There's more to conveyor performance than feet per minute. Smart users look for systems that can be installed quickly, are simple to maintain and stay up no matter what.
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.
In the world of conveyors, faster isn't always better. Manufacturers may tout the latest belt's blazing-fast travel speed. But in the real world, conveyor speed is about much more than feet per minute. Snaking through the innards of manufacturing and distribution, the conveyor functions much like the circulatory system's central artery, carrying cartons, totes and the like to the far corners of the DC. What matters is not so much how quickly it whips through the facility but how reliably it runs.
For a mechanism that's so critical to smooth DC operations, the conveyor has seen surprisingly few technological advances in the past three decades. "Simply put, conveyor technology has been static for 30 years," says Gregg VandenBosch, a product manager for Siemens. Though engineers have introduced increasingly powerful and sophisticated programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and other components through the years, he says, architecturally, innovation has been rare.
But that dry spell is over. In the past two or three years, manufacturers have rolled out dramatic improvements in conveyor design and technology. And based on their customers' requests, they've focused on making installation and maintenance simpler and quicker; making components more reliable; and engineering systems flexible enough to handle a variety of package sizes and weights.
Mixing it up
For conveyor manufacturers, that request for flexibility is something fairly new. "Recently, we've noted an increase in requests to handle a wider range of products, from Jiffy bags [padded mailers], to rugs, to oversized cartons, within the same system," says John Dillon, director of engineering for the Automotion Systems Group. That's prompted his company to look for new ways of combining its standard product lines and technology, he notes. In one case, Automotion rigged up an all-belt system with a high-speed slat sorter. "This multiple input all-belt system joined a low-speed 'inch and store' mode and a high-speed 'slug release' mode to maximize throughput. "The end result was that we were able to successfully mix those rugs, bags and oversized cartons all on the same system," he says.
Gordon Hellberg, vice president of conveyor manufacturer Ermanco, adds that many end users have changed their picking processes in the last few years, which has major implications for conveyor performance. "More and more, we're seeing cases with the empty box at the end of the line. The box has been sized to the order. Items for the order are picked directly into the box, which eventually moves to the end of the line for sealing and shipping. So conveyors have to handle a greater variety of containers, smaller on average than previously, and handle more of them."
Mike Johnson, senior vice president in the unit handling division of HK Systems, agrees. "One of the things we see changing is the size and complexity of orders. Most things in the past have been cases. Perhaps as a result of the growth in Internet commerce], instead of shipping solid cases, there are more and more 'eaches.' Package sizes vary and package sizes are getting smaller." He reports that one customer, a consumer products company, actually changed its system in mid-installation to add features that would make it easier to handle individual picks.
Boyce Bonham, manager of the technology center for Hytrol, adds that his company has also noticed that clients are handling a bigger variety of packages than in the past. For conveyor manufacturers, he says, that can pose design challenges. "If you're designing a system to handle a large variety of packages, you have to consider how to keep packages from going side to side and keep them single file," he explains. Bonham also notes that end users have reported that the packages they're handling are arriving in worse condition than in the past. Bonham doesn't know why package quality has deteriorated, although he speculates that perhaps lower-quality packaging materials are being used or that the items in question are imported products that have already undergone substantial handling. Whatever the cause, he notes, it creates an issue for the equipment that has to handle and sort the packages.
Plug and convey
Siemens' new C-L100 line of package conveyors is indicative of the direction in which conveyor design is heading. The line was designed, the company says, to reduce installation time, allow operational flexibility and monitor components in order to predict parts failure.
Fast installation is possible because the side channels are pre-wired at the factory with power and communications buses. Modules plug together quickly on site.
In addition, Siemens has standardized components, controls and software. The result, the company says, is reduced parts inventory, streamlined maintenance and reduced programming requirements.
To meet the demand for conveyors that can accommodate a greater variety of package sizes and weights, the C-L100 systems were designed to handle products weighing as little as 1/4 pound to as much as 100 pounds per zone in sizes ranging from 3 inches by 6 inches by 1/4 inch up to 53 inches long and 30 inches wide.
The system also meets emerging requirements for quieter systems by eliminating the use of pneumatics and entering a sleep mode when not in use.
They're even quick to assemble: VandenBosch, who is product manager for the C-L100 line, says that Siemens set out to modularize the three major installation phases—mechanical, electrical and communications. The result is a significant reduction in assembly time in the field.
Siemens isn't the only manufacturer to offer modular "plug and convey" systems. Late last year, FKI Logistex introduced a new flat-belt driven roller conveyor, called the Accutronic, with zone control modules and power connections integrated into the design.
Hytrol, too, is moving in that direction. "We're trying to make things more modular,more pluggable," says Bonham. Pre-wired products and decentralized drives, for instance, allow faster installation, require fewer technicians on site, and require less troubleshooting, he says. In addition, modular systems tend to work well in retrofits. Though equipment costs for modular, pre-wired systems may be higher than for unwired systems, the time and labor savings in the field can help offset that capital cost.
Why the sudden push for speedy installations? It seems that all too often, businesses spend months dithering about what kind of conveyor to install, only to pressure the manufacturer to get the job done quickly once the decision is made. "On the conveyor side, when you pull the trigger, you typically have a short lead time," says Gary Cash, vice president of product management and market for FKI Logistex's warehousing and distribution division. "What we're doing is trying to find ways to meet the needs for shorter schedules." Some of those schedules are short indeed. Cash reports that FKI Logistex provided the material handling systems for Dollar Tree Stores' new 1.2-million- square-foot DC in Joliet, Ill., in a whirlwind project that the company says took only 18 months from conception to completion.With deadlines like that, it's no surprise that conveyor companies are developing more integrated systems with the controls built in, which reduces the need for field testing.
Hellberg of Ermanco offers another explanation for the demand for factory pre-assembled systems. "Over the last couple of years, people have had to downsize, so they don't have the engineering [support] they used to have. We've become an extension of their engineering departments," he says. He adds that he's seen the downsizing both at the distributor level and among end users.
Quick fixes
The demand for simple, predictable maintenance, too, has spurred some ingenious designs. For example, Joe O'Connor, Automotion's director of marketing, explains that his company has developed a pop-up wheel sorter with opposing bolts and flanges that allow workers to pull only those parts that need servicing through the side of the unit. Earlier-generation systems required technicians to drop the whole unit out from underneath.
Automotion also has developed software, which it calls the Computerized Maintenance Management System, that aids in both installation and maintenance. The complete bill of materials for a project is pre-loaded into the software. The software guides installation and maintenance teams. "It literally creates tasks for them," O'Connor says. "We've modified tasks and grouped them together and made them easier to do." The software also allows other equipment, such as lift trucks, to be added to the system, and it even stores information on maintenance personnel, such as schedules and particular skills.
HK Systems has approached the problem of simplifying maintenance by designing its conveyors so that potential problems will be confined to single components. "We try to do things so they won't take forever to fix," says Johnson. He cites a sliding shoe sorter that features a breakaway pin that snaps off in a product jam. "You're always going to get jams," he says. But a serious jam can cause slats in a sortation system to break. By using the breakaway pin, only the shoe itself has to be replaced—a five-minute task that's far easier than repairing the slats or a drive chain. "We try to make it so that if something does break, it's simpler to repair."
Hellberg believes that the time it takes to get a conveyor up and running again after a failure will become an important new measurement in DCs, in line with the traditional measure of mean time between failures. He says that repair time was an important consideration in the design of a narrow-belt accumulator Ermanco introduced in 2003.
Of course, it's important to remember that conveyors are usually purchased as part of a larger material handling system, which means that above all, they must be able to integrate with other parts of a system. Hellberg recalls discussing the issue of mixing brands with a distributor he was visiting not long ago. What he learned was that his client was not overly concerned with whose name was on each component as long as it all worked smoothly. "The end user doesn't care," he says, "as long as the system is providing the function."
yes, RFID affects conveyors too
You might think the world of conveyors, at least, would represent an island of sanity amid the chaos of the radio-frequency identification (RFID) revolution. But you'd be wrong. Conveyor manufacturers are getting caught up in the hubbub too.
For conveyor companies, the first inkling that they too were going to be drawn into the confusion came when requests to conduct RFID tests started trickling in. Mike Johnson, senior vice president in the unit handling systems division of HK Systems, reports that by now, his company has received numerous requests to conduct trials to determine how fast clients can run their conveyors without compromising RFID tag reading accuracy. That's more complicated than it might sound. Read rate is a function not just of conveyor speed but of the readers themselves, the tags and even product characteristics (metals and liquids are notorious for interfering with radio waves). As a result, there are usually a lot of variables to test.
Not surprisingly, testers have encountered plenty of hiccups. "We don't know of a great solution right now," Johnson says. "Although some are running at 600 feet per minute and running fine, some may have a label orientation issue. If the tag is facing away from the reader, there may be a problem. Metals and liquids are sometimes a problem."
But occasionally the tests turn out better than expected. Johnson tells of a test conducted for a battery manufacturer that assumed its metal-encased products would cause major read issues. To the testers' astonishment, they found that the dense products somehow enhanced the RFID readers' ability to capture information.
Beyond the customer testing, Johnson hopes to use RFID technology to streamline his own business someday. "We've taken a look at " [using] it [to track] equipment maintenance," he reports. He also envisions a day when HK will stick RFID tags on all outgoing shipments of conveyor and other equipment. "We'd like to have RFID tags on all the equipment going out," he says. "We could scan it going onto the truck, scan it when it's coming out." Johnson says he's eager for that day to arrive. One of the biggest headaches in any major conveyor installation is keeping track of an impossibly large number of components, he explains. "I'd love to get to the point where we would have a layout and know at any time where each component is."
Parcel giant FedEx Corp. is automating its fulfillment flows by investing in the AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology firm Nimble, and announcing plans to use the San Francisco-based startup’s tech in its own returns network.
The move is significant because FedEx Supply Chain operates at a large scale, running more than 130 warehouse and fulfillment operations in North America and processing 475 million returns annually. According to FedEx, the “strategic alliance” will help to scale up FedEx Fulfillment with Nimble’s “fully autonomous 3PL model.”
“Our strategic alliance and financial investment with Nimble expands our footprint in the e-commerce space, helping to further scale our FedEx Fulfillment offering across North America,” Scott Temple, president, FedEx Supply Chain, said in a release. “Nimble’s cutting-edge AI robotics and autonomous fulfillment systems will help FedEx streamline operations and unlock new opportunities for our customers.”
According to Nimble founder and CEO Simon Kalouche, the collaboration will help enable FedEx to leverage Nimble’s “fast and cost-effective” fulfillment centers, powered by its intelligent general purpose warehouse robots and AI technology.
Nimble says that more than 90% of warehouses today still operate manually with minimal or no robotics, and even those automated warehouses use robots with limited intelligence that are restricted to just a few warehouse functions—primarily storage and retrieval. In contrast, Nimble says its “intelligent general-purpose warehouse robot” is capable of performing all core fulfillment functions including storage and retrieval, picking, packing, and sorting.
For the past seven years, third-party service provider ODW Logistics has provided logistics support for the Pelotonia Ride Weekend, a campaign to raise funds for cancer research at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. As in the past, ODW provided inventory management services and transportation for the riders’ bicycles at this year’s event. In all, some 7,000 riders and 3,000 volunteers participated in the ride weekend.
Photo courtesy of Dematic
For the past four years, automated solutions provider Dematic has helped support students pursuing careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields with its FIRST Scholarship program, conducted in partnership with the corporate nonprofit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). This year’s scholarship recipients include Aman Amjad of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Lily Hoopes of Bonney Lake, Washington, who were each awarded $5,000 to support their post-secondary education. Dematic also awarded $1,000 scholarships to another 10 students.
Motive, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered integrated operations platform, has launched an initiative with PGA Tour pro Jason Day to support the Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF). For every birdie Day makes on tour, Motive will make a contribution to the NSF, which provides support for warriors, veterans, and their families. Fans can contribute to the mission by purchasing a Jason Day Tour Edition hat at https://malbongolf.com/products/m-9189-blk-wht-black-motive-rope-hat.
MTS Logistics Inc., a New York-based freight forwarding and logistics company, raised more than $120,000 for autism awareness and acceptance at its 14th annual Bike Tour with MTS for Autism. All proceeds from the June event were donated to New Jersey-based nonprofit Spectrum Works, which provides job training and opportunities for young adults with autism.
The logistics process automation provider Vanderlande has agreed to acquire Siemens Logistics for $325 million, saying its specialty in providing value-added baggage and cargo handling and digital solutions for airport operations will complement Netherlands-based Vanderlande’s business in the warehousing, airports, and parcel sectors.
According to Vanderlande, the global logistics landscape is undergoing significant change, with increasing demand for efficient, automated systems. Vanderlande, which has a strong presence in airport logistics, said it recognizes the evolving trends in the sector and sees tremendous potential for sustained growth. With passenger travel on the rise and airports investing heavily in modernization, the long-term market outlook for airport automation is highly positive.
To meet that growing demand, the proposed transaction will significantly enhance customer value by providing accelerated access to advanced technologies, improving global presence for better local service, and creating further customer value through synergies in technology development, Vanderlande said.
In a statement, Nuremberg, Germany-based Siemens Logistics said that merging with Vanderlande would “have no operational impact on ongoing or new projects,” but that it would offer its current customers and employees significant development and value-add potential.
"As a distinguished provider of solutions for airport logistics, Siemens Logistics enjoys a first-class reputation in the baggage and air-cargo handling areas. Together with Vanderlande and our committed global teams, we look forward to bringing fresh impetus to the airport industry and to supporting our customers' business with future-oriented technologies," Michael Schneider, CEO of Siemens Logistics, said in a release.
I recently came across a report showing that 86% of CEOs around the world see resiliency problems in their supply chains, and that business leaders are spending more time than ever tackling supply chain-related challenges. Initially I was surprised, thinking that the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic surely prepared industry leaders for just about anything, helping to bake risk and resiliency planning into corporate strategies for companies of all sizes.
But then I thought about the growing number of issues that can affect supply chains today—more frequent severe weather events, accelerating cybersecurity threats, and the tangle of emerging demands and regulations around decarbonization, to name just a few. The level of potential problems seems to be increasing at lightning speed, making it difficult, if not impossible, to plan for every imaginable scenario.
What is it Mike Tyson said? Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
It has never been more important to be able to pivot and adjust to challenges that can throw you off your game. The report I referenced—the “2024 Supply Chain Barometer” from procurement, supply chain, and sustainability consulting firm Proxima—makes the case for just that. The company surveyed 3,000 CEOs from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States and found that the growing complexities in global supply chains necessitate a laser-sharp focus on this area of the business. One example: Rightshoring, which is the process of moving business operations to the best location, means companies are redesigning and reconfiguring their supply chains like never before. The study found that large numbers of CEOs are grappling with the various subsets of rightshoring: 44% said they are planning to or have already undertaken onshoring, for instance; 41% said they are planning to or have undertaken nearshoring; 41% said they are planning to or have undertaken friendshoring; and 35% said they are planning to or have undertaken offshoring.
But that’s not all. CEOs are also struggling to deal with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application to business processes, the potential for abuse and labor rights issues in their supply chains, and a growing number of barriers to their companies’ decarbonization efforts. For instance:
Nearly all of those surveyed (99%) said they are either using or considering the use of AI in their supply chains, with 82% saying they are planning new initiatives this year;
More than 60% said they are concerned about the potential for human or labor rights issues in their supply chains;
And virtually all (99%) said they face barriers to decarbonization, with 30% pointing to the complexity of the work required as the biggest barrier.
Those are big issues to contend with, so it’s no surprise that 96% of the CEOs Proxima surveyed said they are dedicating equal (41%) or more time (55%) to supply chain issues this year than last year. And changing economic conditions are adding to the complexity, according to the report.
“As inflation fell throughout last year, there were glimmers of markets stabilizing,” the authors wrote. “The reality, though, has been that global market dynamics are shifting. With no clear-set position for them to land in, CEOs must continue to navigate their organizations through an ever-changing landscape. Just 4% of CEOs foresee the amount of time spent on supply chain-related topics decreasing in the year ahead.”
Simon Geale, executive vice president and chief procurement officer at Proxima, added some perspective.
“It’s fair to say that the complexities of global supply chains continue to have CEOs around the world scratching their heads,” he wrote. “The results of this year’s Barometer show that business leaders are spending more and more time tackling supply chain challenges, reflecting the multiple challenges to address.”
Perhaps the extra focus on supply chain issues will help organizations improve their ability to roll with the punches and overcome resiliency challenges in the year ahead. Only time will tell.
Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) is a top priority for supply chain leaders as they develop their organization’s technology roadmap, according to data from research and consulting firm Gartner.
AI—including machine learning—and Generative AI (GenAI) ranked as the top two priorities for digital supply chain investments globally among more than 400 supply chain leaders surveyed earlier this year. But key differences apply regionally and by job responsibility, according to the research.
Twenty percent of the survey’s respondents said they are prioritizing investments in traditional AI—which analyzes data, identifies patterns, and makes predictions. Virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa are common examples. Slightly less (17%) said they are prioritizing investments in GenAI, which takes the process a step further by learning patterns and using them to generate text, images, and so forth. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most common example.
Despite that overall focus, AI lagged as a priority in Western Europe, where connected industry objectives remain paramount, according to Gartner. The survey also found that business-led roles are much less enthusiastic than their IT counterparts when it comes to prioritizing the technology.
“While enthusiasm for both traditional AI and GenAI remain high on an absolute level within supply chain, the prioritization varies greatly between different roles, geographies, and industries,” Michael Dominy, VP analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a statement announcing the survey results. “European respondents were more likely to prioritize technologies that align with Industry 4.0 objectives, such as smart manufacturing. In addition to region differences, certain industries prioritize specific use cases, such as robotics or machine learning, which are currently viewed as more pragmatic investments than GenAI.”
The survey also found that:
Twenty-six percent of North American respondents identified AI, including machine learning, as their top priority, compared to 14% of Western Europeans.
Fourteen percent of Western European respondents identified robots in manufacturing as their top choice compared to just 1% of North American respondents.
Geographical variances generally correlated with industry-specific priorities; regions with a higher proportion of manufacturing respondents were less likely to select AI or GenAI as a top digital priority.
Digging deeper into job responsibilities, just 12% of respondents with business-focused roles indicated GenAI as a top priority, compared to 28% of IT roles. The data may indicate that GenAI use cases are perceived as less tangible and directly tied to core supply chain processes, according to Gartner.
“Business-led roles are traditionally more comfortable with prioritizing established technologies, and the survey data suggests that these business-led roles still question whether GenAI can deliver an adequate return on investment,” said Dominy. “However, multiple industries including retail, industrial manufacturers and high-tech manufacturers have already made GenAI their top investment priority.”