Materials handling and the supply chain
By Ray Kulwiec -- Modern Materials Handling, 3/1/1999
This past January, I attended a major conference exploring supply-chain strategies and the growth of electronic business on the web. In February, along with the rest of the MMH staff, I covered the big ProMat materials handling show. The timing of the two events was coincidental. But I believe the link between the two concepts-supply chain and materials handling-is as close as the linking of the two events in time was for me.
The first event was sponsored by IBM and over 100 of its business partners. IBM sees a big future in helping companies optimize supply-chain operations. It also sees a major role in the endeavor being played in the growing arena of E-business.
IBM is essentially a hardware provider. In order to be a major factor in the supply-chain market, its strategy is to partner with key software vendors in order to provide total supply-chain solutions to industry.
Similarly, the Material Handling Industry of America-the trade association that sponsors the ProMat Show-sees a growing role for materials handling within the supply chain. MHIA CEO A. L. Leffler has coined the term "material handling logistics" to express the idea that manufacturers must think beyond the four walls of their facility and partner with suppliers, distributors, and customers to speed the flow of goods and materials throughout the supply chain.
Leffler also puts it another way: Material handling logistics is the movement, storage, protection and control of materials throughout the manufacturing and distribution process including their consumption and disposal. He points out that this statement also defines what the supply chain concept is all about.
That is a challenge that you will face in the future. You each have specific roles to play in your companies. But you also must realize that optimizing certain operations in your facility may not carry the highest priority, unless that activity coincides with your company's overall supply-chain goals. As noted materials handling consultant Jim Tompkins put it recently, "We need to concentrate on optimizing overall chains, not individual links."
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