When NA 2008, the biennial material handling industry trade show and conference, opens its doors in Cleveland later this month, it will do so against a backdrop of economic uncertainty.
When NA 2008, the biennial material handling industry trade show and conference, opens its doors in Cleveland later this month, it will do so against a backdrop of economic uncertainty. The show's organizer, the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), expects a mild market contraction in the industry this year. The group's forecast calls for new orders in the material handling equipment sector to slow by some 5 to 7 percent in 2008, a decline from the 8-percent growth recorded last year.
For material handling equipment manufacturers, the bright spot in the picture right now is exports, which are forecast to grow 18 percent in 2008 before slowing modestly in 2009. The outlook is less rosy for domestic con- sumption. MHIA forecasts that consumption (ship- ments plus imports less exports) of this type of equip- ment in the United States will contract about 5 percent in 2008 and 2009.
Yet despite the economic instability, MHIA has high hopes for the show. It expects to draw some 500 materi- al handling and logistics exhibitors and thousands of buyers to the event, which will be held at Cleveland's I-X Center from April 21-24.
A chance to get educated
Promising to be one of the highlights of the four-day event is the keynote address by Andrew Winston, author of Green to Gold. In his address, titled "How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build High- Performance Supply Chains," Winston will discuss the business case for creating sustainable supply chains. (See our interview with Winston from the March issue.)
The conference also includes several other educational opportunities:
The NA 2008 Knowledge Center. One of four distinct centers at NA 2008, the Knowledge Center will feature free educational sessions on the show floor. The cen- ter will consist of specially designed theaters, where 45-minute seminars will offer information on trends, technologies, and innovations in material handling and logistics. Admission to the vendor-sponsored sessions is free to NA 2008 attendees. Visit NAShow.com for complete session details.
Weekend Educational Workshops. In addition to the on-floor seminars, NA 2008 will include a pair of educational workshops that begin on the weekend prior to the show's opening. Sponsored by MHIA, the workshops take place in classroom- style settings at the I-X Center. Separate registration and workshop fees apply. Workshop participants can earn continuing education credits.
The first of the two workshops, "The Basics of Material Handling A Foundation for Better Planning and Results," is a one and a half day program that begins on Saturday morning and wraps up mid-day on Sunday. The workshop provides an introduction to the field of material handling, including systems analysis, equipment selection, and the relationship of material handling to other activities and operations of the industrial plant or warehouse. The course serves as both an introduction to the field and as a refresher course for those who want an update on the latest trends. Participants will learn how to plan and analyze material handling systems, how to improve material handling operations, and when to apply material handling automation. Key features are case examples and a guided exercise to ensure mastery of the techniques presented.
The second workshop,"Lean Material Handling and Work Cells," runs from mid-day Sunday through Monday afternoon. The course examines how material handling enables lean manufacturing and what methods are typically favored when implementing lean practices and work cells. This workshop shows how to plan effective cells using a simple six-step procedure. It includes case examples and a guided exercise that ensures mastery of the techniques presented.
The instructor for both workshops is H. Lee Hales, president of Richard Muther & Associates, who will use material developed by the firm's professional engineers and consultants. Richard Muther & Associates is a consulting firm with expertise in material handling and cell planning.
Navigating the hall
In addition to these educational programs, NA 2008 will include a trade show featuring nearly 500 exhibitors. In order to help attendees find what they're looking for, show organizers have divided the 150,000-square-foot show floor into four distinct centers based on the products and services offered. In addition to the Knowledge Center (described above), they are:
The Center for Manufacturing & Assembly Solutions. Here's where you'll find a wide range of suppliers that specialize in component parts, attachments, and equipment and systems for the manufacturing and assembly environment. This center includes the latest advances in traditional material handling solutions that support manufacturing and assembly operations. Products, services, and solutions shown in this area include automated storage and retrieval solutions (AS/RS), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), overhead and lifting equipment, pallets and packaging, below/hook equipment, carousels, conveyors, storage equipment, casters, wheels and tires, ergonomic and safety equipment, automated assembly support, intelligent devices, work stations, light rail, and other assembly equipment and systems.
The Center for Fulfillment & Delivery Solutions. This center showcases both traditional and e-commerce fulfillment, order assembly, third-party logistics, warehousing, distribution, and transportation activities. The exhibitors you'll find here also provide systems and services that support consumer and business direct market strategies.
The Center for Information Technology (IT) Solutions. In this center, representatives will be on hand from companies that offer software solutions or consulting services that support manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and logistics operations.
The latest equipment and solutions Exhibitors at the event will display a wide variety of solutions for moving, storing, controlling, and protecting materials and products. Among the technologies highlighted at this year's show will be equipment and systems in the following categories:
Material handling equipment and systems: AS/RS, automatic guided vehicle systems, robots, personnel/burden carriers, racks, forklifts, batteries, unit handling systems, manufacturing execution systems, warehouse management systems/logistics execution systems, ergonomic and safety equipment, carousels, modular drawer storage, shelving, and third-party logistics.
Packaging, containers, and shipping equipment: Box and carton makers, packaging machinery, wrapping, inspection of products by weight or scanning, pallets, wire baskets, plastic and metal containers, and palletizing equipment.
Inventory management and controlling technologies: Computers, controllers, software programs, systems integrators, warehouse management systems, wireless control systems, order management systems, and transportation management systems.
Dock and warehouse equipment and supplies: Dock levelers, dock pads, doors, forklift trucks, racks, flooring, handling systems, forklift attachments, conveyors, hoists, cranes, monorails, and below/hook lifting devices.
Consultants and distribution system planners: Simulators, modelers, system designers, distribution consultants, and third-party logistics providers.
Automatic identification equipment and systems: Bar-code printers and scanners, vision systems, voicerecognition systems, radio-frequency systems, and systems integrators.
How to register
The organizers of NA 2008 have made it easy to register and
prepare for the show. NAshow.com offers attendees access
to free badge registration, exhibitor search tools, floor
plans, matchmaker services, and a "My NAShow" Agenda
Planner to organize a personalized itinerary. It also offers
detailed information about the educational conference sessions as well as travel and hotel information.
On-site registration is $25, or $10 with VIP registration coupon available from exhibitors. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.