ProMat 2019: Three questions answered

There’s a good chance you’ve just returned from ProMat 2019 and your head is still spinning. Sure, you went to Chicago with some set goals, but your travels around the 420,000 square feet of show floor space probably took you past ideas and solutions that opened your eyes to new paths and even raised some questions—one of the residual effects of any good trade show. This month in Modern we aim to answer at least three questions that may have popped up during your visit.

First, the buzz was palpable and booths were jammed. And, while it appeared attendees were anxious to learn about new solutions, are they really ready to invest? The simple answer is yes; however, not at the same vigorous pace as last year. Editor at large Roberto Michel explains as he puts context around our “2019 Warehouse and Distribution Center Equipment Survey,” an annual study conducted on behalf of Modern by Peerless Research Group (PRG) that sets out to reveal warehouse/DC equipment, technology and software buying intentions.

“The energy on this year’s floor certainly matched our findings that a healthy spending outlook still prevails,” says Michel. “However, it’s a bit more subdued than last year’s very bullish numbers.”

Part of the show chatter had to do with the evolution of the IoT, the industry’s latest cocktail reception buzz term. Just imagine billions of physical devices around the world—from your refrigerator, to your car, to the automation systems running your DCs—all connected to the Internet, collecting and sharing data.

While I’m sure you received an earful on the possibilities, is this a reality? As Michel explains in his piece “The state of IoT in the warehouse” (page 26), IoT is already all around us, and the applications inside our operations are only gaining steam. “It’s turning from a conceptual thing to an actual thing, as many IoT-connected sensor vendors are now turning their sights inside the four walls,” Michel says. “It’s going to be a slow, but steady ramp up, and it’s already started with temperature sensors for cold storage, vibration sensors for motors and sensor data being relayed to the Cloud by solutions such as lift truck telematics or autonomous mobile robots.”

Another question we hope to answer this month revolves around how smaller organizations approach automation adoption. For many years, small to medium-sized companies tended to wait on the sidelines as they watched the big guys throw time and money into systems.

So, if you walked the floor thinking most of the systems you saw were out of reach, think again. Bob Trebilcock takes us inside Adore Me’s 130,000-square-foot facility that packs a lot of order fulfillment automation in a small space.

“One of the things this story illustrates is that automation is increasingly a necessity for smaller companies,” says Trebilcock. “Consumers expect a certain level of service when they order online, regardless of the size of the e-tailer. The result is that companies big and small have to either outsource their order fulfillment, or, like Adore Me, bring it in house and invest in technology to deliver a better customer experience.”