The year ahead
By Raymond A. Kulwiec -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/1998
What's ahead for 1998 and beyond? What are the important trends in materials handling as related to manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution? I think a careful examination of the articles in this issue, as in every issue of Modern Materials Handling, will provide answers.As our lead news story suggests, the economic outlook continues to be positive. A slowly growing GDP and low inflation are in the forecast. And, business investment-including that for materials handling equipment-continues to fuel this ongoing period of growth.
Our Warehouse of the Month feature spotlights the advantages of upgrading and modernizing existing facilities. For Matrix Essentials, the challenge of coping with rising demand for expanding product lines is a familiar one faced by companies today. For most, a good answer is: Do better with what you already have, in terms of facilities and operations.
The traditional storage function-providing a place to "get things out of the way"-has been giving way to the concept of staging in recent years. Storage equipment is now being used directly on the plant floor to link assembly and manufacturing operations. A good example is the use of vertical-lift storage systems utilizing modular drawers, as shown in our cover story on Mannesmann-Rexroth.
This approach to managing work flow was key to achieving the high levels of efficiency and throughput that were required.
This issue also features our first, exclusive report on the top 20 materials handling systems suppliers in the world, who have a presence in the U.S. market. Many of the companies listed reflect another important trend-the emergence, through acquisition, consolidation, or other means, of larger, broadly based organizations that provide systems integration services in addition to manufacturing materials handling equipment.
In short, this January 1998 issue should be a good one to help you stay abreast in this fast-moving field. On behalf of our staff, I wish you and your company success in the coming year.
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