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You Do That?
Pick Modules - The Backbone of the Distribution Center
Remember sitting in biology class and discovering how interdependent the human body is? Consider that every function of our body relies on the dynamic activity of cells. Enzymes from within one type of cell are somehow transferred to another through an elaborate chemical process resulting in "activity". This illustration of interdependency helps describe the dynamic chain of events that occur in a distribution center so that product can move into and out of a "cell" called a pick module.
When done right, order picking and product replacement become seamless, integrating the power of dynamic storage and retreival elements with sortation system software. By combining elements like selective pallet rack, pallet-flow, push back, carton-flow systems, and mezzanines you can move products from pallets or cartons to complete orders quickly and efficiently.
Morrison Company can help analyze your product types, work flow patterns, facility layout, and capacity requirements when planning a pick module solution. An endless variety of configurations are possible, including multi-level picking operations, that can free up valuable floor space and improve your overall effeciency.
Whether you received an A or not in biology, you can rely on Morrison Company to dissect your manterial handling needs. Considering an evaluation of your facility? Contact us for a no obligation review.
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Test Your Knowledge
Is Competition Good for Business?
When you hear of companies like Microsoft, Walmart or McDonalds you may naturally concede their dominant role in the marketplace. Controlling their environment, these companies are the epitome of what some call a monopoly. If you are like most people, you fall into one of three camps: you believe competition is good for business; you say the survival of the fittest rules or you just don't care. Does your world-view regarding these consumer giants carry over to your business?
Fast forward to the material handling industry. Are there monopolistic tendencies that will choke competition, reduce margins, strain the supply chain and cost jobs? Some would argue that the insurgance of large multinational companies that offer storage, conveyor, lift truck, and controls systems coupled with consulting services have changed the dynamic and will impact future business. Walking the trade show floor at NA 2004 revealed an increasing number of these one-stop giants. The upcoming PROMAT in January will be another indicator of whether this trend continues.
Talk to the leading manufacturers of material handling equipment and you hear of more customers purchasing directly from these giants, smaller numbers of distributors and lower profit margins. Is this a natural phenomina of a business cycle? In next month's issue of Material Handling BIZ, watch for the "SCORECARD" offer. Take this tally sheet with you to PROMAT 2005 and see for yourself. Make a list of the type and number of suppliers and contrast it to five years ago. A concerted effort to educate our clients to look past these "all-inclusive" supplier giants will insure a reasonable market share for more niche suppliers and distributors. To receive more information on the effect of monopolies in material handling click market killers. Indicate "monopoly white paper" in the area of interest.
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Is Walmart and the DoD Good for Material Handling?
Will RFID Make Everyone More Profitable?
Mandates from Walmart and the DoD are making many companies scramble to evaluate, select, and implement solutions that will make them compliant with their customer's RFID requirements and additional retailers and other large supply chain channel masters are likely to follow suit.
What is driving this huge surge of interest? It's the promise of highly automated tracking of goods and assets from "cradle to grave" as they move throughout supply chain processes, proactively communicating information about their identities, locatons and even histories to supply chain systems - without human intervention generally required with bar code-based systems. The ability to ensure a high level of security for goods, facilities and people is also at the forefront of RFID benefit discussions.
Walmart's top 100 suppliers need to be RFID compliant by October 2005. It's next 200 largest suppliers have until January 2006 and finally the remaining 24,000 suppliers are waiting for their marching orders. Like the osterich, some companies are hoping that this shift in distribution strategy will not effect them. After all complying to RFID's demands will cost consumers, suppliers and your customer. How should the material handling professional be prepared to embrace this shift in logistics management?
Perhaps a prescription to follow is this: remove the sand out of our ears and consult an expert about implementing RFID. Included in this issue is an offer to receive a copy of a whitepaper called "The True Cost of RFID". Do your plans include RFID for your manufacturing, assembly or distribution facilities? If so you qualify for a no obligation assessment.
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Dense Facility Layout Makes Record Storage Good Business
Records Storage Business Relies on Morrison Company
What caused a leader in the records storage business (who relies on customers to outsource their storage needs) to outsource the design of their facility layout? "It's like this', remarked Barney Rowe of Morrison Company,' just like a master chef relies on quality providers of food stuffs, Andrews Record Storage (ARM) relies on Morrison Company to provide them with quality designs and material handling systems."
Morrison Company's uniquely designed rack and pick systems maximized the space, building code and other specifications while allowing for different configurations for aisle, beam height and depth depending on the frequency of retreival needs and size of storage boxes. The rack design also maximized space and incorporated for fire protection systems to be effeciently tucked away.
Not only has ARM maximized the storage capacity of their facilities with effecient and dense storage and retreival systems, but other moving and storage companies looking to enter the records storage industry frequently make site visits. During these feasibility discussions Lee Miller (President of ARM) shares, "Morrison Company's record storage solution is a key part of the business planning consideration."
Does your anticipated project seem to have challenging needs? Contact Morrison Company for an assessment. Should you want to read the full case sudy, refer to the About Us section of the Morrison Company website.
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Acquiring a RFID System
Just as You Thought it Was Safe to Dive Into RFID, Glitchs Are Rampant
Radio frequency identification or RFID, first used during WWII, will soon be used to identify everything from bar soap to a 10-ton shipping container. Unlike traditional bar codes, which rely on line-of-sight technology, radio frequncy tags broadcast signals that are captured by electronic readers. The readers, in turn, enter the data into a company's inventory-management system.
A recent study from the consulting firm giant BearingPoint concluded nearly 45% of respondents indicated that RFID will have wide spread impact. With this and other sources seemingly hailing it's coming, how easy is it to implement RFID?
Trying to budget for an RFID rollout could prove to be disruptive. While storage and analysis of the massive amounts of data produced by the tags will be expensive, tags and readers will be the biggest money drainers. Separate from financial issues, RFID implementation has hidden costs due to uncertainty. The lack of a clear industry standard has and will continue to be a source of frustration and higher costs. The biggest glitches are:
- Tag prices are too high
- Tag performance flaws
- No industry-wide standards
- Privacy concerns
- Lack of return-on-investment data
To summarize, RFID is coming. Companies (your customers) are diving in and trying to make RFID work for them. The system is costly to implement, will probably need expensive revisions once industry standards are adopted, and the business case has not yet been written that justifies it's existence. If you are already planning for an RFID implementation, you don't have to do it alone. Request a copy of "The True Cost of RFID" today. This must have business tool is available through Morrison Company.
The consultants say the real value in RFID technology will come when companies tie inventory data into back-end systems, resulting in a reengineering of their entire business processes. Contact Morrison Company today for your RFID life preserver.
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