easier to make use of square footage by maximizing vertical space. Controlled by computer and integrated with inventory management, the VLM makes it easy to pick items ranging from tiny and lightweight parts to large and heavy materials that weigh over a ton.

Our own warehouse mover solves the other half of the equation: pushing and pulling large, heavy carts around the facility. Workers slow down and face back, shoulder, and leg injuries from manually pushing wheeled carts. The warehouse mover speeds up material handling in two ways: automating cart movement, and keeping employees healthy and energized to get more done.

Other exciting highlights from ProMat 2015 included the Nuvera fuel cell battery from Yale and powerful fleet management software from Raymond. Overall, ProMat featured a wide variety of tools to improve efficiency and productivity in warehousing and material handling.

For more information about innovative new tools to speed up material handling at your facility, check out the warehouse mover and other industrial cart movers from DJProducts.com.

Warehouse Smart Systems and Software Boost Efficiency

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Maximize Efficiency

As automation takes over your warehouse processes, the old warehouse management systems may be insufficient. A WMS can help direct people, but you need a warehouse control system (WCS) to direct the machines. A smart system provides the data you need, while also optimizing with some adjustments automatically.

Warehouse “smart systems,” like a modern WCS, can boost efficiency through real-time alerts and automated decision making. When one piece of equipment malfunctions, the manager can see that on the WCS and immediately take action to prevent a domino effect on the rest of the process.

When you manage a variety of industrial warehouse tugs, conveyor belts, scissor lifts, and other automated and manual equipment in one place, you need a single overview and command center to keep them working in harmony. That’s the beauty of a warehouse smart system.

Scott Stone of Cisco-Eagle describes the benefits of a WCS:

  • Efficiency: Maximize the potential benefits of automated materials handling by letting a WCS automatically monitor and adjust equipment in real-time.
  • Maintenance: The WCS serves as a proactive tool to detect equipment problems faster than a chain of human communication.
  • Real-time Data: Make better warehouse efficiency and performance decisions by using data on specific equipment and the entire process, all in one place.

Every step to bridge together manual and automated processes helps. Automate what you can, and use ergonomic equipment to help partially automate human tasks. Motorized equipment like our industrial warehouse tugs makes more of your processes efficient and reliable.

Explore our industrial warehouse tugs including the PartsCaddy electric platform cart and the RiderCaddy motorized tug at DJProducts.com.

Improve Your Warehouse’s Efficiency with These Tips

Small changes in warehouse management can quickly add up to a major boost in productivity. Here are some crucial tips to improve warehouse efficiency day in and day out:

Update your Management Software

Nobody should be relying on pen and paper or decade-old inventory software. Even very small businesses can find affordable options for advanced software with features that streamline the efficiency of both the warehouse and your management tasks.

Count—and Recount—Everything

Someone should count and double-check every item and box, in both incoming and outgoing orders. Ideally, two employees should check each order. The moment of time costs very little compared to the labor and resources that go into correcting a mistake later.

Organize & Clean All Areas, Including Your Office

With a repeatable system for staying clean and organized, you will lose fewer items, misplace fewer order slips, and enjoy a healthier and more positive work environment. Seeing a clean manager’s office helps encourage this among the staff.

Encourage Employees with Experience to Help Others

You can build accountability and efficiency by instructing your experienced staff members to spend some time monitoring and helping their fellow employees. Senior workers can spot inefficiencies and can also report back to you on how your staff and system are really doing.

Use Motorized Carts Instead of Unnecessary Labor

The manual labor of pushing and pulling heavy equipment hurts your efficiency and causes a greater risk of lost time due to injuries. Look into ergonomic motorized carts to boost productivity on every task.

If your warehouse has carts, platform trucks, waste containers and other heavy equipment, check out our cart caddy solutions that will boost your efficiency.