Automation in the Warehouse – NOT a Dirty Word

June 20th, 2012

Bob Giberson, Principal of PeakLogix, recently sat down with Victor Hoerst, President/Owner of Logistics Connections, LLC to discuss his experience, current technology features and trends within the industry.

Victor Hoerst is responsible for sales & marketing activities in the North America market connecting industry supply chain solutions to clients with an emphasis on food, beverage, CPG and grocery retail end users. The manufacturers he currently represents are Palomat and Qubiqa. Prior to beginning Logistics Connections in 2008, Mr. Hoerst had a robust career in the material handling industry enjoying employment with key players such as SwissLog and Witron.

An interesting technology application Mr. Hoerst has implemented into client facilities such as: General Mills, Proctor Gamble, Kroger, and SUPERVALU is the Qubiqa Layer Picker.  Additionally, the Qubiqa Layer Picker Flex-R was developed about a year ago and combines materials handling with robotics.  Reducing the height and weight of the machinery to make it compatible with existing robotic arm technology has resulted in one of the most robust machines available to pick up a layer off of a pallet.

This new technology uses a patented, low-vacuum chamber principle to gently and safely lift one pallet layer at a time.  The Qubiqa Layer Picker Flex-R can effectively pick up 98% of the products found in a typical retail sector environment. The adaptability of the Qubiqa Layer Picker Flex-R’s technology is critical for the retail sector because they don’t necessarily know what the pallet configuration will be.  Each layer could include diverse products with varying surfaces like loose products, six packs of bottled beverages or smooth cartons.
Some of the industry trends Mr. Hoerst shared with Mr. Giberson during the interview include:

  • Automation in the warehouse is not a dirty word any more.
  • Automation in Distribution Centers is beginning to catch up.
  • Manufacturing has had automation for decades; whereas the warehouse has the same old processes from decades ago.
  • The gap between technologies in the distribution center vs. manufacturing facilities is closing.

As the economy improves, we can expect to see:

  • Manual labor jobs affected – i.e., 20 order selectors will be replaced by 3 mechanics.
  • There will be an increased demand for technical maintenance skills to keep automation running.

Dawn Mooney
Creative Director
PeakLogix


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The Synergistic Summit

May 20th, 2011

It has been an exciting week for me at PeakLogix.  We just wrapped up the very successful Supply Chain Summit that we coordinated and hosted with F. Curtis Barry & Company on May 17-18, 2011.   

 

A solid group of attendees and vendors from all over the country participated in the Supply Chain Summit, resulting in a very synergistic event. 

 

The first day of the summit was filled with interesting panel discussions regarding ERP vs. WMS and How to Benchmark and Improve Operations. Additionally, there were presentations highlighting specific case studies regarding cost justification for automating operations and for implementing voice technology applications, respectively.  After lunch, everyone boarded the busses to travel to the STIHL Manufacturing and Distribution Center to tour and audit their facilities.   

 

The second and final day of the Supply Chain Summit featured in-depth roundtable discussions with attendees and vendors.  It is within these discussions that I was truly impressed with the synergistic abilities of each group.  It was so refreshing to see such open and honest conversations being conducted between high level people from various different aspects within the industry. The synergy was easily picked up and easy to recognize as each group functioned together to produce ideas and results that would not have been conceived alone.   

 

Being new to the industry it was a breath of fresh air to see this kind of sharing of experiences and best practices within the industry.  I have written before that one of the very first things I picked up on within the material handling industry is just how close everyone generally holds their cards.  The Supply Chain Summit was a great experience for me to see some of those walls come down. Each group participated in some good old fashioned sharing and story telling.  I am guessing that it would not be a stretch to guess that there were some new friendships formed among the attendees of the Supply Chain Summit. 

 

I look forward to doing everything in my power to continue to make the Supply Chain Summit such a high value, low cost event for industry participants.  I met so many great people and look forward to doing it again next spring!

 

 

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