Logistics Management - June 2010

State of materials handling, continued
dents. In 2010, “safety” and “cost containment”
remain the top two concerns
while “company growth” has dropped
down to number five, replaced by
“throughput.” As the economy recovers,
the survey reveals that companies are
typically more concerned about increasing
throughput capacity with resources
that they already have—much of which
may have been scaled-down by the economic
downturn.
Security or privacy issues, particularly
the release of customer information
and financial information, have
also become more sensitive issues for
51 percent of respondents. Pribula
notes that four years ago, security concerns
would have revolved around company-owned
assets. “Now we’re talking
about securing data because it’s more
electronic, with more connectedness
between systems and more information
being shared among manufacturers,
distributors, retailers and customers.”
A look at green efforts
Predictably, recycling continues to
dominate as the most popular environmentally
sustainable initiative currently
in use (76 percent). But other up-andcoming
“green” ideas have certainly
piqued the interests of many respondents.
Most notably, there seems to be
major buzz around the installation
of “solar panels” on top of distribution
facilities. Despite a current use
rate of only 9 percent, over half of the
respondents (53 percent) are planning
to evaluate the use of solar panels for
their DCs over the next 12 months.
Derewecki believes that this is probably
driven by new incentives, good
corporate citizenship, and regulations
and evolving federal policies. “Warehouses
are certainly a natural application
for solar panels, because they have
so much roof space.”
Our panel is also surprised by the
significant interest (over 40%) in
the use of metal and plastic pallets.
Derewecki notes that there have been
recent problems with contamination
that one of the pharmaceutical
manufacturers attributed to wooden
pallets. “That has since been denied
by the wood pallet association,” he
adds. “But this incident may have
Materials handling equipment and systems:
Solutions and systems in use and likely to
evaluate in the next 18 months
Rack and shelving
Printers
Lift trucks and accessories
Totes, bins and containers
Bar code scanners
Dock equipment
Packaging including palletizers,
pallets and dunnage
Wireless terminals
Conveyors including
sortation equipment
Controls
Power transmission including
motors and belts
Hoists, cranes, and monorails
RFID solutions/products
Automated storage including
carousels and vertical lift modules
In use
AGVs
Other
16%
19%
Source: Modern Materials Handling/Logistics Management survey
re-ignited interests, since one of the
biggest advantages with plastic and
metal pallets is that they could be put
through sterilization processes.”
As big retailers like Wal-Mart
and Target push their suppliers into
adopting more green initiatives, our
panel predicts interest in these environmentally
sustainable ideas will
increase significantly as the economy
recovers.
Who’s buying what
Curious as to what titles are involved
in the various decisions inside the four
26%
27%
25%
23%
21%
21%
27%
26%
33%
30%
42%
39%
38%
49%
62%
60%
72%
70%
70%
86%
86%
85%
RFID is the top
23%
43% technology to evaluate
in 18 months.
19%
35%
10%
27%
1%
2%
Plan to evaluate/invest in 18 months
walls While material handling and DC
managers are most involved in determining
the need for material handling
systems, evaluating solutions, and
establishing specifications for bids, purchasing
and corporate management are
typically principally involved in evaluating
vendors and approving or authorizing
purchases.
Material handling, DC, and plant
management are predominantly
involved in buying materials handling
equipment such as storage solutions,
lift trucks, dock equipment, packaging
and pallets, conveyors and carou-
28 Logistics Management WWW.LOGISTICSMGMT.COM | June 2010