Logistics is cool. Logistics moves stuff all around the world and allows us to be consumers and have creature comforts. But the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) knows that logistics is made of people. And when we see others in need, we move from being industrial to being industrious –. just helping other people because they’re people. And, we know how to make things happen. 

Mobile and wearable technology has advanced a great deal in the past five years, and will continue to do so exponentially. These advances are allowing supply chains to improve their efficiency, training process and worker satisfaction. 

The rise of e-commerce and consumer expectations is leading firms to treat transportation as a strategic element of the business plan and the end-to-end supply chain rather than a cost center, according to a white paper by UT’s Global Supply Chain Institute titled "Transportation 2025 Megatrends and Current Digital Best Practices."

Virtual reality has joined trucking simulators and augmented reality systems for the ultimate driver training. This new technology is interactive and appeals to a younger generation that grew up playing video games. With hand-on training, drivers are able to develop muscle memory and experience a 360-degree street view inside the virtual reality headset.

As the recovery from Hurricane Harvey continues, relief efforts from Hurricane Irma are underway. The American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) continues to support our emergency management partners with information and relationships to ensure they have the best data for decision making. ALAN is also watching Hurricane Jose’s track toward the US East Coast.

MHI recently announced the launch of a Transportation & Logistics Solution Center at MODEX 2018. This Solution Center is part of the MODEX 2018 Georgia World Congress Center C hall exhibition that also includes the MODEX Smart City Logistics and Connected Supply Chain Solution Center and the 2018 Georgia Logistics Summit.

This year’s Student Days at ProMat 2017 brought a lifetime opportunity for students Gavin Peterson and Nigel Hammett. On April 5, 2017, Peterson and Hammett joined three other high school- and university-level students from across the country to shadow chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises and now president of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. 

MHEDA and MHI are partnering to present the first ever Women in Industry Conference. This dynamic event is designed for women who want to fire up their leadership and communications skills, connect with other women in the industry and maximize multiple learning opportunities -- all in one action-packed day.

Ontario, Canada, and Michigan, USA, are working on a test drive of an automated vehicle from Michigan to Ontario and back.

The College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) recently announce the winners of its 2016/2017 Design Competition. First place was awarded to a team from Montana State University followed by Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Missouri.

MHI recently announced the dates for ProMat 2019. ProMat 2019 will be held April 8-11 at Chicago's McCormick Place. ProMat is the largest international material handling, logistics and supply chain show and conference held in North or South America. 

MHI is pleased to announce two newly elected Roundtable Advisory Committee members who will begin their terms January 1, 2018. Chris Becker, president of G.W. Becker, Inc., and Eddie Murphy, owner/president of SpaceGuard Products, Inc., will both serve four-year terms. 

The Overhead Alliance, a marketing vehicle for trade association MHI’s overhead lifting product groups, will launch an interactive, virtual reality game this month, designed to engage students and others keen to learn about the technologies they represent.

Attendees at the MHI Career and Technical Educators Summit included instructors and program directors from high schools, technical schools and community colleges in the area of material handling, logistics and supply chain. This year’s summit theme was "Building the Workforce of Today and Tomorrow." Educators learned valuable instructional material, teaching techniques and acquired important partnerships to take back to the classroom. 

The Red Cross has to track each blood donation very carefully because if they discover something wrong with the blood, they have to be able to find it and destroy it. But, following the consumer market, they are making that information known to the customer (donor) to connect them to the product (saving lives). They do this using material handling and supply chain technology and best practices.

The 2017 Material Handling Teachers Institute (MHTI) was hosted by Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR, in July. The event included 25 current and future educators in material handling, logistics and supply chain operations from all across the country.