Modern Materials Handling - October 2010SPECIAL REPORT
Data capture and mobile computing 30 EQUIPMENT REPORT
Carousels improve picking 34
®
PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND
MANUFACTURING
October 2010
WEBCAST:
Results of the 2010 Pallet Usage and Trending Study Thursday,
October 28 @ 2:00 p.m. ET Register: www.mmh.com/palletsurvey
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Dematic Group, a leading global supplier of integrated materials
handling solu- tions and services, has successfully completed the
acquisition of HK Systems, a North american automated materials
handling and soft- ware solutions provider. this strategic union
was made final on Sept. 15, 2010.
John K. Baysore, ceo of Dematic North america (www.dematic.us),
will be responsible for leading and developing the newly combined
company in the united States and canada. With more
than 20 years of executive experience, Baysore will lead Dematic in
the design, delivery and support of a more robust and diversified
solution offering to the company’s customers. the newly combined
company will be called Dematic, with its North american
headquarters in Grand rapids, mich. the expanded manufacturing
foot-
print will allow Dematic to domestically manufacture automated
storage and retrieval machines and automated guided vehicles in
addition to conveyor, sortation and order fulfillment
technology.
mmh.com Modern Materials Handling / O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 3
Lift trucK DiStriButor Barclay Brand ferdon is supporting National
Breast cancer awareness month by raising money and awareness. the
distributor is displaying a pink painted Yale lift truck on its
front lawn through the month of october, and they plan to
participate in the american cancer Society’s “making Strides
against Breast cancer” walk in Woodbridge center (Woodbridge, N.J.)
on oct. 17.
“We have pledged to match all of the donations made by our
employees,” said Skip russo, president and ceo of Barclay Brand
ferdon. “i am proud of the people
who work for Barclay. although it has been a tough economy for all
of us, our employees have really stepped up to make a difference in
our community. We’ve also had a great response from our vendors in
support of this effort.” Barclay Brand ferdon is a distributor in
New Jersey and New York for all warehousing equipment and support
services.
Pink lift truck supports breast cancer awareness month
1,913 the number of exhibiting companies at PaCK eXPo
international, oct. 31 to Nov. 3 at mccormick place in
chicago.
dematic group completes acquisition of HK systems
new player in the carousel market
FAST FACT
UP FRONT B r e a k i n g n e w s y o u s h o u l d k n o w
CeMa report says booked orders were down in July
a NeW proviDer, Sapient automation, is entering the market for
vertical and horizontal carousels and vertical lift modules (vLms),
according to ed romaine, chief marketing officer for Sapient
(www.getsapient.com). romaine announced the formation of the new
company
at the fall meeting of the material Handling industry of america
(mHia) in palm Springs, calif. the new com- pany is a subsidiary of
mDci, a pro- vider of industrial automation solu-
tions to the u.S postal Service. “We launched the company in
January,” romaine said, “and we’ve spent the last nine months
ramping up.” While the company is a new player,
romaine said Sapient has completed its first sale to an industrial
facility in the healthcare industry.
iN itS LateSt moNtHLY report, the conveyor equipment manufacturers
association (cema, www.cemanet.org) reported its July 2010 Booked
orders index was 131. the index in July is down 36 points or 22%
from June 2010’s index of 167. While down from June, the July 2010
index represents an increase of 49% from the July 2009 index of
88.
What does this mean? Bob reinfried, cema’s executive vice
president, said the conveyor industry had a very good month. While
down from June, July 2010 was still better than July 2009. it’s too
early to tell if numbers will continue to climb. cema is
forecasting an increase of 2% to 3% for the North american conveyor
market in 2010.
Baysore
forklift trucks.
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HCE AMERICAS(U.S.A) Tel.: 1 847 437 3333 Fax: 1 847 437 3574
www.hceamericas.com HHI EUROPE(BELGIUM) Tel.: 32 14 56 2200 Fax: 32
14 59 3405~6 www.hyundai.eu HHI BEIJING(CHINA) Tel.: 86 10 8321
3377 Fax: 86 10 5143 8502 www.hyundai-bj.com
DUBAI BRANCH OFFICE(U.A.E) Tel.: 971 4 425 7995 Fax: 971 4 425 7996
E-mail:
[email protected]
ISTANBUL BRANCH OFFICE(TURKEY) Tel.: 90 212 345 1261~2 Fax: 90 212
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PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND
MANUFACTURING
VOL. 65, NO. 10
DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS 3/ Upfront 7/ This Month in Modern 16/
Lift Truck Tips: Level the playing field 38/ Focus On: Palletizers
42/ Supplement: Warehouses/DCs 50/ 60 seconds with...
NEWS 9/ MHIA: Growth is back 9/ HighJump to acquire TrueCommerce
10/ Final thoughts on Supply Chain Reset 13/ Industrial real estate
market making
progress, challenges remain
14/ Crown unveils 20 electric lift trucks to operate with fuel
cells
COVER STORY SYSTEM REPORT
18 Best in class Del Monte Foods’ new Topeka DC brings laser-guided
AGVs from manufacturing into distribution. The result is a
best-in-class materials handling system that minimizes costs with
room to expand in the future.
22 Automatic guided vehicles streamline operations Laser-guided
AGVs move product from the manufacturing plant and through the
distribution center.
FEATURES PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTION
25 Tilt toward safety and productivity Aluminum parts manufacturer
uses ergonomic lifting equipment to prevent worker injury and
increase production.
SPECIAL REPORT
26 Top 20 automatic data capture suppliers The ADC market took a
significant hit in 2009, but the recovery may already be
underway.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
30 In sync: Data capture and mobile computing Using a combination
of diverse technologies—often in one compact package—gives users
the edge in asset management and operational efficiency.
EQUIPMENT REPORT
34 Carousels: Turning picking into productivity Not just for
high-density storage anymore, today’s carousels are delivering
product to the person while increasing productivity, reducing
labor, saving space and cutting energy costs.
60 seconds with... Joan Barrett Kellogg, p. 50
®
PHOTO: BLAINE FISHER/GETTY IMAGES
Keith Arntson and his team at Del Monte put a fl eet of
laser-guided AGVs to work at their DC.
handling system that minimizes costs with room to expand in the
future.
60 seconds with... Joan Barrett Kellogg, p. 50
BLAINE FISHER/GETTY IMAGES
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Michael Levans GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
[email protected]
Bob Trebilcock EXECUTIVE EDITOR
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
John Hill ESYNC
Col. Alan B. Will 2D MARINE LOGISTICS GROUP
Brett Wood TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING USA
Peerless Media, LLC A DIVISION OF EH PUBLISHING, INC.
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
John Hill ESYNC
Col. Alan B. Will 2D MARINE LOGISTICS GROUP
Brett Wood TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING USA
Peerless Media, LLC A DIVISION OF EH PUBLISHING, INC.
Kenneth Moyes PRESIDENT AND CEO EH PUBLISHING, INC.
Brian Ceraolo PUBLISHER AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
PEERLESS MEDIA, LLC
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MICHAEL LEVANS GROUP EDITORIAL
THIS MONTH IN MODERN
While it may be at a much slower pace than predicted, growth is
actually taking place whether
you’re feeling it or not. In fact, we kick off this month’s issue
with the latest report from the Material Handling Industry of
America that forecasts equipment orders to grow 12% to 14% in 2010
if the current momen- tum persists (page 9).
Mind you, those new numbers are com- ing off 2009 when orders saw a
34.3% de- cline from 2008. But any way we position the latest
forecast, we can’t help but see it as positive news for the
industry overall. It may even help to crack a few smiles.
But while numbers don’t lie, they can of- ten be deceiving. Even
though it appeared that equipment orders fell off a cliff two years
ago, that didn’t mean that materials handling professionals went
into hiberna- tion in terms of executing improvement
projects.
In his thoughtful wrap up of HK Systems’s recent Material Handling
and Logistics Con- ference (page 10), executive editor Bob Tre-
bilcock recounts a number of conversations that he had with
attendees who were eager to share the details of the projects that
they completed over the past 18 months or moved to the front burner
over the past six months. There was a local authority looking to
put in a new AS/RS; the Federal Reserve Bank was investigating
storage systems; and even a specialty foods manufacturer looking to
expand a fl eet of AGVs.
“I don’t think companies plan multi- million dollar investments in
automation if
they think the apocalypse is right around the corner,” observes
Trebilcock.
My fi rm belief that innovation never goes out of style—no matter
what the economic environment may be—has been further validated in
the system reports that have graced Modern’s covers over the past
two years. Offi ce Depot, Kroger, Crate & Barrel, Patagonia,
Bon-Ton Stores, The Ap- parel Group, IKEA…and the list goes on.
Each of these innovation mavericks has put precious time and
strategic thought into materials handling projects that will put
them in a distinct competitive advantage as the economic fog begins
to clear.
It’s safe to say that the brutal economy never once stopped Keith
Arntson, vice president of distribution operations for Del Monte
Foods, from thinking how to he could help take miles out of the
food giant’s distribution network by applying a few new innovations
inside his To- peka, Kan., DC. In fact, after reading this month’s
System Report (page 18), you can say that Arntson has fl ipped over
a few materials handling axioms en route to a stunning
success.
This month I’m going to leave Modern readers with a challenge.
After reading the Del Monte success story, I’d like you to share
with us a few of the innovation projects that you’ve conducted
during the past 18 months. We believe that innovation never goes
out of style; now help us spread the good word and inspire a few of
the late adopters. Please send me an email on your better idea(s):
[email protected].
Innovation never goes out of style
MMH1010_Editorial.indd 7 10/13/10 2:54 PM
• Automation
Critical Industry News at Your Fingertips!
Critical Topic areas help you develop strategies and expand your
knowledge. Each topic provides you with the news, information, and
resources you need — each day.
CRITICAL TOPICS
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IT’S STILL A FAR CRY FROM 2007, but the materials handling industry
is growing once again. Following a 34.3% decline in equipment
orders in 2009, the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA,
www.mhia.org) is forecasting equipment orders to grow 12% to 14% in
2010 if the current momentum continues.
A variety of factors are driving growth in manufacturing, warehous-
ing and distribution on a global basis, especially an increase in
industrial pro- duction in the fi rst half of 2010 despite factory
utilization rates that remain very low by historical
comparison.
“Consumer demand has not returned,” Hal Vandiver, executive vice
president of business develop- ment for MHIA, told Modern during
the association’s fall meeting. “But in the fi rst two quarters,
the economy shifted from recession into recovery mode, fi lling
supply chain pipelines, re-establishing inventories and re-
sponding to pent up demand.”
While Vandiver expects the indus- try to continue to grow by 11% to
12% in 2011, drags on the economy continue. “Forecasts are now
calling for a combination of reduced GDP, corporate profi t,
business investment and output growth with industrial utilization
remaining below 75% until
late 2011,” Vandiver said. “This is largely due to uncertainty.
Consumers, inves- tors and business owners need greater confi dence
in the economy’s ability to sustain positive growth.” For those
reasons, Vandiver doesn’t expect a signifi cant return to the kinds
of num- bers the industry posted in the past up until 2007.
In addition to
a growth in orders for new equipment, Van- diver forecasts material
handling shipments to grow 3% to 4% in 2010 and another 10% to 11%
in 2011. Domestic demand, defi ned as shipments plus imports less
exports, will grow by 1% in 2010 and by 10% to 11% in 2011. Exports
will be stronger than im- ports in 2010 and 2011, refl ecting
stronger indus- trial growth in emerging markets outside North
America.
m m h . c o m MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0
9
Company Briefi ngs | Bob Trebilcock
The age of automation Expressed as an equation: The industrial age
+ the information age = the automation age
mmh.com/blogs/automation
BY BOB TREBILCOCK, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
ECONOMY
MHIA: Growth is back MHIA FORECASTS 12% TO 14% GROWTH IN NEW
EQUIPMENT ORDERS IN 2010.
0%
-34.3%
HIGHJUMP SOFTWARE announced today that it has reached agreement to
acquire TrueCommerce, a provider of business-to-business
integration solutions. TrueCommerce provides a comprehensive
end-to-end suite of trading partner connectivity solutions
including electronic data interchange (EDI) translation and data
mapping software, transaction network and on-boarding services.
HighJump Software (www.highjump.com) ranks
No. 11 on Modern’s 2010 Supply Chain Management Software an- nual
list with $85 million in revenue. TrueCommerce’s solutions enable
trading partner connectivity for 3,000 customers, feature predefi
ned inte- gration to many major ERP systems, and can be deployed in
either SaaS or on-premise models.
The TrueCommerce trading part- ner integration solution complements
HighJump Software’s existing supply
M&A
Elettric 80 is a global provider of end-of-line automation
solutions. These solutions are called Freeway® material handling
system.
The technologies are adaptable and have a high degree of built-in
flexibility which makes them suitable for any plant / warehouse
layout or design. More details, explanatory videos and animations
can be found at www.elettric80.com.
ITALY · USA · SWEDEN · UK · AUSTRALIA · POLAND
Elettric 80 Inc. 8100 Monticello Avenue Skokie, IL 60076 USA Phone
+1 847 329 7717
[email protected]
Freeway® is based on a simple idea:
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
chain application suite which spans from supplier to store shelf
and includes warehouse management systems, transportation
management systems, route accounting systems, manufacturing
execution, mobile sales and ERP data collection. Trading partner
collaboration is increas- ingly important as organizations strive
to reduce costs and improve service levels. By combining
integration solutions with application functionality, organizations
are able to ensure consistency in business processes and accuracy
of information exchanged with trading partners.
“TrueCommerce has fi lled a unique need in the market for simple,
robust and affordable EDI solutions for small and midsized
businesses,” said Nick Manolis, TrueCom- merce CEO. “I am excited
for the TrueCommerce team to join HighJump, while continuing to
provide excellent service, support and product innovation to our
customers.”
“Combining HighJump and TrueCommerce creates a unique and
compelling solution offering within the supply chain software
market,” said Russell Fleischer, HighJump Software CEO. “Our view
is that supply chain applications must allow users to connect with
a broad ecosystem of trading partners to maximize value. The
TrueCommerce solution platform, and our previous move to
cloud-based applications, will help translate this vision into
reality for our customers.”
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS ANALYSIS
Final thoughts on Supply Chain Reset conference BY BOB TREBILCOCK,
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
DESPITE SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENTS, doing business in in materials
handling remains a challenge. At the same time, many of the leading
customers are investing in supply chain software and automated
materials handling systems to improve their businesses. That
suggests better times are coming.
Tom Brokaw punctuates the 25th anniversary of the Material
Handling and Logistics Conference by HK Systems.
mmh1010_news.indd 10 10/13/10 10:49 AM
m m h . c o m MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0
11
Leader of the Pack... The originator of high speed narrow belt
sortation, TGW Systems has led the way in offering proven
advantages over conventional sortation for over 10 years
NBS from TGW Systems
50% less install time 60% less energy 75% less noise
100% of the Value
www.tgw-group.com
TGW Systems (formerly TGW-Ermanco) is an integrated logistics
solutions and material handling equipment provider. The Ermanco
name lives on as the product family name for the conveying and
sortation products manufactured in the US.
Our worldwide perspective and resources, and commitment to
innovation, product development, and unparalleled customer service
can help you today.
Proven track record – Over 700 installations around the world have
made TGW’s Narrow Belt Sorter one of the most reliable sorters
available.
Rugged durability – TGW’s NBS sorters operate in some of the
harshest distribution environments in the world, earning customer’s
admiration and competitor’s respect.
Application and layout fl exibility – The universal frame on TGW’s
narrow belt sorter means you can use multiple divert options and
easily add divert modules after installation for increased fl
exibility.
Patented technology – Patented sortation technology in the TGW’s
narrow belt sorter continues to lead the way in effective, energy
effi cient, fl exible sortation.
10 08 NBS.indd 1 8/30/2010 3:40:08 PM
keep enough labor to run his primary distribution center. Two
presentations drove this point home. The fi rst was from an
executive with Tim Hor- tons, the Dunkin Donuts of Canada. The
company’s beautiful new DC in Guelph, Ontario, is underperforming
projections even though the AS/RS is
living up to its promises. The reason: The company can’t fi nd
enough labor willing to work in its case picking and palletizing
operations. The other was by Terra Winston, a consultant, who
presented a case study about a proj- ect at PepsiCo to develop the
next wave of supply chain leaders. Her
Those are the two high level take- aways from Supply Chain Reset,
the annual logistics conference held last month in Park City, Utah,
sponsored by HK Systems, now part of Dematic.
“Lousy” was the most common response to the dinner-time question:
“How’s business?”
At the same time, the roll call of end user companies that said
they had projects in the works or on the drawing board was both a
Who’s Who of American business, with names like Coca-Cola and
Kraft, and companies many of us may never have heard of or think of
as custom- ers of our solutions. For example, I sat on the van from
the airport with a guy from the Los Angeles metro- politan
transportation system looking for a new automated storage and
retrieval system (AS/RS). The Federal Reserve Bank was there,
investigat- ing storage systems. I rode in the van back to the
airport with a woman from a producer of honey in Texas who had both
an AS/RS and auto- matic guided vehicles in her facil- ity and was
looking to expand her system.
Those are signs of a growing con- fi dence: I don’t think companies
plan multi-million dollar investments in au- tomation if they think
the apocalypse is right around the corner.
One other anecdotal data point: Marc Ducharme, a vice president and
partner with Axium, a supplier of robotic materials handling solu-
tions, told me that 2009 was a dismal year for implementations, but
that his company has been swamped with RFPs in 2010. An RFP is not
an order, but it’s a sign.
A few other observations: Retaining labor and talent could
be the most important issue facing the industry in the future: A
week or so before going to Utah, I had a con- versation with a vice
president of sup- ply chain for a major retailer who told me he is
interested in automation because he simply cannot fi nd and
mmh1010_news.indd 11 10/13/10 10:49 AM
12 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING m m h . c o
m
point: the talent shortage isn’t limited just to the shop fl
oor.
Retrofi tting is a viable solution: You know the old saying: Every-
thing old is new again. Wegman’s, a Midwestern grocer, and Rubber-
maid both gave strong presenta- tions about how they replaced ag-
ing AS/RS cranes to breathe new life into their DCs. Meanwhile,
Anheuser Busch gained new ef- fi ciencies in its Columbus, Ohio,
facility by upgrading a warehouse control system.
Everyone loves pallets: Based in Iowa, Green Line Armor is offering
a heavy-duty hybrid wood/plastic pallet for permanent pallet pools.
The 48- x 40-inch pallet has heavier stringers and more deck board
coverage than a grocery pallet. The lead boards on the top and the
bottom of the pallet— those most likely to get damaged by a lift
truck—are manufactured from heavy plastic. The pallet has a passive
RFID
tag that is used by Green Line Armor to identify the pallet and
manage war- ranty services. Active RFID tags were installed for
John Deere, the company’s largest customer, to track the location
of work in process stored on the pallets between manufacturing
processes. Eric Renteria, the company’s president, said the
pallets, which come with a 10-year warranty, can be purchased or
leased
in a pooling model. New players are get-
ting into automation: Kip Tygard, whose company makes the Tygard
Claw, a lift truck attachment for mixed case palletizing, is
investing R&D money to develop an automated version of the
Claw. That’s not a big shock: Tygard is an OEM. But I also had
conversations with two very large end users in the wholesale food
distribu-
tion business that have designed their own automated systems—one
has built and implemented its own AS/RS design for freezers for
years, the other has designed its own case picking application that
it intends to put out for bid to the materials handling community.
Both say they may commercialize their solutions in the
future.
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able to make better decisions—especially in the case of the
unexpected. “When a shipment is held up at the port,” says Prashant
Bhatia, director of solutions management at SAP, “it can trigger
logic back to say that I’ve got a problem. I can no longer allocate
that inventory on that particular shipment as I thought I
could.”
3. One database, one system, one supply chain. In the last few
years, soft- ware providers have been pulling all of their products
onto a single supply chain process platform. “It’s fairly new,”
says Lamphier. “Various components have been integrated into that
supply chain process platform longer than others, but actually
moving our WMS onto it has been a more recent development—just
within the last quarter or two.”
SAP uses its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system as the
central repository of information of supply and demand, as well as
inventory, for the entire supply chain. And the modules all
talk to each other. Transportation man- agement systems (TMS) in
conjunction with the event management modules help optimize
freight, determine pick-up windows, determine carriers, keep track
of in-transit times and create ASNs.
That ASN not only gets sent back to the ERP for visibility, but it
also gets sent to the WMS where the sys- tem uses the information
to plan labor, equipment and resources at the receiv- ing dock.
When the physical product arrives, logic within the WMS, based on
the receipt of goods, determines matches against actual
demand.
Smarter, speedier equipment With more retailers crossdocking
over 50% of their items at the case level to their stores,
equipment innovations have centered on conveyor sortation systems,
print and apply mechanisms, and automatic identifi cation technolo-
gies. Here are three new equipment
advances: 1. Smaller gaps and self-regulat-
ing conveyors. In the last year, the sliding shoe sorter has
undergone note- worthy transformations. “By doing a par- allel
divert, we can now run the packages closer together and get a
higher through- put on the same system,” reports Ken Ruehrdanz,
manager for Dematic’s distri- bution and warehousing markets.
The sliding shoes that used to physi- cally push the cartons off
the sorter at an angle can now run those shoes in parallel,
enabling smaller gaps between cartons—which were previously from 6
inches to 8 inches—down to 3 inches.
With more dense traffi c on conveyors, crossdock operators can run
their con- veyors at a lower speed while still achiev- ing the same
throughput. Slower speeds equal less wear and tear, decreased
energy usage and less maintenance.
Another conveyor breakthrough is automatic speed control. “The
whole
m m h . c o m MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / A P R I L 2 0 1 0
49S
MMH100401sup_Crossdock_ID 49 4/8/2010 11:36:20 AM
Leading customers are investing in software and automated
systems to improve business, according to attendees of the
Supply Chain Reset conference.
m m h . c o m MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0
13
THE INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE market is taking steps in the right
direction, according to a report recently issued by global real
estate fi rm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL, www. joneslanglasalle.com),
which report- ed the national average vacancy rate for the North
American industrial real estate sector fell from 10.6% in the fi
rst quarter to 10.4% in the second quarter. Despite the slight
decline in vacancy, the fragile economy still looms large due to
declining con- sumer confi dence, the drying up of economic
stimulus funding, and the potential threat of a double-dip
recession, the report noted.
“We have seen a positive absorp- tion in the vacancy rate in the
second quarter, but we are very concerned
going forward,” Craig Meyer, managing director and leader of JLL’s
Logistics and Industrial Services Group told Modern. “Any kind of
sustained, demand-driven component in the industrial real estate
market is going to be driven by jobs. We are just not seeing any of
that. It is going to be a long, slow recovery.”
Looking at base indicators like the Institute of Supply
Management’s Manufacturing Index, Consumer Confi dence data, and
industrial real estate vacancy and absorption rates, there does not
appear to be what Meyer labeled as a strong indication of a
positive upswing on the horizon.
The report says that a need to restock inventories that were
running at 50-year lows resulted in large com- panies strategically
capturing high
quality logistics space at cyclically low rates. And with slow
levels of leasing activity and sparse construc- tion, industrial
real estate options— especially in the Class A large block
sector—are limited in some markets.
And the swift correction in invento- ries during the second half of
2009 and fi rst quarter of 2010 has left inventory levels lean and
ready for expansion, provided sales rebound in the coming months.
Should this occur, it could lead to increased industrial and
logistics real estate leasing activity.
The report also pointed out that the initial recovery in the
economy was largely driven by improvements in the manufacturing
sector and cyclical adjustments in inventories. But with the
recovery now becoming more broad- based, the recent slowdown of
inven- tory building could have more of an impact on the industrial
property sector than the offi ce sector, the report noted.
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WAREHOUSES/DCS
mmh1010_news.indd 13 10/13/10 10:49 AM
14 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 / MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING m m h . c o
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“We are also concerned about seasonality with the holiday season
coming up,” said Meyer. “The indica- tions we are getting are that
we may not see as much preparation for that as we hoped. A lot of
retailers are saying they are restocked and if consumer confi dence
is going down, they are not going to build up inventories. And for
larger, big box companies, they will see declining values in rents,
but the availability of product for them to lease is
diminishing.”
As a result, Class A big box dis- tribution space is becoming more
diffi cult to fi nd in this economy, said Meyer. But the
build-to-suit market could come back for major retailers, as
evidenced by a new 1-million-square- foot DC space deal by
Amazon.com in Harrisburg, Pa. and a 1.4-million- square-foot
location in Phoenix.
But for a mid-sized industrial building in the 100,000-to-150,000-
square-foot range Class B-sized build-
ing, Meyer said there are an infi nite number of these on the
market.
Looking ahead, Meyer said there will still be downward pressure on
pric-
ing, a double-digit vacancy rate, and no increases in lease rates,
which, he noted, are actually weakening a little bit and tend to
lag a recovery.
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CROWN EQUIPMENT Corp. has quali- fi ed 20 of its electric models to
operate with various fuel cells, bringing the total of qualifi ed
combinations of fuel cell packs and trucks to 29. In 2009, Crown
(www.crown.com) was the fi rst lift truck manufacturer to introduce
a fuel cell qualifi cation program.
Eric Jensen, Crown’s manager of new technology, research and de-
velopment, told Modern that the company’s fuel cell qualifi cation
pro- gram duplicates its own testing, and is conducted at a
25,000-square-foot research facility near Dayton, Ohio. Through the
testing process, engi-
neers evaluate fuel cell performance and monitor whether issues
develop that affect the truck’s operation.
To qualify a fuel cell pack and truck combination, Crown’s
engineers review key performance metrics for a battery- powered
truck, such as traction, plug- ging, and lift and travel speeds.
Then they replace the battery with a fuel cell power pack and
measure the same indicators. Through modeling and ap- plication
testing, the research team de- termines design modifi cations
needed to ensure the fuel cell-powered forklift matched standards
to which the truck was designed.
LIFT TRUCKS
Crown unveils 20 electric lift trucks to operate with fuel
cells
mmh1010_news.indd 14 10/13/10 10:49 AM
m m h . c o m MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0
15
“We’ve been steadfast in our posi- tion that deployment of a fuel
cell forklift fl eet must be carefully evalu- ated and tested for
appropriate use in a warehouse,” said Jensen. “This research-based
approach means that our customers can confi dently know they have
the right truck for their chosen fuel cell, allowing them to meet
their performance, safety and
environmental sus- tainability goals.”
Crown continues to work closely with fuel cell manufactur- ers and
customers to qualify trucks as new fuel cell pack models are intro-
duced. “Forklifts are a key early market for fuel cells,” said Lisa
Callaghan Jerram, senior market analyst for Fuel Cell Today, a
leading analyst
fi rm providing market-based research on the fuel cell industry.
“Based on our market research, we have found strong growth in this
sector in the past three years.”
Because fuel cell powered electric forklifts give off exhaust in
the form of moist, warm air, IC truck custom- ers are looking to
this technology
so they don’t have to deal exhaust issues, Jensen said. Another
advan- tage pointed out by Jensen is a fuel cell powered truck’s
ability to effec- tively operate in a cold environment because they
generate their own heat and the power doesn’t fall off like a
traditional battery.
While the upfront hardware cost of fuel cells is more expensive
than a traditional battery, Jensen pointed out the potential to
capture savings in labor, battery changes, battery rooms, and
heating and venting. With fuel cells, he said, a facility doesn’t
need a battery room and all that goes in to running it properly.
Instead, there is an ongoing savings associated to using fl oor
space for production or other value-added operations.
“Fuel cells have always been talked about fi ve years into the
future, but we have customers who are [currently] planning
installations around this prod- uct,” said Jensen. “The future is
here.”
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To qualify a fuel cell pack and truck combination, engineers
review key performance metrics.
GraphicCaption
In the right application, tuggers and carts can be a fast and
efficient solution.
Level the playing field
Football season is under- way, and fans are hoping for breakout
performances
from stars and rookies alike. On the gridiron, an overpowered
player can be a distinct advan- tage. In the warehouse, how- ever,
too much power can lead to waste, danger and sluggish performance.
For some corpo- rations, this fact has prompted consideration of
fork-free envi- ronments, where versatile and custom-built carts
and tuggers can do the work faster and more efficiently than their
big- ger cousins.
Disposing of expensive and powerful equipment in favor of carts may
seem counter- intuitive, but Jill Burrow, marketing manager for
Topper Industrial, says certain warehouses might benefit greatly
from the switch. For operations requiring multiple trips between
the same areas, carts can cut travel time sig- nificantly.
According to Ed Brown, president of Topper Industrial, a tugger can
pull as many as 13 carts. In addi- tion, says Brown, carts and
tuggers can be easier to use than many forklifts.
“A forklift costs five times as much, but a forklift opera- tor
also costs five times more than a tugger operator,” says Brown.
“Anyone can grab a tugger and go.”
Once a forklift drops off a pallet, in many cases a picker must
bend to access product or arrange for the pallet to be lifted.
Carts, on the other hand, can be configured with swiveling or
angled platforms to allow pickers fast and comfortable access to
products. Worker safety issues tied to forklifts that operate in
tight areas, such as poor visibility when driving in re- verse and
dock mishaps, can also be greatly reduced.
“Companies looking at carts are looking at the cost of equipment
and the cost of maintenance, but they’re also looking at safety,”
says Brown.
In addition to ergonomics and safety, a fork-free zone might help a
warehouse reduce product loss and equip- ment damage. Carts provide
a secure cradle for moving product, while some fork-borne loads are
prone to top- pling. And forklifts, often 10 times as heavy as a
tugger and cart setup, have a way of proving their strength by
leaving dings and dents on storage racks and other hap- less
stationary objects.
With carts and tuggers, Brown says most companies see a return on
investment within a year. In football, a first-round draft pick can
cost millions over a multi-year contract before he produces the
desired results. For com- panies not looking to attempt such a Hail
Mary, tuggers could prove an efficient alternative.
Josh Bond is a contributing editor to Modern and can be reached at
[email protected].
16 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 / Modern Materials Handling m m h . c o
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lift truck TIPS
modern system report
del Monte Foods
Four conveyor-topped vehicles ferry loads from an adjacent
manufacturing plant.
MMH1010_SystemRptDelMonte.indd 18 10/12/10 3:23 PM
mmh.com Modern Materials Handling / O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 19
modern system report
del Monte Foods’ new topeka dC brings laser-guided
agVs from manufacturing into distribution. the result is
a best-in-class materials handling system that minimizes
costs with room to expand in the future.
utomatic guided vehi- cles, or AGVs, have been a staple of materi-
als handling in a manu-
facturing environment for decades. It’s not uncommon to find a
fleet of 20 or more vehicles delivering product to the assembly
line in a large automo- tive plant.
But, AGVs in a distribution cen- ter? Not so much. In DCs, they
have largely been relegated to mov- ing product from the plant to
an adjoining DC. That may be about to change, if the
420,000-square-foot distribution center opened by Del Monte Foods
in Topeka, Kan., last October is any indication.
There, Del Monte has put to work a fleet of 39 laser-guided AGVs
(Elettric80, us.elettric80.com).
• Four conveyor-topped vehicles
ferry loads of pet products from an adjacent manufacturing plant to
a transfer conveyor in the distribution center. There, the loads
are automati- cally placed on pallets and staged for putaway in the
DC. Each vehicle can carry four loads at a time.
• An additional 35 fork-equipped vehicles handle most of the tasks
usu- ally performed by lift trucks in a con- ventional distribution
center. They automatically put loads away into stor- age locations
on the floor or in pallet rack, replenish pallet pick locations in
pick aisles, and deliver full pallet picks to a staging area in the
shipping area.
Both vehicle types use a laser- guided navigation system to direct
travel through the facility. Lift trucks still play a role loading
and unloading trailers at the dock and filling orders for
mixed-case pallets.
BestINclass
modern system report
“This was a greenfield facility, which gave us a unique opportunity
to design a facility that leverages innovation and technology from
day one,” says Keith Arntson, Del Monte’s vice president of
distribution operations. “We believe this is one of the largest, if
not the larg- est, installations of AGVs in a distribu- tion center
in North America.”
After less than a year of operation, the system is delivering a
number of benefits, including exceptional uptime, accuracy and
reduced product damage.
“The system is performing at 99.99% uptime, which was higher than
we expected, and the system has been 99.99% accurate,” says
Arntson. “Our damage rates are significantly lower than in our
conventional facilities.”
Streamlined operations The Topeka distribution center was first
conceived as a network optimiza- tion project. The manufacturing
plant in Topeka had no warehouse space. Instead, pet products
manufactured in Topeka were shipped to forward distri- bution
centers in Chicago, Texas and Georgia.
Some of that product, however, would end up retracing a route back
to the Midwest to fill customer orders. About three years ago, Del
Monte began looking at ways to take miles out of its network. The
goal was to lower
the delivered cost of its prod- ucts and reduce the lead times it
could offer to customers. “Once we completed the network study, the
Midwest offered us the greatest opportunity for supply chain
efficiencies,” says Arntson. “We still ship product to forward DCs
in other parts of the coun- try, but in the Midwest, we can ship
directly to our customers.” Likewise, the DC acts as a for- ward DC
for other complementary Del Monte products that are not manufac-
tured in Topeka.
Once the decision was made to locate in Topeka, the Del Monte team
worked with a design and integration firm to develop materials
handling pro- cesses and systems that would mini- mize the amount
of times the product was handled in the facility, maximize labor
and easily scale as throughput at the DC grows in the future.
“We were tasked with building a best-in-class DC that utilized
proven innovation and produced the lowest delivered cost so we
could remain com- petitive in the market,” Arntson says.
To meet those goals, Del Monte
modeled a range of options, from a traditional warehouse to an
automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) to the AGVs. Careful
attention was also paid to everything from the light- ing to how
the trailers were laid out in the yard.
To learn more about AGVs, the team visited a number of
manufacturing sites that were using laser-guided vehicles, in part
because no distribution center was using the technology to the
extent that it would be used by Del Monte. According to Arntson,
the laser-guided technology stood out for three reasons.
First, it was precise. “Our AGVs don’t just take a load to location
X,” Arntson says. “They go to a specific location on the floor to
within a centi- meter and they do that time and time again.” That
precision not only meant more accurate inventory and storage
information, it also meant that product
“The system is performing at 99.99% uptime, which was higher than
we expected, and the system has been 99.99% accurate.” — Keith
Arntson, vice president of distribution operations, Del Monte
Lift trucks are limited in use to the docks and case picking.
20 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 / Modern MateriaLs HandLing mmh.com
MMH1010_SystemRptDelMonte.indd 20 10/12/10 3:23 PM
modern system report
was unlikely to be damaged as it was moved around the
facility.
Second, AGV technology was mature, proven and predictable. “The
feedback we got from end users made us realize that this was no
longer bleed- ing-edge technology,” Arntson says. “We saw vehicles
that had been fully opera- tional in a 24/7 environment for years,
and were very efficient and successful.”
Third, because Topeka would be a 24/7 operation, Del Monte could
more easily justify the capital investment.
In the end, AGVs offered the best opportunity to meet the goals for
the new DC. What’s more, the technol- ogy could easily scale in the
future. “If our business grows in the future, all we have to do is
add another vehicle to keep up with demand,” says Arntson.
Putting AGVs to work Installing a fleet of 39 laser-guided vehi-
cles involved more than unloading them from the truck and flipping
a switch. For starters, to get the most from the vehi- cles, the
location, layout and installation of the storage areas, including
the rack system, had to be very precise. “If you install racking in
a traditional warehouse you can be a little off,” says Arntson.
“The specifications have to be spot on to work with AGVs.”
Exactness is necessary because the vehicles are so precise that any
devia- tion in the level of the floor or the loca- tion of a rack
can throw off the naviga- tion system.
More importantly, says Arntson, Del Monte wanted to do more
than
just maximize the labor requirements for the new facility; the
company also wanted to get the same kind of opera- tional
efficiencies from the vehicles that it would get from a Tier 1
ware- house management system (WMS) managing tasks in a
conventional ware- house. “What’s important isn’t just that you’re
using automated equipment,” he says. “It’s also how well you
utilize the equipment to accomplish tasks and drive down mission
times.”
In Del Monte’s facility, the WMS and the AGV control system work
together on task interleaving; when a vehicle completes a task, the
system chooses its next assignment based on the next closest task
to be completed. That minimizes empty travel time and maximizes the
use of the equipment.
“We have a large tele- vision monitor in the control room that
shows where the vehicles are at all times and allows us to watch
the entire building operate,” says Arntson. “That allowed us to
iden- tify bottlenecks in our original design, and then prioritize
tasks and imple- ment strategies within the WMS to drive down
mission times.”
That work was done collectively by Del Monte, the systems
integrator and the AGV provider. “We were able
to get through the learning curve very quickly,” says Arntson. “In
a matter of three or four weeks, we had fine-tuned our processes
and had full task inter- leaving in place.”
With nearly a year of operation under their belt, Arntson says the
project is meeting its goals. “We set out to build a best-in-class
distribu- tion center that allows us to reduce waste at all levels
with a low delivered cost,” Arntson says. Beyond that, he adds, “we
have significantly reduced our network miles, which is a sustain-
ability play, and we’re closer to our customers to respond to their
swings in demand. We’re now best-in-class on many of our customer
score cards out of that site.”
Del Monte relies on more than 30 fork-equipped AGVs for putaway and
pallet picking in the
distribution center.
MoDern MAteriAls HAnDlinG / O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 21
MMH1010_SystemRptDelMonte.indd 21 10/12/10 3:23 PM
22 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com
modern system report
dock. The load is palletized, scanned, and staged for pick up and
putaway.
Putaway: Palletized loads are picked up by one of 35 fork-equipped
vehicles. The AGV is then directed to a rack or floor storage
location (4) based on pre-defined locations in the facility’s
warehouse management sys- tem (WMS). Locations are prioritized
based on whether the product is a fast-, medium- or slow-moving
item. No bar code scan is required to con- firm the putaway by the
vehicle since
A fleet of 39 laser-guided automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) has
stream- lined the materials handling processes and reduced the
number of touches in Del Monte’s highly automated new dis-
tribution center in Topeka, Kan.
receiving: The Del Monte distribu- tion center receives product
from the adjacent manufacturing plant (1) and at the shipping and
receiving area (2) from other Del Monte manufacturing facilities.
Locally manufactured prod- uct is automatically loaded onto a slip
sheet, stretch-wrapped and staged on
a discharge conveyor (1). One of four conveyor-topped vehicles
interfaces with the discharge conveyor to pick up a load. Each AGV
can carry four loads. Once the vehicle has picked up all of its
loads, it travels through a 75-foot breeze- way connecting the DC
to the plant and drops the pallets at a transfer sta- tion (3a).
There the slip-sheeted loads are placed on a pallet, automatically
scanned and staged for pick up and put- away. At the receiving
dock, slip-sheeted loads are unloaded by lift truck and placed on a
transfer station (3b) on the
Automatic guided vehicles streamline operations Laser-guided AGVs
move product from the manufacturing plant and through the
distribution center.
By Bob trebilcock, Executive Editor
del Monte Foods topeka, Kan.
size: 420,000 square feet of distribution space
Products: Pet products
eMPloyees: 50 in distribution
1
modern system report
1
North American Representative
904-826-4490 / Fax 904-826-4491
Retrofit of large vehicles with new controls and wiring done on
site.
New offboard AGV system software,
traffic control and I/O’s as well as system expansions.
Stack pallets up to
36’ high in warehouse
Custom AGV Specialists, New or Retrofit
mmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / A P R I L 2 0 1 0 47
programmable optical sensors for safe operation near pedestrians
and in confined spaces. The AGVs follow a self-adhesive magnetic
tape for simple setup with no floor modifications. Toyota Material
Handling, 800-226-0009, www.toyotaforklift.com.
Robotic pallet truck handles 8,000 pounds The vision-guided GP8
robotic pallet truck frees skilled employees by performing
non-value-added work by auto- mating pallet transport. After an
operator positions the vehicle’s 96-inch long forks under the
pallet, the industrial mobile robot transports pal- lets to an
assigned location, automatically positions them, and returns to the
original starting point—or other pre- assigned location—for more
work. The vehicle handles up to 8,000 pounds and stores 25 miles of
learned routes.
AGVs
Transfer Arm
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LodeArm Shown with Optional Trolley Mount
Powered by a 24-volt DC battery, the vehicle travels at a maximum
speed of 3.5 miles per hour. Seegrid, 877- 733-4753,
www.seegrid.com.
Roller forks handle palletless loads
Using a patented roller fork mecha- nism, the pallet-free automatic
guided vehicle eliminates the need for pallets within a facility.
The vehicle handles loads on slip sheets and offers stacking and
push back rack capability. It may also be used for pal- let
handling. The automated system reduces labor costs, product damage
and operational costs. HK Systems, 262-860-6715,
www.hksystems.com.
MMH100401ProdFocus_ID 47 4/8/2010 11:35:13 AM
system suppliers
WareHouse ManageMent systeM: eXe technologies (infor),
678-319-8000, www.infor.com/solutions/scm/wms
lift trucks: yale Materials Handling, 800-233-9253,
www.yale.com
Bar code scanning: accu-sort systems, 215-723-0981,
www.accusort.com
the system is nearly 100% accurate. Once the AGV drops off a pallet
load, the system knows that it is available for the next
task.
Picking: As with receiving, pick- ing may be done using automation
or conventional processes. Full pallet picks are handled by the
AGVs. The system directs a vehicle to a floor or rack storage
location (4). The pallet is then delivered to a staging area (5) in
the shipping area or to replenish a pick location in one of the
pick aisles (6) that run the length of the building.
Mixed-SKU orders calling for mixed pallets are fulfilled using con-
ventional processes. The WMS deliv- ers picking instructions,
including the location and the quantity of cases to be picked in
the pick aisles (6), to order selectors on RF devices. Cartons are
picked to pallet. Once the pallet is complete, it’s stretch-wrapped
and
staged (5) in the shipping area. shipping: Once pallets are
built,
stretch-wrapped and staged in ship-
ping, the system directs lift truck operators to load the pallets
onto trailers (2). M
MMH1010_SystemRptDelMonte.indd 23 10/12/10 3:23 PM
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modern productivity solution
Kaiser Aluminum, which has been providing aluminum components to
the aerospace, man-
ufacturing and industrial markets since 1946, pro- duces several
different types of aluminum automo- tive parts at its facility in
South Carolina. During the manufacturing process, parts are
transported to workstations in large wire baskets for further
processing like stamping, bending and heating. To get a part, a
worker bends over and reaches down into a basket to lift it out. As
the level of parts in a container drops, workers must bend lower
and reach deeper.
This action can not only cause fatigue and strain, it can rob
valuable time from the production pro- cess. Concerns about the
potential for employee back injuries and production-line
bottlenecks led Kaiser management to investigate ergonomic solu-
tions for their workers and an improved production process for
their business.
Company managers met with equipment suppli- ers to evaluate the
current manufacturing process and identify solutions. During the
equipment evalu-
ation phase, an animated 3-D video showed exactly how tilters
(Presto Lifts, www.prestolifts.com) could solve ergonomic and
production issues.
The tilters permit workers to pick out parts by bending only
slightly, using a push-button, hand- held pendant or
pedestal-mounted controls to hydraulically adjust the unit to the
most convenient angle (up to 89°) as the container is depleted so
parts are kept within easy reach. With unrestricted access to the
contents, there is virtually no risk of back injury.
Kaiser purchased a variety of tilters, some of which also lift. All
models are designed to provide easy access to parts in large
containers. Workstations vary, so different models were chosen to
keep parts at the most convenient level at each location. A full
container can be easily placed on any unit with a hand pallet truck
or lift truck.
Since installing the ergonomic lifting and tilt- ing equipment,
management reports that bottle- necks have been eliminated and
production lines have sped up. M
TilT Toward safeTy and producTiviTy
By Lorie King Rogers, associate editor
Aluminum parts manufacturer uses ergonomic lifting equipment to
prevent worker injury and increase production.
MMH1010_ProdSol.indd 25 10/13/10 9:41 AM
By Bob trebilcock, Executive Editor
Top 20
but the recovery may
mmh.com Modern Materials Handling / O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 27
declined through much of 2009, all of the categories VDC tracks
began to grow again modestly by the end of the year. Emphasis again
on the word “modest.”
With business on the ropes, most major players focused on
maintaining
the status quo; there were no major mergers or acquisitions last
year, and no real departures from technologies or markets.
Likewise, the 2009 market leaders included familiar faces: Once
again,
modern special report
R eality bites, and in 2009, the automatic data capture busi- ness
was bit hard. The total market for industrial automatic data
capture (ADC) solutions
came in at roughly $15.2 billion in 2009, according to
Massachusetts-based VDC Research Group (www.vdcresearch. com), down
about 15.5% from the more than $18 billion spent on industrial ADC
in 2008.
But it was a tale of two years, and a modest recovery may already
be under- way, buoyed by investments in RFID technology and 2D
imaging solutions, according to Drew Nathanson, VDC’s director of
research operations. The emphasis is on the word “modest.” “There
is still a lot of uncertainty about the economic recovery and that
impacts this market,” says Nathanson.
The ADC market includes handheld and stationary bar code scanning
and imaging devices, bar code printers, con- sumables like bar code
labels and RFID tags, RFID solutions for the supply chain, and
ruggedized mobile computing solutions for the factory and
warehouse.
As Nathanson notes, the recession didn’t hit the ADC industry until
the fourth quarter of 2008. And while there is no question that
solution providers
Top 20 ADC suppliers by revenue ($ millions)
Rank Company Total 2009 Revenues Web site
1 Motorola $1,074.0 www.motorola.com
2 Zebra $434.3 www.zebra.com
3 Intermec $365.0 www.intermec.com
4 Datalogic/PSC $328.4 www.datalogic.com
6 SATO $223.0 www.satoamerica.com
7 TEC $166.9 www.tecamerica.com
9 SAVI $147.9 www.savi.com
11 Printronix $113.8 www.printronix.com
13 LXE $89.0 www.lxe.comw
14 Vocollect $85.5 www.vocollect.com
16 Siemens $63.5 www.usa.siemens.com
18 Mobilecompia $54.5 www.m3mobile.co.kr
20 Unitech $38.1 www.ute.com Source: VDC Research Group
automatic data capture suppliers
tings, like hospitals, libraries or resorts. Nor do we include
companies that only manufacture consumables like bar code labels
and RFID tags.
While the overall market for ADC solutions totaled $15.2 billion,
each of the industry segments experienced their own dynamics last
year that may have been different from the overall market.
Mobile computing The market for ruggedized mobile com- puters
reached $1.9 billion in 2009, says David Krebs, VDC’s director of
the mobile and wireless computing practice. Approximately $500
million of the mar- ket is attributed to solutions on the plant or
DC shop floor, or in port and yard applications, while stationary
devices for lift trucks accounted for about $180 million in 2009.
Both figures represent significant declines from 2008, with the
handheld market down about 24% and the lift truck-mounted market
down by roughly 31%, a figure that comes close to mirroring the
decline in lift truck sales last year.
However, the market has begun to improve. Krebs estimates that the
mar- ket for handheld devices will grow by a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 8.4% through 2014, with the lift truck market
growing by 5.8% per year.
The economy, rather than any new technological development,
dominated the news in this space last year. “Business conditions
across the board were very challenging,” says Krebs. “And, when it
comes to the warehousing, manufactur-
ing and logistics space, these are increas- ingly mature markets.
While there is some growth in emerging markets, the replacement and
upgrade market is driv- ing much of the business, not
expansion.”
However, Krebs is watching the impact of smart phone technology on
ruggedized mobile computers. “The rapid growth of the iPhone and
Android operating systems in the consumer mar- ket is beginning to
impact the industrial market,” says Krebs. At the same time, he
adds, most of the initial applications have to do with field
service. “While the products they design for those environ- ments
could impact warehouse prod- ucts, I think the warehouse is one of
the last places you’ll see these devices take hold,” he says.
The market for wearable computers, a category that includes voice
recogni- tion technology, totaled $175 million last year, a drop of
about 10% from 2008. Adoption of voice and wearable solutions saw a
big run-up in 2007 and 2008, especially in consumer packaged goods
industries. While Krebs contin- ues to see a great deal of interest
in voice, it is still a niche market.
“One of the challenges to adoption has been the high cost of
dedicated voice terminals versus a voice-enabled mobile computer,”
he says. “Still, we’re seeing interest, especially in multi-modal
envi- ronments that leverage voice, bar codes and other ADC
technologies.”
Scanning and printing The markets for bar code-related hard- ware
saw some of the most significant
28 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com
Motorola (www.motorola.com/us) led with an estimated $1.074 billion
in rev- enue. Motorola was followed by Zebra Technologies
(www.zebra.com) with $434.3 million. The top five was rounded out
by Intermec Technologies (www.inter- mec.com), which recaptured the
No. 3 spot with $365 million, Datalogic/PSC (www.datalogic.com)
with $328.4 million, and Honeywell with $308 million, accord- ing
to estimates provided by VDC. Printer maker SATO, which had been
No. 3, dropped to No. 6 with $223 million.
Collecting the data This is Modern’s ninth-annual look at the
leading manufacturers of ADC hard- ware and solutions. Because the
industry includes public and private companies, this is the second
year in a row that we asked VDC Research Group to compile the data:
Since their analysts are cover- ing this technology every day, they
are closer to the market.
To make our list, companies must sell in North America, though the
chart includes worldwide revenues. Modern does not include
resellers, systems inte- grators or other companies that do not
manufacture ADC hardware. Since our readers are primarily focused
on supply chain solutions, we do not include com- panies whose
primary focus is the retail checkout counter or non-industrial
set-
modern special report
“Business conditions across the board were very challenging, and
when it comes to the warehousing, manufacturing and logistics
space, these are increasingly mature markets.”
—David Krebs, VDC’s director of mobile and wireless computing
practice
MMH1010Top20_ADC2.indd 28 10/13/10 9:43 AM
modern system report
Rank Company Bar code printers
Handheld scanners
Source: VDC Research Group and Modern Materials Handling
declines in 2009. Handheld scanners dropped 22.6% from 2008 to
$627.5 million, the second drop in a row, while the market for
industrial fixed scan- ners declined by 25% to $660.4 million,
according to Tom Wimmer, director of VDC’s AIDC and RFID practices.
Meanwhile, the market for industrial printers, which includes bar
code print- ers and the RFID printer/encoder mar- ket, declined by
22% to $1.6 billion. While all three markets have begun to recover,
Wimmer is predicting five- year compound annual growth rates of
between 5.6% (printers) to 6.1% (hand- held scanners).
The one bright spot was in the 2D and camera-based imaging space,
which grew by an estimated 20% last year. “What that says to me is
that end users are beginning to get excited by imaging technology
and the benefits it can pro- vide,” says Wimmer. Imaging technology
allows end users to capture more data using 2D bar code symbology
or capture images for merchandise returns, work- in-process or
quality control.
As with the mobile computing and voice spaces, there was very
little busi- ness news. And, as with mobile com- puting, the most
important trend is the interest in multi-modal data collection. “We
continue to see new processes driven and controlled by bar codes
being complemented by voice and RFID,” says Wimmer. “These are
viable solutions in the materials handling space, and it’s going to
continue to grow.”
RFID If there was one major bright spot in the ADC market last
year, it was RFID. How good was business? “It’s going
gang-busters,” says Nathanson. “The RFID industry certainly bounced
back quicker than the bar code, mobile com- puting and printer
industries.”
The total RFID market came in at roughly $3.6 billion, including an
estimated $3 billion in the industrial and transportation space.
That was up about 7% from 2008, says Nathanson, who expects the
market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.5% to $7.5
billion by 2014. By the end of 2009, many suppliers were reporting
full pipelines, with some backlogs in the RFID tag and tran-
sponder markets.
The key driver is early adopters are seeing real value from the
additional data that can be placed on an RFID chip versus a bar
code, from the vis- ibility that comes from tracking an item
throughout the supply chain or its life cycle, and from reductions
in theft and counter-fitting. “Apparel manufactur- ers, in
particular, are looking to RFID
to track their product from the point of manufacture through the
point of sale so they know when something enters the supply chain
and when it is removed,” says Nathanson.
Just as companies are combining bar codes and voice to create and
con- trol new processes, RFID is being used with sensors to not
only track the loca- tion of an item in the supply chain, but to
monitor important environmental conditions, like the temperature in
the cold chain, and even carbon emissions for sustainability.
“Companies that made an early commitment to RFID now see it as a
competitive advantage,” says Nathanson. “They are using the down
economy as an opportunity to continue to invest and get new
economies over their competitors.” M
MMH1010Top20_ADC2.indd 29 10/13/10 9:43 AM
ith ongoing pressures to drive costs out of manufacturing and
dis-
tribution processes, facilities increas- ingly rely on a blend of
data capture and mobile computing technologies to gain better
control of assets and inven- tory. The application of a single
solu- tion—such as RF bar code scanning, imagers, voice-directed
picking or radio frequency identification (RFID)— developed into a
blending of technolo- gies embedded into a single device for
maximum labor flexibility and opera- tional efficiency.
Users need data capture and mobile computing solutions that
generate enhanced supply chain visibility and overall business
efficiency improve- ments, says Mike Liard RFID prac- tice director
at ABI Research (www. abiresearch.com). “To do that, sup- pliers
have become more ‘technology agnostic,’ offering a broader range of
automatic identification data collection (AIDC) solutions for use
in combina- tion as complementary technologies.”
“The technologies are used not just to find assets, but also to
track the mis-
sion-critical things that get tied to your process,” Liard adds.
“People are looking beyond labor cost reduction to overall cost
reduction—a more holis- tic approach.”
Further, “there’s been a trend to have devices that can operate 24
by 7 by 365, or with essentially no downtime,” says Tim Eusterman,
senior direc- tor of industry marketing for Intermec
(www.intermec.com). “Companies call it ‘sweating the assets,’ and
they’re look- ing get the most utilization out of the least amount
of investment in mobile computing.”
Multi-modal capabilities Feeling the pressure to run as lean as
possible has companies examining every angle of their
spending.
“Along with that, there’s a reduction in information technology
(IT) staff and IT spend,” says Dave Peddemors, vice president of
North American sales for Psion Teklogix (www.psionteklogix. com).
“Users upgrade because they can’t support their old systems
any-
MODERN information management
By Sara Pearson Specter, Editor at Large
Using a combination of diverse technologies— often in one compact
package—gives users the edge in asset management and operational
efficiency.
W
mmh.com Modern Materials Handling / O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 31
more; they may not have an IT staff person in every single
location. So, companies are looking at modularity and the ability
to deploy one platform across multiple applications.”
In response, vendors are provid- ing smaller, faster data capture
and mobile computing devices with multi- modal
functionality—combining RF scanning, imaging, RFID tag reading,
voice-directed picking and other AIDC elements into a single unit.
One device has one operating system, battery pack, holsters and
modular accessories to
simplify management of the tools, Peddemors says.
A single, multi-modal device also offers flexibility, says
Intermec’s Eusterman. “Some mobile computers can be used on a
forklift for receiving, putaway and replenishment, then can also be
a wearable device for a voice pick- ing application. Or, in a
receiving situa- tion, if a user is more comfortable with a pistol
grip, that can be attached to con- vert the device to a hand held,”
he says.
More units are incorporating imager cameras as well, according to
Motorola’s
Mike Maris, senior director of transpor- tation and logistics
(www.motorola.com/ enterprise). “Especially at the docks, the
ability for a receiving clerk to take pic- tures of a delivery in
real time, combine it with a voice recording, and send a mes- sage
to the buyer to confirm the accuracy of the receipt through the
mobile com- puter is a real timesaver,” he says.
Browser-based interfaces Operators of mobile computers have become
quite familiar with browser-based navigation and smart
modern information management
Wearable mobile computing devices are increasingly being enhanced
with greater processing power and more memory to accommodate full
color images that show a visual of the product to be picked, the
correct location of a pick, or the appropriate scheme to follow in
building a pallet load.
MMH1010InfoMgmt.indd 31 10/13/10 10:51 AM
32 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com
phones. Because of that inherent comfort level, ware- house devices
are also sport- ing these interfaces—making them both more
accessible to new users and easier to train employees on.
Additionally, warehouse management system (WMS) solution providers
have begun offering the ability to present full color images on
mobile computers—showing a visual of the product to be picked, the
correct location of a pick, or the appropriate scheme to follow-
ing in building a pallet load, to name a few.
To accommodate these fea- tures, “the devices have more processing
power and more memory,” says Keith Bernhardt, LXE’s director of
product man- agement (www.lxe.com). “If you have a higher powered
proces- sor, you can deliver more com- mands faster for quicker
tradi- tional picking. If the device is a thicker client, you can’t
afford to slow down just because you have a few more
features.”
Look for newer devices to also sport higher resolution screens,
says Psion Teklogix’s Peddemors. “Vendors are developing
high-visibility, high-resolution screens that represent the product
very well and allow you to get a lot of legible, readable data in
that screen factor,” he adds.
Interconnectivity Bluetooth technologies continue to be employed
with mobile computing and data capture devices, says LXE’s
Bernhardt. “To enable the interaction of different equipment,
Bluetooth con- nects scanners to vehicle mounted and hand-held
computers, so operators no longer have to be tethered to a
forklift,” he says.
The technology also enables opera- tors to wear hands-free devices,
such as
ring scanners on their fingers or voice- enabled headsets over
their ears, that communicate back to a computer worn on a belt.
“That combination allows the wearer to be really mobile, more
efficient, work faster and make the operations move much more
smoothly,” Bernhardt adds.
Also enhancing interconnectiv- ity, says Tom Burke, vice president
of product marketing at Datalogic Mobile (www.datalogic.com), are
the location- based service technologies that can be integrated on
mobile computing and data capture devices.
“The combination of global position- ing systems (GPS) with
cellular tech- nologies and Wi-Fi positioning systems opens up a
lot of opportunities to know
the position of a person relative to a position within a
facility—with- out putting in an expensive, dedi- cated,
location-based system,” Burke explains. “These solutions also allow
you to instantly know a vehicle location for tracking par- cel
deliveries.”
The systems seamlessly main- tain the wireless connection, enabling
an appropriately equipped mobile worker to complete tasks inside
the warehouse and then out in the yard.
For even more productivity, operators can be outfitted with a
fast-output mobile printer that wirelessly networks with mobile
computers and prints human-readable or bar code labels for
shipping, returns or store location loading.
“If you outfit the worker with a mobile printer, you can really cut
down on travel time to fixed printers and eliminate confusion in
locating loads that are some distance away,” adds Intermec’s
Eusterman.
RFID’s re-emergence Although still considered by some to be a
four-letter word, RFID tags and reader use is
exploding as a component of data cap- ture for asset
management—includ- ing inventory, work-in-process, parts,
returnable packaging, tooling and vehi- cles, says ABI Research’s
Liard. While the trend is fueled partly by an increase in the
technology’s reliability and a corresponding decrease in per-tag
and reader costs, companies are evaluating RFID based on return on
investment and total cost of ownership.
“The value of the tagged asset is certainly going to come into
play, but there’s also the factor of preventing the loss of assets,
or having trouble find- ing these assets during mission-critical
times,” Liard says. “The value proposi- tion is tied to the
business process and the larger efficiency picture.”
modern information management
to give users the ability to deploy one platform across multiple
applications, mobile computing vendors are providing smaller,
faster data capture devices with multimodal functionality.
MMH1010InfoMgmt.indd 32 10/13/10 10:51 AM
Warehouses and manufacturers are looking for mobile computing
solutions that enable them to better manage inventory, assets and
labor, agrees Toby Rush, president and CEO of Rush Tracking Systems
(www.rushtrack- ingsystems.com).
Rush’s company offers a solu- tion featuring an RFID reader mounted
to the top of the lift truck for indoor position monitoring and
real-time visibility of the truck, and an RFID reader mounted on
the front of the vehicle or on its forks automatically scans the
load being moved. “By taking away the hand- held bar code scanner
and not making a person scan, a facility can gain speed and
accuracy by elimi- nating errors,” Rush explains.
In addition to inventory and shipping accuracy improvements, users
of these systems also benefit from analyzing the data collected to
yield better labor and fleet management, adds Rush. “It’s like
having a little industrial engineer
riding on every forklift, doing time studies all day long.”
Information dense bar codes With growing use of information-dense
bar codes—such as two- dimensional (2D) ver- sions that store
informa- tion both horizontally and vertically, and com- pact GS1
DataBar (for- merly known as RSS, reduced space symbol-
ogy)—additional infor- mation can be stored in the mark.
Application identifiers contain more information than ever before,
such as serial numbers, lot numbers and expiration dates that yield
better product identification, quality
control and traceability. To accommodate these bar codes,
data capture devices now incorporate imagers that have become as
fast at
reading them as laser scanners read a traditional one-dimensional
bar code, says Motorola’s Maris. “The imagers are essentially
cameras that take a pic- ture of the bar code and translate the
dots and squares; for traceability, it’s a technology that’s
starting to find real purpose.”
Computing in a cloud With more WMS vendors looking to offer their
software as a service (SaaS— also known as cloud-based computing),
most mobile computing device manu- facturers say the effect on
their tech- nologies will be negligible.
“Most devices now have an inte- grated browser and fairly high
speed interface to the network,” says Datalogic’s Burke. “SaaS
requires a cer- tain functionality from your browser, and if you
have an old one that hasn’t been updated, you’re going to have some
compatibility issues.”
It’s also important to verify that the devices have the ability to
lock the browser onto a single application, preventing users from
accessing the Internet or control panel, as well as keeping the
network secure.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of cloud-based computing will be the
ability of a smaller level of user to take advantage of warehouse
automation, says LXE’s Bernhardt. “Certainly SaaS allows smaller
deploy- ments to take place in larger numbers,” he adds.
For mobile computing and data capture device manufac- turers, that
will likely lead to an increased availability of pared down, more
common configurations of products that don’t require as much
customization. “They’re not going to be looking for so much
specialization and variety, but will still find sig- nificant
improvement in their operations overall,” Bernhardt says. M
modern information management
With growing use of information-dense bar codes, data capture
devices now incorporate imagers that have become as fast at reading
them as laser scanners read a traditional one-dimensional bar
code.
location-based service technologies can be integrated on a device,
allowing companies to instantly know a vehicle location for
tracking parcel deliveries.
MMH1010InfoMgmt.indd 33 10/13/10 10:51 AM
ertical and horizontal carousels have been moving product through
warehouses and distribution centers for more than 25 years. In
addi- tion to creating dynamic high-density storage, carousels can
be cred- ited with increasing productivity, reducing labor, saving
space and
cutting energy costs. The concept of carousel technology hasn’t
changed much over the years.
That might be because a carousel is a robust and dependable piece
of equip- ment, and it is mechanically pretty simple, says Jack
Lehr, vice president of sales for automated systems for SSI
Schaefer (www.ssi-schaefer.us). What is changing is how users are
applying carousel technology. “About five years ago, however,
engineers in the United States started to recognize that the
goods-to-person process is hands down the most efficient picking
pro- cess,” says Lehr.
So, if you have a picking operation, are carousels the right
solution? “Any manufacturing plant, warehouse or distribution
center currently using a traditional static rack and shelving
system should investigate the possibility of incorporating an
automated solution like a vertical or horizontal carousel,” says
Christina Hilligoss, marketing and commu- nications manager for
KardexRemstar (www.kardexremstar.com).
And, that investigation should cover a few key areas. Paul Roy,
vice president of marketing and product management for
V By Lorie King Rogers, Associate Editor
Not just for high-density storage anymore,
today’s carousels are delivering product to the
person while increasing productivity, reducing
labor, saving space and cutting energy costs.
Carousels: Turning picking into
pRoductivity
34 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 0 / ModeRN MateRiaLs HaNdLiNg mmh.com
MMH1010_EquipRptCarousels.indd 34 10/13/10 9:18 AM
MODERN equipment report
Turning picking into
System Logistics (www.systemlogistics.com) rec- ommends asking: Am
I currently using labor to pick from shelving? Do I have space and
accuracy issues? Do I need to get orders out the door faster?
If you answered “yes,” to any of those ques- tions, it might be
time to consider a carousel. “Carousels can go anywhere shelving
can go,” explains Hilligoss. “If you’re looking to save space, a
vertical carousel might be the solution. If you’re looking to
increase productivity, horizontal may be the way to go.”
Either way, the starting point is a return on investment (ROI)
estimate. “Carousels have an average ROI of about 18 months,”
Hilligoss says. Whether your return is shorter or longer may depend
on your current operations. For example, are you renting space off
site to store product? How many people will you be able to retrain
and relocate?
Common characteristics Both vertical and horizontal carousels share
key components that are vital to an operation’s bottom line:
• They incorporate dense storage technology to house product and
components, and carousels can save as much as 85% of the space used
to store items in traditional, static shelving and rack
systems.
• Carousels bring products to the person performing a picking or
putaway activity, and they eliminate the need for associates to
walk to retr