Free guide to buying material handling equipment

Many a warehouse manager keeps a well-worn copy of Rules of Thumb: Warehousing and Distribution Guidelines on the desk or in a back pocket. The pamphlet, developed and published biennially by the consulting firm Gross & Associates, provides general guidelines for estimating the costs of various material handling equipment configurations.

If your copy is getting a little dog-eared, we have good news. A new edition—the 11th—has been released by the supply chain and transportation consulting firm TranSystems, which acquired Gross & Associates in 2008. The current edition includes new categories, like security and warehouse technology, as well as price estimates for 140 types of warehouse equipment and supplies.

Rules of Thumb is available in a handy pocket-sized booklet, which can be ordered at no cost at www.transystems.com/rules. The company has also developed an online version that will calculate costs for you. Go to www.transystems.com/rules, fill in the contact information form, and then scroll down to the appropriate equipment category. Fill in the number of items, and click on "calculate" at the bottom of the page.

For more information, call (419) 469-2263 or send an e-mail to rulesofthumb@transystems.com.