Takeaways from the 2008 Materials Handling and Logistics Conference
Sponsored by HK Systems, this event offered surprising viewpoints: Lean is crucial, McCain is popular, green is good and the US economic malaise is overblown.
By Allison Manning, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 9/24/2008
Achieving “operational excellence in the supply chain” was the overarching goal of the speakers, attendees and sponsors at last week’s Material Handling and Logistics Conference in Park City, Utah, sponsored by HK Systems.
Seven tracks – strategy, responsibility, best practices, innovation, technology, focus and document storage – organized the more than fifty sessions, which covered topics such as sustainability, warehouse design, supply chain visibility and order fulfillment.
The “focus” track consisted of small groups discussing their specific vertical industry for those in the beverage industry, manufacturing, suppliers and others.
HK Systems senior vice president Mike Kotecki surveyed the attendees electronically during the opening session, asking supply chain members and practitioners questions on their specific challenges, risks and investment focus. More than half of the members said staying lean was a strategic initiative, while practitioners were split between innovation and performance as how they defined success.
The group was divided when Kotecki asked if the government should take an active role in the United States’ global competitiveness, with 48% saying yes and 51% no. As for the country’s next president, 63% thought it would be Senator John McCain.
Under the “responsibility” track, Mike Desso, Nestle environmental and safety manager, told of his company’s construction of a sustainable, LEED-certified facility in Anderson, Indiana. Desso acknowledged that for many companies, especially in the manufacturing and food and beverage industries, many LEED-recommended initiatives are more difficult, such as natural lighting or a green roof. But other tactics, like promoting alternative transportation by employees and reducing the facility’s footprint, are easy and huge cost-savers.
Philippe Guatrin, partner at logistics consultant GCL Group, spoke about “best practices” when designing a warehouse, including taking a serious look at where you build. Guatrin said after the session that more companies are looking to build regional DCs closer to their suppliers or consumers, aware of the high fuel costs. Freight accounts for 30 to 50% of shipping costs.
Mike Ensby, director of engineering and global operations management at Clarkson University, warned during his “best practices” session on material handling project management against jumping into a project without thoroughly vetting the problem and solution. Most projects are IT based, Ensby said, and studies show that 88% are behind schedule or over budget, and 30% end in cancellation.
Aberdeen Group researcher Viktoriya Sadlovska told attendees that most of their peers are lacking the necessary tools to effectively monitor their supply chain. New customs legislation aimed at building more long-time security, called 10+2, will require all US importers to submit 10 data sets detailing their supply chain, plus two from the carrier. Sadlovska said half of the companies her group surveyed “don’t even know if we have this visibility.”
The conference also featured several prominent speakers, including former Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley, Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard and keynote speaker retired General Barry R. McCaffrey. Karlgaard, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 500 points, said the economy is in better shape than most think. An underwhelming financial press, the tumultuousness of an election year and a more dire situation in media-centric New York have all contributed to the underselling of the economy to the rest of the world, Karlgaard said.
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