Say goodbye to language barriers and guesswork. Today's newest pick-to-light systems feature tiny TV-like display screens that show order pickers exactly which tube of lipstick or bottle of anti-aging serum to retrieve.
John Johnson joined the DC Velocity team in March 2004. A veteran business journalist, John has over a dozen years of experience covering the supply chain field, including time as chief editor of Warehousing Management. In addition, he has covered the venture capital community and previously was a sports reporter covering professional and collegiate sports in the Boston area. John served as senior editor and chief editor of DC Velocity until April 2008.
Should you happen to find yourself cruising down the aisles of health-care products manufacturer Melaleuca's brand new distribution center in Idaho Falls this fall, you'll almost certainly notice the tiny TV-like screens mounted all over the place. Peer into one of these tiny screens with its artfully lit photos of cosmetics or cleaning products and you might think you'd stumbled onto the set of "The Price Is Right." But you won't hear Bob Barker's booming voiceover inviting you to guess the price of the tube of Sugarplum lipstick or bottles of Vitality multivitamins, Classic Tooth Polish or EcoSense cleaners. The items displayed on the 1.2-inch "pick to display" monitors won't be game-show props; they'll be there to serve as visual guides to show order pickers working in Melaleuca's distribution center exactly what to pick.
Pressured by the success of rival voice technology, makers of pick-to-light systems have unleashed a flurry of innovation, resulting in such advances as the PictureView pick-to-display system that will be installed in Melaleuca's DC. "Voice has taken a lot of the pick-to-light market over the last couple years, and I think we'll continue to see that happen," says Howard Hammer, vice president of sales for the Eastern region at Fortna, an integrator of logistics and distribution systems.
To fend off the competition, pick-to-light vendors have taken several other steps as well: First, they've dropped the price of their systems, which today cost a fraction of what they did as recently as three years ago. They've also made them easier to install. Manufacturers have introduced both track-mounted displays that let users simply plug the lights into the panel without the miles of wiring, and modular snap-on displays that can be swapped out in a heartbeat when a new product is introduced into a pick location.
They've even made their systems smarter. Siemens Logistics and Assembly, for example, has designed a pick-to-light package that includes workload balancing software to analyze individual work loads and adjust picking assignments when necessary, reports Tony Wright, a systems sales manager for the company. In a typical picking operation, a picker starts at one end of an aisle and follows the lights to the end of the picking zone (perhaps 150 feet from where he started), where he passes off his tote to the next picker. Instead of sending him back to the beginning of the pick zone, the pick-tolight software can assign the next round of picks in reverse sequence, thereby increasing picker productivity. The software can also adjust picking assignments to accommodate slow or inexperienced pickers and adjust the size of the picking zones to balance work flow better.
follow the light
Though it's the new and dazzling features that capture headlines, it's also true that not every company wants or needs a pick-to-light system with TV displays or voice technology built in. For many companies, traditional pick-to-light more than fills the bill. That was true for Vera Bradley, a manufacturer of women's fashion accessories that decided to upgrade to pick to light from its old paper-based picking system in February. Vera Bradley's main concern was improving picking accuracy. Yearly growth in the 15-percent range had stressed the picking process at its distribution center, and accuracy had deteriorated to the point where the company felt it needed to inspect 100 percent of its orders before they shipped.
After deciding that its picking operation was a good candidate for pick-to-light (the company experiences high demand for a relatively low number of stock-keeping units), Vera Bradley called in systems integrator Forte to install PCC Systems' Lightning Pick system. With the pick-tolight technology in place, the company expects to increase its accuracy to the 99-percent range on the first pass for the 25,000 items it picks daily. If that works out as planned, the company will be able to save on labor costs by shifting the workers who perform inspections to picking.
Another company that decided to bypass the extras in favor of a traditional pick-to-light system was Gear For Sports. Like Vera Bradley, the athletic apparel manufacturer installed a Lightning Pick system in its new Lenexa, Kan., distribution center, and it's pleased with the results. The company now ships up to 70,000 athletic shirts a day from a 300,000-square-foot building, thanks to a two-story pick module featuring 3,000 pick-to-light units supplied by PCC Systems.
For Gear For Sports, the primary advantage of its Windows-based pick system has been labor savings. Before the system was installed, workers trotted all around the building with wheeled carts picking individual orders. "We had lots of walking time," recalls Jerel Williams, director of warehousing. Another problem was a language barrier. Williams reports that most of the company's workforce doesn't speak English.
The pick-to-light system solved both problems. Workers remain pretty much within designated zones and no longer have to travel very far. Lights direct picking for each order, so the system transcends any language barriers. "The system has simplified our training as well," adds Williams. "A new associate can be productive in about one-fourth the time that it took under the old system."
What you see is what you get
Still, for all the innovation, the most eye-catching, at least, is the PictureView system developed by ASAP Automation and slated for installation this fall in Melaleuca's brand new 155,000-square-foot distribution center. Executives at Melaleuca believe that once it's up and running, the pick-to-display system, which features a 170-degree viewable screen, will help pickers work faster and more accurately than in the past. That's critical to the company's business strategy, says Jace Poole, Melaleuca's director of property development. To compete in a crowded market, Melaleuca, which manufactures and markets health care, pharmaceutical and home care products,must offer fast deliveries and accurate orders.
It's not that Melaleuca is having a particular problem with picking accuracy at the moment. Poole reports that his company's accuracy rates run above 99 percent using the pick-to-light system currently in place. It's just that Melaleuca wants to be even better, and it's convinced that the ability to show order pickers a photo of the actual product to be picked will enhance picking accuracy even further.
That visual aid promises to be particularly useful to new employees, temp workers and the corps of part-time workers the company employs. "We have a force of part-time workers [who] usually only work a few days a month during our busy times," says Poole. "Given that they don't work here full time, their familiarity with our products is not as great as full-time workers'. The pick-to-display system will help them be more accurate since they can see a picture of the product they need to pick." In addition, the system can alert workers when products are slotted incorrectly. Poole is nothing if not optimistic. "With a picture of the product, it'll be hard for pickers not to pick the right item," he says. "We looked at some other systems, including voice picking, but in the end this seems to fit our operations and employees better because of our high throughput.We think this is really going to help [us] service the customer better just through pure accuracy since the recognition of a product visually is easier than finding a light."
But is the price right?
Though outfitting a DC with the tiny PictureView monitors might sound expensive, the developer reports that it's surprisingly affordable. True, the display screens cost about 70 percent more than traditional pick-to-light beacons, but the system's added features help offset the added cost. For example, traditional pick-to-light systems require a light for each row of product. With pick-to-display technology, by contrast, the monitor can be set up with an arrow to direct pickers either up or down, which means that fewer terminals are needed.
In addition, the PictureView technology is wireless. Workers can load it onto a cart and wheel it to remote sections of the distribution center if needed. And while the
technology remains more expensive than a traditional pick-to-light system, the price is expected to drop as the cost of producing LCD screens in Asia falls.
Price aside, the ASAP system is surprisingly versatile, offering options for both text display and voice. That means workers in an assembly or kitting operation could actually turn to the screen for instructions for carrying out their picking and assembly assignments.
That's not to say that the technology's right for everybody, however. Says ASAP Automation's operations vice president, Andy Brinkmeier: "It's not the right product for every application. But if you can use one device for multiple pick locations or you need to hit isolated parts of your picking floor, this product, with its wireless capabilities and high accuracy, could be beneficial."
Most of the apparel sold in North America is manufactured in Asia, meaning the finished goods travel long distances to reach end markets, with all the associated greenhouse gas emissions. On top of that, apparel manufacturing itself requires a significant amount of energy, water, and raw materials like cotton. Overall, the production of apparel is responsible for about 2% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report titled
Taking Stock of Progress Against the Roadmap to Net Zeroby the Apparel Impact Institute. Founded in 2017, the Apparel Impact Institute is an organization dedicated to identifying, funding, and then scaling solutions aimed at reducing the carbon emissions and other environmental impacts of the apparel and textile industries.
The author of this annual study is researcher and consultant Michael Sadowski. He wrote the first report in 2021 as well as the latest edition, which was released earlier this year. Sadowski, who is also executive director of the environmental nonprofit
The Circulate Initiative, recently joined DC Velocity Group Editorial Director David Maloney on an episode of the “Logistics Matters” podcast to discuss the key findings of the research, what companies are doing to reduce emissions, and the progress they’ve made since the first report was issued.
A: While companies in the apparel industry can set their own sustainability targets, we realized there was a need to give them a blueprint for actually reducing emissions. And so, we produced the first report back in 2021, where we laid out the emissions from the sector, based on the best estimates [we could make using] data from various sources. It gives companies and the sector a blueprint for what we collectively need to do to drive toward the ambitious reduction [target] of staying within a 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway. That was the first report, and then we committed to refresh the analysis on an annual basis. The second report was published last year, and the third report came out in May of this year.
Q: What were some of the key findings of your research?
A: We found that about half of the emissions in the sector come from Tier Two, which is essentially textile production. That includes the knitting, weaving, dyeing, and finishing of fabric, which together account for over half of the total emissions. That was a really important finding, and it allows us to focus our attention on the interventions that can drive those emissions down.
Raw material production accounts for another quarter of emissions. That includes cotton farming, extracting gas and oil from the ground to make synthetics, and things like that. So we now have a really keen understanding of the source of our industry’s emissions.
Q: Your report mentions that the apparel industry is responsible for about 2% of global emissions. Is that an accurate statistic?
A: That’s our best estimate of the total emissions [generated by] the apparel sector. Some other reports on the industry have apparel at up to 8% of global emissions. And there is a commonly misquoted number in the media that it’s 10%. From my perspective, I think the best estimate is somewhere under 2%.
We know that globally, humankind needs to reduce emissions by roughly half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to hit international goals. [Reaching that target will require the involvement of] every facet of the global economy and every aspect of the apparel sector—transportation, material production, manufacturing, cotton farming. Through our work and that of others, I think the apparel sector understands what has to happen. We have highlighted examples of how companies are taking action to reduce emissions in the roadmap reports.
Q: What are some of those actions the industry can take to reduce emissions?
A: I think one of the positive developments since we wrote the first report is that we’re seeing companies really focus on the most impactful areas. We see companies diving deep on thermal energy, for example. With respect to Tier Two, we [focus] a lot of attention on things like ocean freight versus air. There’s a rule of thumb I’ve heard that indicates air freight is about 10 times the cost [of ocean] and also produces 10 times more greenhouse gas emissions.
There is money available to invest in sustainability efforts. It’s really exciting to see the funding that’s coming through for AI [artificial intelligence] and to see that individual companies, such as H&M and Lululemon, are investing in real solutions in their supply chains. I think a lot of concrete actions are being taken.
And yet we know that reducing emissions by half on an absolute basis by 2030 is a monumental undertaking. So I don’t want to be overly optimistic, because I think we have a lot of work to do. But I do think we’ve got some amazing progress happening.
Q: You mentioned several companies that are starting to address their emissions. Is that a result of their being more aware of the emissions they generate? Have you seen progress made since the first report came out in 2021?
A: Yes. When we published the first roadmap back in 2021, our statistics showed that only about 12 companies had met the criteria [for setting] science-based targets. In 2024, the number of apparel, textile, and footwear companies that have set targets or have commitments to set targets is close to 500. It’s an enormous increase. I think they see the urgency more than other sectors do.
We have companies that have been working at sustainability for quite a long time. I think the apparel sector has developed a keen understanding of the impacts of climate change. You can see the impacts of flooding, drought, heat, and other things happening in places like Bangladesh and Pakistan and India. If you’re a brand or a manufacturer and you have operations and supply chains in these places, I think you understand what the future will look like if we don’t significantly reduce emissions.
Q: There are different categories of emission levels, depending on the role within the supply chain. Scope 1 are “direct” emissions under the reporting company’s control. For apparel, this might be the production of raw materials or the manufacturing of the finished product. Scope 2 covers “indirect” emissions from purchased energy, such as electricity used in these processes. Scope 3 emissions are harder to track, as they include emissions from supply chain partners both upstream and downstream.
Now companies are finding there are legislative efforts around the world that could soon require them to track and report on all these emissions, including emissions produced by their partners’ supply chains. Does this mean that companies now need to be more aware of not only what greenhouse gas emissions they produce, but also what their partners produce?
A: That’s right. Just to put this into context, if you’re a brand like an Adidas or a Gap, you still have to consider the Scope 3 emissions. In particular, there are the so-called “purchased goods and services,” which refers to all of the embedded emissions in your products, from farming cotton to knitting yarn to making fabric. Those “purchased goods and services” generally account for well above 80% of the total emissions associated with a product. It’s by far the most significant portion of your emissions.
Leading companies have begun measuring and taking action on Scope 3 emissions because of regulatory developments in Europe and, to some extent now, in California. I do think this is just a further tailwind for the work that the industry is doing.
I also think it will definitely ratchet up the quality requirements of Scope 3 data, which is not yet where we’d all like it to be. Companies are working to improve that data, but I think the regulatory push will make the quality side increasingly important.
Q: Overall, do you think the work being done by the Apparel Impact Institute will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the industry?
A: When we started this back in 2020, we were at a place where companies were setting targets and knew their intended destination, but what they needed was a blueprint for how to get there. And so, the roadmap [provided] this blueprint and identified six key things that the sector needed to do—from using more sustainable materials to deploying renewable electricity in the supply chain.
Decarbonizing any sector, whether it’s transportation, chemicals, or automotive, requires investment. The Apparel Impact Institute is bringing collective investment, which is so critical. I’m really optimistic about what they’re doing. They have taken a data-driven, evidence-based approach, so they know where the emissions are and they know what the needed interventions are. And they’ve got the industry behind them in doing that.
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.”
That result showed that driver wages across the industry continue to increase post-pandemic, despite a challenging freight market for motor carriers. The data comes from ATA’s “Driver Compensation Study,” which asked 120 fleets, more than 150,000 employee drivers, and 14,000 independent contractors about their wage and benefit information.
Drilling into specific categories, linehaul less-than-truckload (LTL) drivers earned a median annual amount of $94,525 in 2023, while local LTL drivers earned a median of $80,680. The median annual compensation for drivers at private carriers has risen 12% since 2021, reaching $95,114 in 2023. And leased-on independent contractors for truckload carriers were paid an annual median amount of $186,016 in 2023.
The results also showed how the demographics of the industry are changing, as carriers offered smaller referral and fewer sign-on bonuses for new drivers in 2023 compared to 2021 but more frequently offered tenure bonuses to their current drivers and with a greater median value.
"While our last study, conducted in 2021, illustrated how drivers benefitted from the strongest freight environment in a generation, this latest report shows professional drivers' earnings are still rising—even in a weaker freight economy," ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a release. "By offering greater tenure bonuses to their current driver force, many fleets appear to be shifting their workforce priorities from recruitment to retention."