March—a time for material handling dreams

The calendar page has turned to March. Those of us living in northern climates start to dream of the milder weather to come. Sports fans long for the start of March Madness. And for supply chain professionals, thoughts turn to Chicago. Yes, Chicago.

That's because later this month—March 23-26 to be exact—more than 35,000 supply chain professionals will gather at McCormick Place for ProMat 2015. I am emphasizing March, as it pleases me greatly to say that ProMat has escaped its former calendar slot in January. As much as I like Chicago, March is a much more welcoming time to venture there than in the dead of winter.

Held in the Windy City every other year, ProMat is the largest material handling show found anywhere in North America. This year's show is expected to be bigger and better than ever, and has already achieved a record number of registrants, according to MHI, the industry association that is behind ProMat.

CEOs, vice presidents of supply chain, facility managers, design engineers, and students from more than 110 countries will be there to see the wares of over 800 exhibitors. These vendors will showcase the latest innovations in storage, moving, staging, picking, and shipping solutions, among others. ProMat is one of the few places where supply chain professionals can get actual hands-on experience with the systems they are considering.

And of course, DC Velocity's staff will be out in full force to report on all the happenings. Of special interest is a fireside chat that our own Mitch Mac Donald will be hosting on Wednesday with Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. They will offer a behind-the-curtain look at how Apple continues to dominate innovation. If you attend ProMat, don't miss that session.

Throughout the entire show, DC Velocity editors will be combing the floor to provide the best coverage in the market. Daily dispatches will be posted to dcvelocity.com and included in our electronic "ProMat '15 Show Daily" reports delivered directly to your inbox.

We will also be providing video coverage of the show. Stop by the DC Velocity booth (#3919) and watch live video interviews being taped for our "Meet The Rainmakers" series. Additionally, we will be producing special video reports from the show floor featuring some of the more innovative technologies on display at ProMat.

And if all that isn't enough, the Automate show is co-locating with ProMat again this year just across the main hall at McCormick Place. Your badge gets you into both shows.

If you attend ProMat, be sure to stop by the **{DC Velocity} booth and say hello. See you there.