Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.
Maybe output has slipped a bit. Or the conveyor system has started to jam once in awhile. Or productivity isn't quite what you believe it could be. Count those among the signs that it's time to conduct a professional audit of your conveyor system.
A conveyor audit is not an especially intimidating task. It just means taking a careful look at all the pieces—mechanical, electrical, software, etc.—and making sure they're running the way they should both as components and as parts of a system.
Conveyor makers categorize audits into essentially two types: maintenance audits and wider-ranging operational audits. Performance issues—like problems with jamming—suggest that a maintenance audit may be in order. An operational audit might be indicated if the user is looking to boost throughput or wants to make sure the system is still meeting its needs, particularly if the business has undergone substantial changes since the conveyor's installation.
Boyce Bonham, director of the integrator services operation for Hytrol Conveyor Co., says customers seek audits for a variety of reasons. "Some people want one once a year no matter what," he says. "Other customers want us to do it when something triggers it—maybe an increase in downtime due to mechanical or electrical issues or a drop in performance."
"Audits are done for a lot of reasons," concurs Kevin Klueber, product manager for Intelligrated, a manufacturer of automated material handling systems. "Maybe there have been changes in equipment or in the operational environment or in throughput requirements."
Different audits for different needs
As noted, maintenance audits aim to resolve specific problems. "A maintenance audit would typically be triggered by too much variability in the performance of the system," says Ken Ruehrdanz, market manager, distribution and warehouse systems for Dematic, a material handling and logistics automation company. "Typical issues that signal the need for a maintenance audit include downtime, a frequent need for emergency repairs, possible equipment safety violations, increasing power consumption, increasing spare parts usage, and decreasing overall system performance. Maybe there are issues with accuracy or too much recirculation."
Klueber warns that problems with the conveyor can lead to other problems. "Carton handling can be affected as equipment wears. You can get more and more jams, and that relates to product damage."
Operational audits, by contrast, focus more on the overall performance of a system. Indicators that an operation might benefit from this type of audit tend to be more subtle than the problems that typically prompt a maintenance audit.
"The DC or warehouse could be performing without any problems, but you still may not be getting the performance you want," says Ruehrdanz. "The trigger may be that you are just not getting the packages out the door. You are humming along, but you're not meeting the desired rates. Or at the end of the shift, you still have work and you have too much overtime. Or maybe you start seeing some ergonomic issues or you are not getting the order accuracy you used to. If any of your key metrics are going in the wrong direction, that's a reason for an operational audit.
"An operational audit is all about evaluating the effectiveness of the process," he adds. "Areas of particular focus include labor utilization, ergonomics, space utilization, processing time, inventory accuracy, order accuracy, and performance during peak time periods."
An operational audit might reveal opportunities for technology upgrades—even in relatively new systems, says Klueber. For example, auditors might suggest modifications that can enhance throughput or energy efficiency.
Watch and learn
The key element of either type of audit is having an engineer observe the system in operation. While an in-house maintenance staff may be able to get at some underlying issues, this is a job for an outside specialist, the experts agree. Ruehrdanz says the explanation lies in the reliability of today's systems. Because these units are so trouble-free, he says, even DC maintenance professionals may find their knowledge gets rusty because they deal with problems so infrequently. For that reason, he and other conveyor professionals we spoke with encourage bringing in engineers who work with automated systems every day.
"It's like calling in the doctor, if you will," Ruehrdanz says, "someone who can walk through and check core indicators. Let's say you have a sliding shoe sorter. If you bring in a technology expert who lives and breathes sliding shoe sorters, who knows the mechanical and electrical controls and the software, he will be able to make a diagnosis faster than a maintenance staff. Your maintenance staff may be darn good, but there may be things they are not aware of."
As for what an audit entails, Bonham offers this description of his own company's procedure. "Even before going out, we review the system," he says. "Then we go to the site and basically walk through the system while it's operating. We talk to the operators, we talk to the mechanics. We get feedback on what they are experiencing with the system. Sometimes, the solution is as simple as fixing a guide rail. Or it may be bearings—we do spot checks on things like bearings and drive components. Then we usually go back when the system is down and take a closer look at things. Afterward, we compile a report on what things need repairs and what areas need additional regular maintenance."
The good news for DC managers is that neither type of audit need disrupt their operations. In fact, doing the audit requires the on-site analyst to watch the system in action. And fixes, too, often can be completed with little or no interruption of operations. "Sometimes it is just a little adjustment," says Ruehrdanz. "Sometimes we can make tweaks right there."
Either type of audit can take place relatively quickly. For example, Klueber says Intelligrated's specialist in operational audits will spend one to three days in an operation. "He'll just walk around and watch the systems run, watch people working in the pick modules or loading and unloading trucks. He'll make some notes and run calculations and make recommendations on modifying the work flow."
Within days of the visit, the auditor should provide a written report detailing observations and recommendations. "If there is really something glaring, that would be called out and highlighted," says Ruehrdanz.
The resulting reports will likely provide managers with recommendations ranging from simple repairs to software adjustments to process changes to suggestions for systems upgrades. More often than not, Bonham says, the customer's in-house maintenance staff can implement the recommendations.
Klueber adds that these days, the recommendations often have to do with energy efficiency. "A lot of things can be done there," he says. "For instance, we can install software packages so that if a system is not carrying product for a certain amount of time, it shuts down.
More calls for audits
Bonham reports that companies are seeking audits more frequently than in the past. "They are becoming more popular," he says. "Maybe customers do not have the maintenance staff they once had. Or because equipment is more technical, they want technical expertise. Or rather than invest in a new system, they want to make the existing system last longer."
The best reason may be that an audit can be cheap, disruptions expensive. As Bonham says, "The cost of downtime is going up."
States across the Southeast woke up today to find that the immediate weather impacts from Hurricane Helene are done, but the impacts to people, businesses, and the supply chain continue to be a major headache, according to Everstream Analytics.
The primary problem is the collection of massive power outages caused by the storm’s punishing winds and rainfall, now affecting some 2 million customers across the Southeast region of the U.S.
One organization working to rush help to affected regions since the storm hit Florida’s western coast on Thursday night is the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). As it does after most serious storms, the group continues to marshal donated resources from supply chain service providers in order to store, stage, and deliver help where it’s needed.
Support for recovery efforts is coming from a massive injection of federal aid, since the White House declared states of emergency last week for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Affected states are also supporting the rush of materials to needed zones by suspending transportation requirement such as certain licensing agreements, fuel taxes, weight restrictions, and hours of service caps, ALAN said.
E-commerce activity remains robust, but a growing number of consumers are reintegrating physical stores into their shopping journeys in 2024, emphasizing the need for retailers to focus on omnichannel business strategies. That’s according to an e-commerce study from Ryder System, Inc., released this week.
Ryder surveyed more than 1,300 consumers for its 2024 E-Commerce Consumer Study and found that 61% of consumers shop in-store “because they enjoy the experience,” a 21% increase compared to results from Ryder’s 2023 survey on the same subject. The current survey also found that 35% shop in-store because they don’t want to wait for online orders in the mail (up 4% from last year), and 15% say they shop in-store to avoid package theft (up 8% from last year).
“Retail and e-commerce continue to evolve,” Jeff Wolpov, Ryder’s senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “The emergence of e-commerce and growth of omnichannel fulfillment, particularly over the past four years, has altered consumer expectations and behavior dramatically and will continue to do so as time and technology allow.
“This latest study demonstrates that, while consumers maintain a robust
appetite for e-commerce, they are simultaneously embracing in-person shopping, presenting an impetus for merchants to refine their omnichannel strategies.”
Other findings include:
• Apparel and cosmetics shoppers show growing attraction to buying in-store. When purchasing apparel and cosmetics, shoppers are more inclined to make purchases in a physical location than they were last year, according to Ryder. Forty-one percent of shoppers who buy cosmetics said they prefer to do so either in a brand’s physical retail location or a department/convenience store (+9%). As for apparel shoppers, 54% said they prefer to buy clothing in those same brick-and-mortar locations (+9%).
• More customers prefer returning online purchases in physical stores. Fifty-five percent of shoppers (+15%) now say they would rather return online purchases in-store–the first time since early 2020 the preference to Buy Online Return In-Store (BORIS) has outweighed returning via mail, according to the survey. Forty percent of shoppers said they often make additional purchases when picking up or returning online purchases in-store (+2%).
• Consumers are extremely reliant on mobile devices when shopping in-store. This year’s survey reveals that 77% of consumers search for items on their mobile devices while in a store, Ryder said. Sixty-nine percent said they compare prices with items in nearby stores, 58% check availability at other stores, 31% want to learn more about a product, and 17% want to see other items frequently purchased with a product they’re considering.
Ryder said the findings also underscore the importance of investing in technology solutions that allow companies to provide customers with flexible purchasing options.
“Omnichannel strength is not a fad; it is a strategic necessity for e-commerce and retail businesses to stay competitive and achieve sustainable success in 2024 and beyond,” Wolpov also said. “The findings from this year’s study underscore what we know our customers are experiencing, which is the positive impact of integrating supply chain technology solutions across their sales channels, enabling them to provide their customers with flexible, convenient options to personalize their experience and heighten customer satisfaction.”
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.
Two European companies are among the most recent firms to put autonomous last-mile delivery to the test with a project in Bern, Switzerland, that debuted this month.
Swiss transportation and logistics company Planzer has teamed up with fellow Swiss firm Loxo, which develops autonomous driving software solutions, for a two-year pilot project in which a Loxo-equipped, Planzer parcel delivery van will handle last-mile logistics in Bern’s city center.
The project coincides with Swiss regulations on autonomous driving that are expected to take effect next spring.
Referred to as “Planzer–Dynamic Micro-Hub w LOXO,” the project aims to address both sustainability issues and traffic congestion in urban areas.
The delivery vehicle, a Volkswagen ID. Buzz battery-electric minivan, will feature Loxo’s Level 4 Digital Driver navigation software, a highly automated solution that allows driverless operation. The van was retrofitted to include space for two swap boxes for parcel storage.
During the two-year pilot phase, Loxo’s Digital Driver will navigate a commercial vehicle several times a day from Planzer’s railway center to various logistics points in Bern's city center. There, the parcels will be reloaded onto small electric vehicles and delivered to end customers by Planzer’s parcel delivery staff.
Following the completion of the pilot phase, Planzer and Loxo will build on the program for rollout in other Swiss cities, the companies said.
The partners said the project addresses the increasing requirements of urban supply chains and aims to ensure the “scalability of their disruptive solution.” With largely emission-free delivery, it contributes to greater levels of sustainability for the city as a living space, they also said.
“The uniqueness of this project lies in the fact that it will have a direct impact on society,” Planzer’s CEO and Chairman Nils Planzer said in a statement announcing the project. “We didn't just want to integrate automated technology into existing systems, we wanted to develop a completely new concept and a new business model.”
As the hours tick down toward a “seemingly imminent” strike by East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers, experts are warning that the impacts of that move would mushroom well-beyond the actual strike locations, causing prevalent shipping delays, container ship congestion, port congestion on West coast ports, and stranded freight.
However, a strike now seems “nearly unavoidable,” as no bargaining sessions are scheduled prior to the September 30 contract expiration between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) in their negotiations over wages and automation, according to the transportation law firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary.
The facilities affected would include some 45,000 port workers at 36 locations, including high-volume U.S. ports from Boston, New York / New Jersey, and Norfolk, to Savannah and Charleston, and down to New Orleans and Houston. With such widespread geography, a strike would likely lead to congestion from diverted traffic, as well as knock-on effects include the potential risk of increased freight rates and costly charges such as demurrage, detention, per diem, and dwell time fees on containers that may be slowed due to the congestion, according to an analysis by another transportation and logistics sector law firm, Benesch.
The weight of those combined blows means that many companies are already planning ways to minimize damage and recover quickly from the event. According to Scopelitis’ advice, mitigation measures could include: preparing for congestion on West coast ports, taking advantage of intermodal ground transportation where possible, looking for alternatives including air transport when necessary for urgent delivery, delaying shipping from East and Gulf coast ports until after the strike, and budgeting for increased freight and container fees.
Additional advice on softening the blow of a potential coastwide strike came from John Donigian, senior director of supply chain strategy at Moody’s. In a statement, he named six supply chain strategies for companies to consider: expedite certain shipments, reallocate existing inventory strategically, lock in alternative capacity with trucking and rail providers , communicate transparently with stakeholders to set realistic expectations for delivery timelines, shift sourcing to regional suppliers if possible, and utilize drop shipping to maintain sales.