MODEX 2020: Showcasing supply chain solutions

Comedian Colin Jost will provide entertainment at MHI Industry Night.

Supply chains encompass a broad range of activities and technologies, from manufacturing and warehousing to distribution and logistics. The world’s leading suppliers of supply chain-related equipment, systems, and services will showcase their solutions March 9–12, 2020, when Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center hosts the fifth biennial MODEX Show, one of the largest expositions for supply chain solutions in the Americas.

MODEX will offer visitors unprecedented access to efficiency-enhancing supply chain solutions, learning opportunities, and information by showcasing the products and services of 950 exhibitors. The show’s organizer, MHI, expects manufacturing and supply chain professionals from more than 140 countries to attend the event.

In addition to the exhibition, an extensive educational conference will run concurrently with the show. The conference features four keynote addresses, a “Women in Supply Chain Industry Forum,” and more than 150 supplier-led seminars on a broad array of manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain topics. These seminars will be presented in theaters located right on the show floor. This format allows attendees to learn about various manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain solutions in the educational sessions and then go see the equipment and systems that can implement those solutions.

For ease of navigation, the MODEX 2020 exhibit halls will be divided into five function-specific solution centers: Manufacturing & Assembly, Fulfillment & Delivery, Information Technology, Transportation & Logistics, and Emerging Technologies. Exhibitors from across North America will be on hand to showcase the following technologies and services:

• Packaging, containers, and shipping equipment: Box and carton makers, dunnage trays, packaging and unitizing systems, wrapping, inspection of products by weight or scanning, pallets, wire baskets, plastic and metal containers, and palletizing equipment.
• Supply chain management: Alternative fuel systems, parcel management and distribution, reverse logistics, third-party logistics, sustainable facility equipment, supply chain and logistics execution systems, enterprise resource planning and transportation management systems, and inventory security services.
• Dock and warehouse equipment and supplies: Dock levelers, dock pads, doors, forklift trucks, racks, flooring, handling systems, forklift attachments, conveyors, hoists, cranes, monorails, loading dock equipment, and below/hook lifting devices.
• Inventory management, information technology, and controlling technologies: Computers, controllers, software programs, systems integrators, manufacturing execution systems, warehouse management systems/supply chain and logistics execution systems, remote control equipment, wireless control systems, voice recognition systems, enterprise resource planning, order management systems, and transportation management systems.
• Automatic identification equipment and systems: Bar-code printers and scanners, vision systems, voice recognition systems, radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems, and systems integrators.
• Transportation and logistics: Road, rail, sea, and air freight transportation; parcel delivery; security; autonomous vehicles; robotics; sensors; supply chain management software; and third-party logistics and reverse logistics.
• Material handling and logistics equipment and systems: Automated storage and retrieval systems, automatic guided vehicle systems, casters/wheels/tires, hydraulic and electrical components and controls, robotics, personnel/burden carriers, racks, forklifts, batteries, lift trucks, flexible manufacturing systems, tool handling, conveyors, mezzanines, lift tables, scissor lifts, unit-handling systems, manufacturing execution systems, warehouse management systems/supply chain and logistics execution systems, ergonomic and safety equipment, carousels, modular drawer storage, order picking, sortation equipment, shelving and workstations, and third-party logistics.
• Emerging technologies. Sensors, software, cloud computing, driverless vehicles, robotics and automation, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, omnichannel fulfillment, unified commerce, augmented reality, virtual reality, and wearable and mobile technologies.

Also on tap this year are a “meet and greet” for young professionals, which will be held Monday, March 9, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and MHI Industry Night, an evening of live music, food, drinks, and entertainment by comedian Colin Jost. Industry Night will be held Wednesday, March 11, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets to this event are on sale at ModexShow.com/industrynight. The door prize for the event is a $30,000 trip to a location of the winner’s choice.