Off and running

By Gary Forger, Editorial Director -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2007

As you read this, Modern's entire editorial staff is at ProMat 2007 in Chicago. This is a busy week for us. Just ask Noël, Corinne, Bob, Roberto, Barb or Lorie midday Wednesday how they're holding up and you will probably get a look back that says, "What do you think?"

At that point, they will be closing in on the final stories for the final day of the show daily that Modern does at the show. And even if you weren't at the show reading the daily, you are probably keeping up with events through our daily e-newsletter blasts.

If you missed any of those, then visit mmh.com and get caught up on the latest and greatest in materials handling. And a few days after we get back from the show, you'll get to literally see what went on there. Just click on the Vlogs and photo galleries in our ProMat coverage.

ProMat is also when we honor our Productivity Award winners. Our 17th, in case you were wondering. This year the winners are: Burlington Coat Factory for distribution, Mercedes for warehousing and Blum for manufacturing. You can read what made them winners in this issue. We congratulate all three for their outstanding achievements.

As you consider those stories, you will inevitably be looking to see how your operations stack up against those companies. If you've got some equal or even better strengths, then you've got a story to tell and should contact me. Who knows, next year you could be the one we're talking about.

That said, check out the "Trends in Distribution, Warehousing and Manufacturing" story. As the new year starts, this is a great place to see how you compare to other companies on several fronts.

In addition to looking at buying trends in materials handling and related information systems, the survey-based story evaluates key practices, metrics and issues. As you will see, there are some shifts underway here that are setting new priorities for people. You'll want to be clued in on these. This story is the first in a six-part series that will run throughout the year, focusing on a different industry in each of the next five reports.

Well, we're obviously off to a fast start on the new year. See you down the track.