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Winning the Losing Battle of SKU Proliferation
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| How can we stop from drowning in a rising tide of SKUs? Art Van Bodegraven discusses tactics and techniques for survival, along with the positive side of SKU proliferation. |
EU Accession - What Has Happened Since
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| A pointed follow-up to last year's analysis of developments in the "new" European Union, this piece pulls no punches in examining the meaning of the political fallout from referendum defeat and budget failure. |
EU Accession and Your Supply Chain
By Supply Chain Group |
| A pointed follow-up to last year's analysis of developments in the "new" European Union, this piece pulls no punches in examining the meaning of the political fallout from referendum defeat and budget failure. |
WMS Market 2004
By Supply Chain Group |
| In a constantly evolving universe, it seems that nothing is changing more than the world of WMS. The situation is usually clouded by hype and promotion, and by the concentration of consultants and the trade press on the issue du jour... |
You Are Live .Now What? How to Really Finish Your Implementation
By Jud Puterbaugh |
| You have just spent the last 6 months living, breathing, eating (but not sleeping much) with one and only one focus - getting live with your new system. Congratulations you are now live! So what do you do now? No, it is not time for Disney World! Actually, chances are you should be finishing the implementation... |
Batch Picking and Sortation
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
| Detailed design of conveyor systems involves analyses that reach far beyond simply the selection of the most appropriate system concept. This paper discusses issues and trade-offs in systems for batch picking and sortation of full cases... |
Mixing the modes to improve case storage density
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
| To reduce transportation costs for products arriving from overseas, cartons are normally hand-stacked in the shipping containers. This works quite well for reducing shipping costs, but if we’re not careful, we may give away the savings in storage and handling, once we open the container door. |
Variability; the warehousing challenge
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
| As six sigma and lean manufacturing principles become widely accepted as standard practice, there has been increasing pressure to apply them in the warehouse, too. |
Modularity, portability and logistics
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
| My mother grew up on a small farm. We always spent a few weeks there in the summer. As a child, I stood in wonder as the great thrashing machine was towed up the road and rolled into the barn. Sheaves of wheat, thrown from the loft into a hopper on top... |
The engineers versus the accountants
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
As I write this, it is the end of an old year. As you read it, it will be the beginning of the new. It’s a time for reflection, and re-dedication. Here are a few of the things that I have learned in the past year... |
Managing performance is much more than just measurement
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
Long ago, a wise and profound person coined the phrase you can't manage what you don't measure. Although I suspect I heard that phrase even before I studied work measurement at Georgia Tech, I think about this simple principle now more than ever. |
Voice directed picking: a better mousetrap?
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
For nearly 20 years, the technology of communicating with employes via an interactive computerized voice has been more of a promise than a reality. That is, until a couple of years ago. A combination of improvement in speech recognition capability... |
Is Materials Handling Dead?
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel at the Materials Handling Short course at Georgia Tech this week. This course is the granddaddy of short courses, celebrating its 55 th year. |
They're Giving It Away
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
My partner, Steve Mulaik, has been working for several years compiling a master list of all of the functions that might be included in a Warehouse Management System. He figured that a tool like this would provide a substantial competitive advantage in developing WMS requirements for clients. Last month, he decided to offer it free to anyone who could use it. |
The China Question
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
Far be it for me to worry about how to deal with the balance of trade issues that confront our policy makers in Washington. But, I, and we, do have to cope with the continuously increasing flow of goods from the Far East that arrives at our warehouse doors. |
Little things mean a lot
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
Last week-end I stood in the tiny shower at my Mother’s lake house. As I banged my elbows on the walls, I thought about how little additional space it would have taken to make something that you have to do every day a pleasant activity, instead of a struggle. |
Learning from the students
By James M. Apple, Jr. |
Every year the Materials Handling Institute and the College Industry Committee on Material Handling Education, CICMHE, sponsor a case study competition for university students. Last month teams from twelve universities submitted reports with their solutions to a problem prepared by Gross and Assoc. (giving it away, again!). I was privileged to be one of the judges. |
Ten Ways to Reduce Inventory, While Maintaining or Improving Service
by Chuck LaMacchia |
| Inventory is a significant and visible asset in most companies - often the largest. Executives and shareholders have focused on inventory levels for years, but it has frequently been reduced arbitrarily, without a full understanding of supply chain implications. This paper discusses approaches to sustainable, and appropriate, inventory reduction. |
Warehouse Activity Profiling
By Catherine L. Cooper & Stephen Mulaik |
| A comprehensive profile on your warehouse reveals characteristics that allow you to make decisions on storage and handling alternatives, slotting options, pick line requirements, system requirements, pick methods, and order releasing strategies. With more detailed analysis you can even predict how your warehouse will operate, providing you the invaluable opportunity of being able to prepare for the future. |
The State of Logistics in Cuba - Not Just Sugar Cane Anymore
by Art Van Bodegraven |
| In the US, we don't think much about logistics in Cuba. Nevertheless, Cuba is out there. And, Cuba faces logistics challenges and opportunities just like everyone else. Maybe more so. The Progress Group participated in the US Logistics Leaders' delegation to Cuba in early March. This article reports our observations. |
Walter Payton And Supply Chain Management
By Art Van Bodegraven |
| How is Walter Payton an analogy for improving the Supply Chain? It has to do with speed, agility, flexibility, and more. |
Why Public Warehouses Need To Buy a New WMS
By Stephen Mulaik |
| Most warehousing firms misunderstand why they lose on this issue. ...but using radio frequency terminals (RF) to scan product into and out of locations for the purpose of real-time inventory visibility or better inventory accuracy is only part of the story. |
Implementing Material Handling Systems – Folly or Disaster?
By Art Van Bodegraven |
| Why do so many implementations end in disappointment . . . even in catastrophe? What are the key factors driving failure . . . or success? |
Why RF Picking isn't Always Better
By Stephen Mulaik |
| Why do some companies get a return out of RF picking methods and others get disillusioned? The answer lies in how a firm views the technology. The successful ones look at RF as a means to an end. The less successful seem to feel that RF alone will inherently improve their operations. Stated simply -you get out of RF what you put into it. For some, no matter how much you put into it, it still is not the answer.... |
Indochine Diary - Notes on Logistics and Life in Vietnam
by Art Van Bodegraven |
| For most of us, Vietnam means a long-ago war – In the new millennium, though, Vietnam is a real country, with a real economy – part of the new global economy. It is full of real people, living real lives, and logistics plays a part in those lives. Art Van Bodegraven reports his findings from VietNam from a recent visit. |
Planning DC’s For An Unknown Future
By Drew Hale and Art Van Bodegraven |
| Planning warehouse and distribution centers able to keep up with rapidly changing supply chain strategies has become more difficult than ever. Adaptability is becoming as important as operating efficiency as a criterion for measuring success in facility planning. |
Logistics Outsourcing - A Panacea?
By Randall L. Telfer |
| In the rush to assess the relevance, scope, and proper timing of outsourcing, an objective methodology is paramount to successfully discovering the path that takes you where you need to go... The methodology that we have used successfully covers seven key areas.... |
Third Party Logistics
By Art Van Bodegraven |
| "Third Party Logistics - If, When, and How" appears to have become the seminar topic du jour. There may have been a time in the not-terribly-distant past, when decent folks were suspicious of public warehousing, that such a question might have been useful. Not any longer. |
Logistics vs. The Supply Chain - What Are We Fighting About?
By Bruce Strahan and Art Van Bodegraven |
| Supply chain concepts and logistics - how are they different, and is it time for the former to replace the latter? We contend that they are different enough to be recognized individually, and, yet, are so tightly interwoven that they should not be considered separately. |
Home Delivery, Home Pages and Home Runs
By Art Van Bodegraven |
| The arena is retail grocery. The combatants are progressive operators vs. the tag team of apathy and lethargy. The pop quiz for today asks: Is home delivery of groceries on the way? |
Getting Along With Your Systems Vendor & Why It is Important By Jud Puterbaugh |
| In this and many other industries, all too often software consumers and their vendors find themselves in less than healthy relationships; contrary to popular opinion it doesn't have to be this way. Find out why this is harmful to you and your organization and what can be done to correct these relationships or better yet prevent them from developing this way from the start. |
The following articles were written by James M. Apple, Jr. and published in Modern Materials Handling Magazine.
| A Thief in Hiding | July 2004 |
| Capacity Planning | June 2004 |
| Two Thoughts on Partnerships | May 2004 |
| Time and Money | February 2004 |
| How much WMS do you really need? | November 2003 |
| Who sat on Pareto? | September 2003 |
| Boxes and Voids | August 2003 |
| Do We Need To Reinvent The Wheel? | July 2003 |
| The High Cost Of Not Knowing | June 2003 |
| Automation - Hitting The Sweet Spot | May 2003 |
| Delving Into The Data | April 2003 |
| With A Little Help From Your Friends | March 2003 |
| Don't Be Stupid! | February 2003 |
| Is Automation For You? | January 2003 |
| Conquering The Final 50 Feet | December 2002 |
| Cleaning Out The Fridge | November 2002 |
| Case Picking - Add Some Magic | October 2002 |
| Getting Out Of Our Own Way | September 2002 |
| Help Your 3PL Be More Efficient | August 2002 |
| Making The Workplace Right | July 2002 |
| Planning Processes to Minimize Handling Effort | June 2002 |
| Slotting; Whats It Worth To You? | May 2002 |
| First, Think Simple | April 2002 |
| A Lot Size Of One For Distribution, Too? | March 2002 |
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Copyright © 2004 The Progress Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
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