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Using Lean Supply Chain Management to Eliminate Waste
It wasn’t very long ago that warehouses in every industry stored not only what was ordered, but also a generous surplus of products in order to meet unexpected demand. It was a method that complicated purchasing and forced warehouses to work around lots of unsold goods, leading to waste when out-of-date groceries and pharmaceuticals had…
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GMA Pallet Grades: How and Why Are Pallets Graded?
ARTICLE UPDATED ON JUNE 28, 2023 CBA Pallet Grades: How and Why Are Pallets Graded? In the early 1920’s, shortly after the modern forklift was developed, the first pallets also emerged — transforming the way products were stored at that time. Years later, during World War II, pallets evolved even further. The wood pallet —…
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Maximizing Warehouse Space to Make the Most of Your Building
A warehouse only operates at peak efficiency when the warehouse manager is able to play live-action Tetris in three dimensions in order to find space for inventory. This difficult job isn’t made easier by the warehouse manager’s distance from the company’s decision makers. Many at the executive level pay little attention to logistics systems. A…
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How to Stack Empty Pallets Safely
In the world of warehouses and distribution centers, empty pallets often find themselves in a temporary limbo. They’ve fulfilled their cargo-carrying duties, but their next journey up the supply chain must wait until enough accumulates for transport. Amidst this logistical dance, how to stack empty pallets safely becomes a crucial consideration. While a haphazard pile…
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Warehouse Inventory Management Techniques That Trim Costs
Logistics coordinators are the great unsung heroes of the modern world. Without their work constantly managing the supply chain to ensure that products are delivered on time, we’d go without the necessities of daily life like fresh food, medicine, toiletries, and a million other things that keep us in good health. We quite literally owe…
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Achieving Cost Reduction in Logistics Management
A business’ number one priority is the bottom line. After all, companies are in business to make money. Unfortunately, the old adage that you have to spend money to make money is true. Manufacturing, transportation, and distribution all cost money even before any sales are made. Naturally, executives and managers are under pressure from shareholders…
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Pallet Safety Tips: How to Keep Your Employees Injury-Free
On April 08, 2020, an employee sustained fatal injuries when pinned between a large pallet and a positioning table. In May 2019, an employee was killed in a walk-in storage freezer when he was struck by a pallet. A similar incident occurred in February 2019 when a pallet fell off the rack onto an employee…
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How to Reduce Product Damage During Transportation
ARTICLE UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2022 During a product’s journey from the manufacturer to the retailer, it is not uncommon for damage to occur. As incoming shipments arrive, retail managers routinely check for damaged products and intercept damaged goods before they can enter inventory. Product damage during transportation is so frequent that it is common…
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Distribution Center Best Practices That Increase Efficiency
Distribution centers are the linchpin of a company’s supply chain. A distribution center can serve anywhere from 50 to 125 retail stores, and is frequently responsible for keeping an entire region fully stocked with products. At a distribution center, an accident or issue that brings work to a halt could create a regional crisis for…
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What Are ISO Standard Pallet Dimensions?
ARTICLE UPDATED ON OCTOBER 3, 2023 During the industrial revolution, standardized dimensions for building materials such as screws or girders simply did not exist. In the early twentieth century, national governments began to create standard bodies to deal with the problem. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) was established in 1918 so that projects in…
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How to Make the Most of Supply Chain Automation
If you’ve ever walked into a grocery store–or any sort of store–then you’ve probably seen a stocker scanning individual items before placing them back on the shelf. He or she is checking the stock keeping unit (SKU) to help keep track of what the store has on the shelf, what is still in inventory, and…
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How to Increase Truck Loading Efficiency to Lower Your Cost of Business
In 2013, the Ford Motor Company made headlines by announcing that, instead of steel, its popular F-150 line of pickup trucks would be made almost entirely out of aluminum, from the engine block to the frame. The move sent a shockwave through the automotive world. The high cost of aluminum meant that the change was…