When the material handling and logistics industry’s premier event, ProMat 2019, opens on April 8 it will include collocated sessions of the Chief Robotics Officer (CRO) Summit presented by Robotics Business Review. The conference sessions at this event will be located in theaters on ProMat’s McCormick Place North Hall show floor and are free to all ProMat attendees. The collocation of the event has also resulted in the creation of the RoboBusiness Theatre on the show floor. 17 sessions will be presented over three days (April 8-10).

As part of MHI view's ongoing video program, this new episode focuses on How Industrial Ergonomic Solutions Help Your Workforce and Bottom Line.
 
Our increasingly aging employee demographic means that the material handling workforce is more prone to injury than ever before. But there’s an easy solution. Instead of forcing an employee into a taxing job that works against them - design the job to fit the worker.

 

 

Learn how small to mid-size retailers can increase productivity and boost the bottom line when going from manual to automated picking for e-commerce during the webinar, “Going from Manual to Automated Picking for Small to Midsize E-Commerce Retailers” presented by Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), Feb. 13, 2-3 p.m. EST. Topics will include: pros of automation, omnichannel, process of implementing automation, choosing the technology that is right for your business. Presenters will be: Micheal Pietras, Schaefer Systems International, Inc.; Kaitlyn Young, KNAPP Inc.; and Douglas Card, Kardex Remstar, LLC.

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MHI Blog—One of the pain points that we’re constantly hearing our members talk about is hiring and retaining qualified workers. We’ve written multiple articles (and even had a section on it in our Annual Industry Report) but our lovely Education team is reviving a program that can give you a tangible way to help alleviate this pain point. The Trade Show Equipment Donation program is exactly what it sounds like.

MIT Technology Review—Despite high-profile hacking incidents, many systems are still sending unprotected data across the internet, according to a new study.

Modern Materials Handling—The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, which represents the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, has revealed its Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2019. ELFA forecasts generally positive economy and solid capital investment with building headwinds and moderated growth by year end.

Supply Chain Management Review—As supply chains evolve, companies are re-evaluating their networks to determine how their future supply chains should be structured. There are four main categories under which broad, ongoing trends can be placed: emerging technologies, focus on supply chain visibility, sharing economy and evolving customer channels.

ThomasNet—The trade groups Global Vision Systems Trade Association (AIA), Robotic Industries Association (RIA), and Association for Advancing Automation (A3) recently unveiled some interesting data on the technology trends impacting today's industrial operations.

Supply Chain Dive—All supply chain managers have been in the somewhat uncomfortable position of making "the switch." That is, replacing one supplier with another. Even if the supplier shuffle is necessary to meet evolving business needs, it can cause buy side angst. Don’t let it.

FreightWaves—A libertarian think tank, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to support a voluntary nationwide user-pay pilot program – for both cars and heavy-duty trucks – asserting that fuel taxes will become increasing regressive as vehicles become more fuel-efficient. CEI is leading a 17-member coalition supporting the program.

Transport Topics—“Now more than ever, we need to innovate to stay relevant,” said Paccar Inc. CEO Ron Armstrong at a recent truck conference. Part of “staying relevant” is moving toward cleaner and more-efficient vehicles and continuing to explore advanced automated driving technologies.

Gartner—Staff shortages have escalated in the last three months to become the top emerging risk organizations face globally, according to Gartner, Inc.’s latest Emerging Risks Survey.