It has been an exciting week for me at PeakLogix. We just wrapped up the very successful Supply Chain Summit that we coordinated and hosted with F. Curtis Barry & Company on May 17-18, 2011.
A solid group of attendees and vendors from all over the country participated in the Supply Chain Summit, resulting in a very synergistic event.
The first day of the summit was filled with interesting panel discussions regarding ERP vs. WMS and How to Benchmark and Improve Operations. Additionally, there were presentations highlighting specific case studies regarding cost justification for automating operations and for implementing voice technology applications, respectively. After lunch, everyone boarded the busses to travel to the STIHL Manufacturing and Distribution Center to tour and audit their facilities.
The second and final day of the Supply Chain Summit featured in-depth roundtable discussions with attendees and vendors. It is within these discussions that I was truly impressed with the synergistic abilities of each group. It was so refreshing to see such open and honest conversations being conducted between high level people from various different aspects within the industry. The synergy was easily picked up and easy to recognize as each group functioned together to produce ideas and results that would not have been conceived alone.
Being new to the industry it was a breath of fresh air to see this kind of sharing of experiences and best practices within the industry. I have written before that one of the very first things I picked up on within the material handling industry is just how close everyone generally holds their cards. The Supply Chain Summit was a great experience for me to see some of those walls come down. Each group participated in some good old fashioned sharing and story telling. I am guessing that it would not be a stretch to guess that there were some new friendships formed among the attendees of the Supply Chain Summit.
I look forward to doing everything in my power to continue to make the Supply Chain Summit such a high value, low cost event for industry participants. I met so many great people and look forward to doing it again next spring!
The Picasso exhibit is drawing visitors from all over Virginia and neighboring states because it is the only East Coast stop on the U.S. leg of the touring exhibit. It started in Seattle in October, leaves Richmond after this weekend and is scheduled to go to San Francisco from June through September. The exhibit features 176 pieces of Picasso’s private collection.
All of this excitement over the Picasso exhibit has me thinking about what makes a masterpiece? There are certainly some folks who will visit the exhibit and feel as if there is something left to be desired, where as others will leave in a state of awe and profound amazement. This proves to solidify that old saying “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”.
Now, I realize that it is nearly impossible to relate the material handling industry to Picasso, but perhaps there is a common thread that goes into how a masterpiece is determined such.
When you take into consideration all of the coordination and synchronization of all the different aspects of developing a customized material handling solution you begin to realize the artistry that is involved.
Many of the solutions that the exceptional teammates of PeakLogix develop for our clients leave me feeling a sense of awe and amazement. From simple to complex applications, the ability for our teammates to think outside of the box for the betterment of our clients is truly astounding.
We received a letter yesterday from one of our clients that was extremely complimentary and stated: “efforts, pre- and post-sale, brought the meaning of outstanding customer service to a whole new level.” This client went on to explain that what he thinks divides us from our competition is the “time, energy and passion” that our employees invest into the business.
I may be reading into things completely wrong, but from what I can see, PeakLogix has many “artists” on our team who love to leave our clients feeling a profound sense of awe and amazement…..perhaps for them, a masterpiece?
Dawn Mooney
Creative Director
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1506 F: 804.794.6515
www.PeakLogix.com
I want to introduce you to the PeakLogix Engineering team. We’re the guys who work alongside our Regional and Area Director’s to design and specify solutions to your material handling and storage challenges. You’ll be hearing from each of us in future Engineering blogs.
One of the things that sets us apart from our competition is the fact that all of our engineers have spent time on “the other side of the table” before joining PeakLogix. So we naturally look at all problems and opportunities from our client’s perspective – because we were in your shoes. We know what we liked and valued in an integrator, and we strive to provide that on a daily basis.
I’ve been with PeakLogix for 10 years. Prior to that, I spent 13 years with various manufacturing and distribution companies such as Texas Instruments, Honeywell, and Ferguson Enterprises. I have an Industrial Engineering degree from Purdue.
Mike Holler joined PeakLogix 4 years ago. He spent the previous 9 years in various engineering and leadership roles at Lutron Electronics. Mike has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Lehigh.
Chris Sheehan came on board a year ago. Chris’ background includes 7 years of experience at Carmax and Hill-Phoenix. He earned an Industrial and Systems Engineering degree from Virginia Tech.
We look forward to sharing news and information about what’s exciting in the world of material handling!
Ron Turkaly
Director of Engineering
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1519 F: 804.794.6515
www.PeakLogix.com
The pressure is always “on” for all businesses to get more efficient. Recently, on my annual golf trip in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the occasional business conversation tended to focus on work and the priority of “tightening belts”.
An old buddy from Pennsylvania, a chemist, talked about his firm downsizing, folks retiring and not being replaced and especially concerning is the continuous assignment of additional responsibilities to those that remain…..without additional compensation of course. He shared that quality is suffering, morale is at an all time low and customers are not happy. Working longer and longer hours has been the standard there for many years so in his opinion that’s not the answer.
Another friend, a supply chain executive, said that his firm is focused on automating as much of his operations as possible. The old “let’s roll up our sleeves and get it done” just doesn’t work anymore. They are actively looking for ways to invest in automation not to replace FTE’s (full time employees) but to meet and exceed their customers expectations.
Overall, my middle age friends agree, that today with the current advances in technology, automation and controls having humans do more and more work isn’t the answer. The answer is investing in technology to increase efficiency, improve accuracy and to keep customers coming back for more.
Robert Giberson
Principal
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1504C: 804.337.2045
F: 804.794.6515
www.PeakLogix.com
Mr. John Garrett was promoted to Service Manager from Project Manager and is responsible for overseeing all corporate accounts for PeakLogix. John attended Virginia Commonwealth University prior to joining the PeakLogix team in 2001 and recently celebrated his 10 year anniversary with PeakLogix. The blog he shares today focuses on a "little Sping cleaning" from the service perspective. We look forward to hearing your comments!
I have seen a lot in my travels to various client sites as the Service Manager for PeakLogix. All types of material handling equipment from simple transportation conveyors, fully automated systems, robotic palletizing and countless other means of improving efficiency.
Spring time and spring cleaning, what relevance does that have to my travels and observations at all these facilities?
Well, longevity, reliability and continuous return on investment, that’s what. One of the easiest things anyone on staff can do is general upkeep and cleaning of any material handling equipment at most sites. From packing tape, dirt/dust/grime, cardboard and even valuable inventory, I’ve seen it all built up over time. Take the time to clean up equipment now and then a “little spring cleaning” at least every week will keep any of your equipment doing what it does best, being productive and reliable.
Feel free to contact us for any material handling equipment assessments, safety audits or service needs.
John Garrett
Service Manager
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1512 F: 804.794.6515
24/7 Service Hotline 866.850.8559
www.PeakLogix.com
I’ve been attending and participating in the ProMat industry tradeshow for many years now and it seems that with each new show there’s a couple of “in things” that are apparent. The theme for the ProMat 2011 show seemed to be focused on driving and increasing efficiency.
Most businesses are constantly pushing to become more efficient internally and to serve their customers more effectively. This year, the ProMat show revolved around saving space, reducing cycle times, increasing accuracy and improving safety.
There were 5 or 6 displays featuring Mobile Shelving and Mobile Racking which help consolidate and utilize space. The pricing of these systems have been reduced with the advent of smarter engineering designs, lower controls costs and improved safety innovations. Folks are recognizing that walking or forklift aisles in front of every pick face doesn’t always make sense. Additionally, these systems are a good option to consider to help avoid or delay the pain involved with moving or expanding your building.
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) were everywhere at ProMat this year. Operational travel costs are being eliminated within picking operations through the use of carousels, mini-loads, unit loads, VLM’s and robotics. These folks have figured out how to integrate all types of technologies into a highly efficient material handling system. Design options include items such as carton flow, pick-to-light, put-to-light, AS/RS, AGV and even racking and shelving enabling a place for everything and everything to be in it’s place.
Overall, many of the attendees to ProMat 2011 that I met were interested in improving their operations but didn’t have a clear “blueprint” of just what to do. Many of these folks specifically requested that an “expert” contact them to help sort out their best opportunities for driving further efficiencies. I think material handling consultants will be very busy helping organizations accomplish their goals to do more work with less people in less space.
Robert Giberson
Principal
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1504
C: 804.337.2045
F: 804.794.6515
www.PeakLogix.com
Bob
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