The descriptions are right out of the personal ads: they're smart, they're sensitive, they're adaptable. But the ubjects aren't single men or women; they're today's high-tech conveyors.
David Maloney has been a journalist for more than 35 years and is currently the group editorial director for DC Velocity and Supply Chain Quarterly magazines. In this role, he is responsible for the editorial content of both brands of Agile Business Media. Dave joined DC Velocity in April of 2004. Prior to that, he was a senior editor for Modern Materials Handling magazine. Dave also has extensive experience as a broadcast journalist. Before writing for supply chain publications, he was a journalist, television producer and director in Pittsburgh. Dave combines a background of reporting on logistics with his video production experience to bring new opportunities to DC Velocity readers, including web videos highlighting top distribution and logistics facilities, webcasts and other cross-media projects. He continues to live and work in the Pittsburgh area.
Until science figures out a way to beam products from one point to another, a la Star Trek, distribution centers will rely on conveyors for transport. But no one's waiting around for the teleportation revolution. In the meantime, conveyor makers are introducing design improvements that make their systems more efficient and versatile than ever before. You might even say that modern conveyor technology is on a roll.
Compared to their predecessors, today's conveyors are faster and more flexible, thanks to their modular designs. They're smarter too, owing to advances in the sensors used to control starts and stops, and relay critical information to their human overseers. New materials used in the manufacture of rollers, bearings and conveying surfaces have reduced noise and wear. And at a time of spiking energy costs, they're drawing less juice through the use of DC drives and improved sensor design.
Sense-sational
Among the most significant changes in conveyor design is the move from mechanical sensors to electronic sensors. Electronic sensing has many advantages. It allows for higher speeds, reduces noise and lessens the need for maintenance because there are no moving parts to wear out. It also extends the range of items that can be handled via conveyor. With mechanical systems, cartons need a certain amount of heft to depress a sensor. The new electronic sensors, by contrast, can be tripped by cartons weighing less than one pound.
And electronic sensors can be made with a brain. "Sensors now have microprocessors that make them 'smart sensors,'" says Boyce Bonham of Hytrol Conveyor Co. "Because you can put as much intelligence in them as you want, you can make them very efficient."
Bonham reports that electronic sensors are replacing mechanicalstyle sensors to accumulate small cartons. Accumulation zone lengths are no longer based on how far apart the sensors are, but are instead determined by the size of the cartons conveyed. That allows for smaller gaps and means that more cartons can occupy a given footprint.
Smarter sensors, like the 32-bit variety commonly used today, can also provide diagnostic information. They can indicate exactly where a jam has occurred, for example, or identify which drives have failed.
"Intelligence can provide diagnostic feedback on the health of the system that allows maintenance crews to do more accurate repairs," adds Bonham. Even schematics can be stored within the system, so that a maintenance technician with a laptop can call up repair information directly from the facility floor.
Other maintenance tasks have become easier as well. Belts that used to take an hour to change out can now be turned around in 5 to 10 minutes.
"We are also seeing more snap-in components, as opposed to those that had required nuts and bolts before," adds John O'Brien of equipment supplier HK Systems.
Conveyor speeds have also increased. Some conveyors are approaching rates of 500 feet a minute, with sorters actually attaining blazing-fast speeds of up to 700 feet per minute. Of course, that's not an advantage if the rest of the operation is unable to keep up. If you can't pack and load at those rates, ultra-fast conveying and sortation will create bottlenecks that offset any gains achieved through greater velocity. Speed can have other drawbacks as well. "The faster you run, the quicker components wear out and the more noise levels increase," cautions Tim Kraus of system supplier FKI Logistex.
Roll on
Not only are they speedy, but new conveyors are also versatile, designed to handle a wide range of products. Placing rollers that are 1.9 inches wide a mere two inches apart gives the rollers greater surface contact with products and allows them to carry an unprecedented variety of items. Being able to put lightweight and oddly shaped items on a conveyor reduces the need for relying on other means of moving those products, humans included.
That's good news for DCs in regions where labor is in short supply. "The problems of finding labor for distribution centers is not going away," says Susan Rider of conveyor manufacturer Intelligrated. "There is a need to reduce the amount of non-conveyables to eliminate additional manual handling."
Beyond their spacing, the rollers themselves offer advancements. Powered roller designs, in which small motors for driving product are actually contained within individual rollers, are gaining favor. They are easier to maintain and allow for a good deal of design flexibility, as the power and intelligence are self-contained within small conveyor sections. And they're getting better all the time. "As we move forward with this technology, we should expect to see costs go down and roller capabilities go up," says Bob Barnes of HK Systems.
Though power rollers can cost up to 30 percent more than shaft and belt drives, their lower energy consumption can lead to long-term savings. But that's not always an easy sell. "Many people look at only those initial costs," says Don Kloosterhouse of conveyor manufacturer TGW-ERMANCO, "but these rollers can save energy, maintenance and preventative maintenance. It is best to look at costs over the life of the system. There could be real savings."
Powered rollers achieve these savings by operating only when product is available for transport. As a carton or tote approaches the zone, the roller kicks on to carry it forward to the next zone. If no other cartons are present, it turns off. For this reason, powered rollers tend to be used for applications that feed specific work zones like picking areas, value-added work zones and packing stations—areas where the conveyor is not constantly running. But that same feature makes them less than ideal for transporting items long distances, such as to and from docks or storage, where product is nearly always present on the conveyor.
Powered rollers are also less costly to install in the field than shaft and belt drives. That's largely a reflection of their modular design. The more pre-wiring that can be done in the factory, the faster these systems can be up and running when they reach the DC.
Modular design also means that it's no longer necessary to tear out the conveyors when requirements change. Technicians can simply rearrange the modules in a different path. "Conveyors then become reusable assets," explains Ken Ruehrdanz of Dematic (formerly Siemens Logistics & Assembly Systems). "Modular 'plug and convey' designs allow conveyor sections to be moved and reconfigured to another location or building and into a different application."
Today's conveyors even look better than their predecessors. Newer systems that hide all of their components from view have been popular in Europe and are now showing up on this side of the Atlantic as well. Wiring, drives, controls and pneumatics are mounted within the conveyor frame or hidden behind shrouds or plastic windows. Not only does this present a more attractive appearance, but it also reduces noise and fluid leaks. And although the components may not be visible, conveyor manufacturers say, they're still highly accessible for repair purposes.
One word: plastic
Where is conveyor design headed in the future? Most experts agree that systems will continue to get faster, smarter and more efficient. We may see a greater reliance on composite materials not only for bearings and drives, but possibly for the conveyor structures themselves. Escalating steel prices may eventually result in plastic conveyors that will also be quieter to operate.
Designs will also be simpler, with greater emphasis on making the conveyor part of an integrated system. "We are going to see more modularity that will allow a designer to build from building blocks using standard components," predicts FKI's Kraus. But the focus will continue to be on integration. Future conveyor systems will not simply connect pieces of equipment; they'll be the glue that holds them all together.
less damage, more dough
At the King's Hawaiian DC, the days of squashed bread loaves and flattened rolls are over. After years of manual distribution operations that relied largely on forklifts, the company, which makes sweet breads, rolls and other baked goods, made a wholesale changeover to automation. The move was at least partly prompted by its desire to cut down on damage and waste. "We had a lot of problems with forklifts damaging the racks and also the products," says David Schat, the company's manager of technology.
All that goes a long way toward explaining why King's Hawaiian decided to rethink its entire distribution process when it began planning for a new bakery and adjoining DC it would open in Torrance, Calif., in 2004. Forklifts would have a greatly reduced role in that new process. Instead, the new DC would rely on about 1,000 feet of conveyor to route products in and out of short-term storage and to prepare shipments for delivery to points nationwide.
Of course, conveyors can't do all the work alone. The Torrance facility also features an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) and robotic palletizers. Both the AS/RS and the palletizers are fed by the conveyors, which are mostly 22-inch wide roller units supplied by Hytrol Conveyor Co., through its distributor McCombs-Wall.
Today, the facility's daily operations require little human intervention. Once they leave the bakery, the loaves of bread and rolls are packed into bar-coded cartons and transported to the DC via the facility's three conveyor lines (one is a dedicated line and the other two merge together). The merged lines employ smart conveyors that start and stop to provide proper gapping for the merges.
The conveyors next carry their loads to a Fanuc robotic palletizer that automatically stacks cartons upon three staged single-SKU slave pallets, each bearing an RFID tag to aid in tracking lot numbers. Once palletized, the slave pallets are conveyed to the AS/RS. This system, located within a freezer, is four levels high and consists of 600 storage positions. Its single aisle holds products six pallets deep on one side and four deep on the other. Dwell time in the freezer is anywhere from one to seven days.
When products are needed to fill orders, the AS/RS crane retrieves the pallet from storage and loads it onto another conveyor. This unit feeds a second robot charged with depalletizing tasks. The robot removes cartons from the pallets and places them onto an additional conveyor that feeds shipping. When the cartons arrive at the docks, small wheels on the conveyor surface turn at an angle to sort outbound cartons down four shipping lanes. Telescoping conveyors at the end of each divert extend into trailers at each dock position to facilitate fluid loading of products.
How has the new process worked out? Since it opened the automated facility, the company has seen a reduction in its labor requirements and an overall improvement in distribution efficiency. Best of all, product damage has plummeted, saving King's Hawaiian a lot of bread.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
The global air cargo market’s hot summer of double-digit demand growth continued in August with average spot rates showing their largest year-on-year jump with a 24% increase, according to the latest weekly analysis by Xeneta.
Xeneta cited two reasons to explain the increase. First, Global average air cargo spot rates reached $2.68 per kg in August due to continuing supply and demand imbalance. That came as August's global cargo supply grew at its slowest ratio in 2024 to-date at 2% year-on-year, while global cargo demand continued its double-digit growth, rising +11%.
The second reason for higher rates was an ocean-to-air shift in freight volumes due to Red Sea disruptions and e-commerce demand.
Those factors could soon be amplified as e-commerce shows continued strong growth approaching the hotly anticipated winter peak season. E-commerce and low-value goods exports from China in the first seven months of 2024 increased 30% year-on-year, including shipments to Europe and the US rising 38% and 30% growth respectively, Xeneta said.
“Typically, air cargo market performance in August tends to follow the July trend. But another month of double-digit demand growth and the strongest rate growths of the year means there was definitely no summer slack season in 2024,” Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said in a release.
“Rates we saw bottoming out in late July started picking up again in mid-August. This is too short a period to call a season. This has been a busy summer, and now we’re at the threshold of Q4, it will be interesting to see what will happen and if all the anticipation of a red-hot peak season materializes,” van de Wouw said.
The report cites data showing that there are approximately 1.7 million workers missing from the post-pandemic workforce and that 38% of small firms are unable to fill open positions. At the same time, the “skills gap” in the workforce is accelerating as automation and AI create significant shifts in how work is performed.
That information comes from the “2024 Labor Day Report” released by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm.
“We continue to see a labor shortage and an urgent need to upskill the current workforce to adapt to the new world of work,” said Michael Lotito, Littler shareholder and co-chair of WPI. “As corporate executives and business leaders look to the future, they are focused on realizing the many benefits of AI to streamline operations and guide strategic decision-making, while cultivating a talent pipeline that can support this growth.”
But while the need is clear, solutions may be complicated by public policy changes such as the upcoming U.S. general election and the proliferation of employment-related legislation at the state and local levels amid Congressional gridlock.
“We are heading into a contentious election that has already proven to be unpredictable and is poised to create even more uncertainty for employers, no matter the outcome,” Shannon Meade, WPI’s executive director, said in a release. “At the same time, the growing patchwork of state and local requirements across the U.S. is exacerbating compliance challenges for companies. That, coupled with looming changes following several Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to upend rulemaking, gives C-suite executives much to contend with in planning their workforce-related strategies.”
Stax Engineering, the venture-backed startup that provides smokestack emissions reduction services for maritime ships, will service all vessels from Toyota Motor North America Inc. visiting the Toyota Berth at the Port of Long Beach, according to a new five-year deal announced today.
Beginning in 2025 to coincide with new California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, STAX will become the first and only emissions control provider to service roll-on/roll-off (ro-ros) vessels in the state of California, the company said.
Stax has rapidly grown since its launch in the first quarter of this year, supported in part by a $40 million funding round from investors, announced in July. It now holds exclusive service agreements at California ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Benicia, Richmond, and Oakland. The firm has also partnered with individual companies like NYK Line, Hyundai GLOVIS, Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US (Shell), and now Toyota.
Stax says it offers an alternative to shore power with land- and barge-based, mobile emissions capture and control technology for shipping terminal and fleet operators without the need for retrofits.
In the case of this latest deal, the Toyota Long Beach Vehicle Distribution Center imports about 200,000 vehicles each year on ro-ro vessels. Stax will keep those ships green with its flexible exhaust capture system, which attaches to all vessel classes without modification to remove 99% of emitted particulate matter (PM) and 95% of emitted oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Over the lifetime of this new agreement with Toyota, Stax estimated the service will account for approximately 3,700 hours and more than 47 tons of emissions controlled.
“We set out to provide an emissions capture and control solution that was reliable, easily accessible, and cost-effective. As we begin to service Toyota, we’re confident that we can meet the needs of the full breadth of the maritime industry, furthering our impact on the local air quality, public health, and environment,” Mike Walker, CEO of Stax, said in a release. “Continuing to establish strong partnerships will help build momentum for and trust in our technology as we expand beyond the state of California.”