July 2010 the Apparel Group: Dressed for Distribution Success Page 18
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING mmh.com ® July 2010 The Apparel Group: Dressed for distribution success Page 18 SPECIAL REPORT Top 20 SCM Kirk Longo, vice president providers 26 of supply chain, The EQUIPMENT REPORT Apparel Group Green unitizing practices 30 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Five trends in WMS 34 Special corporate profile issue MMH1007Cover.indd 1 7/7/10 9:20 AM Get More Performance From Existing Material Handling Systems Tune up your operation by rebuilding, upgrad- Material handling modernization: ing or Modernizing your material handling sys- 9 Software/controls upgrades tem. With new software, controls, and equip- 9 Sorter enhancement kit ment rebuilds, you get ROI: 9 Replacement rollers 9 Motorized roller retro-fit kit Reduce: energy usage, downtime, maintenance 9 Powered pulley upgrade Optimize: system performance 9 Conveyor conversion Increase: uptime, throughput 9 ASRS rebuilds Facilities modernization: 9 Energy management 9 Re-lamping 9 Arc flash analysis Operations modernization: 9 Operations assessment 9 Maintenance audits 9 Preventative maintenance services 9 Resident maintenance 1-877-725-7500 www.dematic.us/modernizations MMH1007_ads.indd 2 7/6/10 9:42 AM UP FRONT BREAKING NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Adept acquires MobileRobots ADEPT TECHNOLOGY (www.adept. needs of the production logistics com) has acquired MobileRobots, markets. “We are clearly focused on a provider of autonomous robot removing the challenges and costs and automated guided vehicle associated with manual and less technologies. According to Adept, sophisticated means of moving criti- MobileRobots positions the com- cal components through production pany to deliver productivity gains environments in a flexible manner,” in unstructured environments. says Adept president and CEO John Equipping Adept’s global sales Dulchinos. “MobileRobots extends channels with autonomous robots this value proposition beyond our and associated technologies will industry’s traditional application enable the company to address the areas.” Safety award is crowning glory FAST FACT for forklift manufacturer IN RECOGNITION OF ITS behavior-based SafeSteps SAFETY ACHIEVEMENTS and program encourages observa- the implementation of effective tion and feedback. “Safety at $4.2 billion safety programs and initia- Crown is a collaboration of Represents the supply chain tives, Crown Equipment (www. supportive leadership, a lean management software market crown.com), a leading lift truck design and manufacturing manufacturer, has earned a process, and employees who space in 2009 2010 Occupational Excellence care,” says Dave Beddow, Source: Chad Eschinger, Gartner Achievement Award from vice president manufacturing See story, page 26 the National Safety Council. operations. Crown’s comprehensive safety program is enhanced by employee involvement, man- Yaskawa and Motoman agement support, and focuses merge to create Yaskawa on conditional and behavior- based safety. The company’s America injury prevention program ROBOTICS SUPPLIER Motoman (www.moto- encourages employees to man.com) and Yaskawa Electric America (www. suggest ways to create a yaskawa.com), a manufacturer of AC drives and safer environment, while the motion control products, will merge to form Yaskawa America Inc. Motoman operations, Voxware launches voice picking blog headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, will SHARE YOUR VOICE ABOUT VOICE. Voxware, a supplier form the Motoman of software for voice-driven warehousing operations, has Robotics division of launched a Voice Picking Blog (www.voxware.com/voice- Yaskawa America. picking-blog/), a resource designed to share the latest devel- The new company opments in voice picking technology and trends. The blog is has secured property near Dayton for a new currently being populated by submissions from Voxware con- 300,000-square-foot state-of-the-art office and tributors, but comments and guest submissions are encour- production facility. The Yaskawa Electric America aged. The most recent blog posts address the differences Inc. operations, headquartered in Waukegan, Ill., between voice recognition technology for warehouses and will form the drives and motion division. Both will call centers, the financial impact of picking accuracy and the continue to operate as independent divisions, benefits of combining voice picking with worker incentives. retaining the same management structures and operating in the same geographical regions. mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / JULY 2010 3 MMH1007_Upfront.indd 3 7/7/10 9:18 AM MMH1007_ads.inddMMH100401_ADS 6 4 4/7/20107/6/10 3:34:06 9:43 AMPM VOL. 65, NO. 7 ® PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING The team at The Apparel Group, lead by Kirk Longo, worked together 60 seconds to create an automated with…Peter and strategic facility. Voss, page 58 PHOTO: ED LALLO COVER STORY SYSTEM REPORT 18 Dressed for distribution success At The Apparel Group’s new Texas distribution center, the company reduced handling costs and increased the speed of product to market—two items that are always in style. 24 Lowering handling cost, increasing speed to market Materials handling automation and picking technologies bring new efficiencies to The Apparel Group. DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS FEATURES 3/ Upfront SPECIAL REPORT 7/ This month in Modern 26 Top 20 supply chain management 14/ Lift Truck Tips: Sit-down software suppliers counterbalanced trucks Our 9th-annual survey of SCM suppliers finds that the market for 39/ Special Section: Corporate Profiles supply chain software took a hit last year, but things are beginning 52/ Focus On: Dock Equipment to look up. 55/ Product Showcase 58/ 60 seconds with... EQUIPMENT REPORT 30 Unitizing: The unsung hero of materials handling NEWS Effective unitizing practices and eco-friendly materials can help you 9/ May retail sales show a slight decline keep your costs in check and turn your operation a brighter shade 10/ Prepare for coming EPA regs of green. 11/ OSHA targeting “Severe Violators” INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 12/ Managed services are coming to RFID 34 WMS metamorphosis 13/ People in the news The mature technology has evolved with enhanced functionality, better integration and new methods of delivery and use. Here are Modern Materials Handling ® (ISSN 0026-8038) is published monthly by Peerless Media, LLC, a Division of EH Publishing, Inc., 111 Speen St, Suite the five trends driving the evolution of WMS. 200, Framingham, MA 01701. Annual subscription rates for non-qualifi ed subscribers: USA $119, Canada $159, Other International $249. Single copies are available for $20.00. Send all subscription inquiries to Modern PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTION Materials Handling, 111 Speen Street, Suite 200, Framingham, MA 01701 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Framingham, MA and additional 38 Signature Brands serves up a sweet mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Modern Materials Handling, PO Box 1496 Framingham MA 01701-1496. voice solution Reproduction of this magazine in whole or part without written permis- Dessert decorating products manufacturer blends voice and software sion of the publisher is prohibited. technology to improve picking and pallet assembly processes. All rights reserved. (C)2010 Peerless Media, LLC. mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / JULY 2010 5 MMH1007_TOC.indd 5 7/7/10 9:50 AM One-size-fi ts-all pallets have come to a dead end. Sure,Sure, conventionalconventional palletspallets dod the job. JustJust notnot veryvery well.well. Th eeyy damadamagege yyourour pproduct,roduct, jjamam yyourour material handling systems, cause injuries, host insects and create disposal headaches. If you ever wanted a better way, this is it. Firma brand unitized load carriers from Sonoco can reduce your costs, meet global shipping challenges, and help you be better stewards of the earth’s resources. • FirmaLoad™ bulk bag carriers make • FirmaGuard™ components make moving and storing bulk bags cleaner, wood pallets more protective, easier and more stable. durable and longer lasting. • FirmaCore™ lightweight carriers are • FirmaMax™ plastic carriers built specially for one-way shipping (made entirely from recycled of lightweight products for less. plastics) off er stronger, stiff er, slip-resistant transit. • FirmaDeck™ corrugated carriers are engineered to provide strength to exactly fi t your products and processes. As your sustainability commitments grow, the inherent weaknesses of conventional pallets become unacceptable. Learn more about all the innovations in Sonoco’s new Firma line of carriers; click or call: sonocotranspack.com 888/875-8754 SP29165_FirmaProd_MMH.inddMMH1007_ads.indd 6 1 6/10/107/6/10 11:44:27 9:43 AM THIS MONTH IN MODERN EDITORIAL OFFICES 111 Speen Street, Suite 200 Framingham, MA 01701-1496 MICHAEL LEVANS (800) 375-8015 GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Michael Levans GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR [email protected] Bob Trebilcock EXECUTIVE EDITOR [email protected] TAG’s team effort Noël P. Bodenburg EXECUTIVE MANAGING EDITOR [email protected] Lorie King Rogers ou can pretty much accomplish any- is not just providing better customer service. ASSOCIATE EDITOR [email protected] thing if you have the right team work- The company has used these newfound capa- Sara Pearson Specter ing together to execute a simple and bilities to create The Apparel Logistics Group, EDITOR AT LARGE Y [email protected] specifi c plan with achievable goals. In fact, an internally operated 3PL designed to serve Roberto Michel along the way you may be surprised