A new report issued this month by AlixPartners indicates that the number of companies providing ocean cargo container shipping is shrinking and that many international firms face continued distress and even possible bankruptcy. The report— which was compiled by AlixPartners, a leading global business advisory firm — says demand for cargo services is weak, many companies … Read more
Often, when an accident occurs in a warehouse or manufacturing facility, the culprit is distraction. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy or major distraction to make a difference – a recent study from Michigan State University determined that a distraction or interruption of only 3 seconds is enough to disrupt a manual task and … Read more
Here’s a sneak preview of just some of the articles you can expect to see on this week’s Bahrns blog! Are bar codes being replaced with a new technology that is smaller than a grain of rice and can be embedded into practically any material? We’ll take a look at Radio Frequency Identification chips and … Read more
Keeping your work space organized — whether it is a retail operation, a warehouse or a manufacturing facility — is the best way to increase efficiency, reduce costs and boost productivity. A messy, disorganized work area will result in messy, disorganized work, which in the long run will cost you money. The key to keeping … Read more
Intelligrated, an automated material handling solutions provider based in Mason, Ohio, announced that it is planning to open a sales and engineering office in Shanghai, China. The purpose of the new office is to “strengthen local partnerships and connect regional customers with best-of-breed automation and software solutions to increase operational efficiency,” according to a company … Read more
Two of the nation’s fastest-growing transportation third-party logisitics service providers have announced that they are merging. Chicago-based Coyote Logistics is combining its forces with Access America Transport, which is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Terms of the deal were not made public. Coyote, which posted earnings of $559 million in 2011, specializes in the brokerage of … Read more
CeMAT 2014, Europe’s largest materials handling trade show, will be held in Hanover, Germany, from May 29 until May 23, show organizers announced in a news release. The expo is expected to attract more than 1,000 exhibitors from 40 nations and will occupy nearly 1.3 million square feet of exhibition space. The theme of this … Read more
Because of emerging technologies, information technology is expected to play a more central role in streamlining warehouse operations over the next four years, according to a new white paper released recently by Motorola. Entitled “From Cost Center to Growth Center: Warehousing 2018”, the report outlines the ways warehouse strategies will turn to multi-modal data collection … Read more
President Barack Obama announced that the US Department of Defense has teamed up with a consortium of businesses and universities to build a new Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation (DMDI) Institute in Chicago’s inner city Goose Island neighborhood. The is led by UI Labs and includes 73 companies, nonprofits, research labs and others to create … Read more
FMC Technologies — the Chalfont, Pennsylvania, based provider of technological solutions for the energy industry — announced in a news release that it was divesting itself of its materials handling business to Syntron Material Handling, LLC, an affiliate of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. FMC’s materials handling business, which is based in Tupelo, Mississippi, makes a … Read more
