Modern Materials Handling - December 2011

EDITORIAL OFFICES111 Speen Street, Suite 200Framingham, MA 01701-2000(800) 375-8015Michael LevansGROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTORmlevans@ehpub.comBob TrebilcockEXECUTIVE EDITORrobert.trebilcock@myfairpoint.netNoël P. BodenburgEXECUTIVE MANAGING EDITORnbodenburg@ehpub.comLorie King RogersASSOCIATE EDITORlrogers@ehpub.comSara Pearson SpecterEDITOR AT LARGEsara@moxiemarketingllc.comRoberto MichelEDITOR AT LARGErobertomichel@new.rr.comJeff BermanGROUP NEWS EDITORjberman@ehpub.comJosh BondCONTRIBUTING EDITORturbobond@gmail.comMike RoachCREATIVE DIRECTORmroach@ehpub.comWendy DelCampoART DIRECTORwdelcampo@ehpub.comDaniel GuideraILLUSTRATIONdaniel@danielguidera.comBrian CeraoloGROUP PUBLISHERbceraolo@ehpub.comPEERLESS MEDIA, LLCA DIVISION OF EH PUBLISHING, INC.Kenneth MoyesPRESIDENT AND CEOEH PUBLISHING, INC.Brian CeraoloPUBLISHER ANDEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTPEERLESS MEDIA, LLCMAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONSStart, renew or update your FREEmagazine subscription atwww.mmh.com/subscribe.Contact customer service at:Web: www.mmh.com/subscribeEmail: mmhsubs@ehpub.comPhone: 1-800-598-6067Mail: Peerless MediaP.O. Box 1496Framingham, MA 01701ENEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONSSign up or manage your FREEeNewsletter subscriptions atwww.mmh.com/enewsletters.®Four walls, two windowsTHIS MONTH IN MODERNMICHAEL LEVANSGROUP EDITORIALDIRECTORLast year, executive editor Bob Trebilcocklaunched a series of featurearticles that we titled “The Big Picture:Where business meets materials handling.”This series has allowed us to break out ofthe traditional “how-to” and “case study”mold to offer an objective, broad-sweepinglook at how materials handling technologiesand best practices are affecting overall businessstrategy.To date, Trebilcock has taken us deeperinto how and why robotics are being appliedinside the warehouse and DC; he’sre-examined the RFID market and explainedhow the technology continues to evolve atbreak-neck speed even though it’s out ofthe headlines; and he’s produced one of themost comprehensive surveys of the materialshandling automation market—a reportthat several readers told us helped thembuild a stronger ROI case when pitching aproject to management.These features—nine in total so far—have been some of our best-read editorialon mmh.com, and they also serve as thefoundation for our recent virtual conferencethat’s now available on-demand (supplychainvirtualevents.com).I strongly suggest thatyou carve out an hour over the next week toattend the five sessions—more than 600 ofyour colleagues already have.But what I find most intriguing is that itreally forces you to sit back and take a morestrategic perspective. They’re designed totake you out of the day-to-day grind, if justfor a bit, to help materials handling professionalsreassess current operations, or rethinklegacy distribution strategies that maybe on the verge of extinction.In his latest Big Picture (page 24), Treblicocktakes us outside the four walls to offerus the most comprehensive survey of someof the possible game-changing factors thatwill be re-shaping supply chain strategyover the coming years—most notably, theexpansion of the Panama Canal.With the help of Panama Canal AuthorityCEO Alberto Aleman Zubieta, Trebilcockexplains what the expansion will mean notonly for warehouse/DC site selection but forthe design of the materials handling systemsinside those facilities. He also examines thepossibility of Panama becoming one of themost important distribution hubs in NorthAmerica post expansion and how that couldalter current distribution strategies.“There’s a new way of thinking aboutthe warehouse and distribution center,and we’re hearing that from vendors, themanagers responsible for their operationsand experts across the supply chain,” saysTrebilcock. “The concept has been called‘four walls and two windows,’ with the ideabeing that while materials handling happensinside the four walls, a system needsvisibility—the two windows—into what’shappening downstream and upstream to betruly efficient.”In fact, three of the six supply chainexperts that he’s pulled together for thismonth’s Big Picture will be presenting keynoteaddresses at Modex 2012 in Atlanta(Feb. 6-9)—an event that’s designed muchalong the same lines as Treblicock’s BigPicture series.So, if you feel as if your organizationneeds to take some time to grasp the biggerpicture and open the blinds of thosetwo windows, the resources cited aboveshould be on your required to do list.MemberMember ofWinnerJesse H. NealCertificates of Meritfor JournalisticExcellenceOfficial Publication ofmmh.com MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 7