Year in Review: 2019 System Reports

When a company appears on the cover of Modern, it is to recognize their achievement in putting equipment to work to boost productivity, customer service and company growth. But each story is also an achievement for the industry, whose innovation in all corners of the market helped to make the cover story possible.

Across manufacturing, warehousing and distribution applications, the companies and solutions we showcased were sometimes simple, sometimes incredibly sophisticated. Even those hardware and software elements that seem familiar, however, are getting smarter and more connected all the time, buzzing with the promise of the Industrial Internet of Things.

These companies share common service level objectives, but the diversity of their paths to success serves as a reminder that each organization is unique. In several instances, it also illustrates how imagination informs innovation.

2019 System Reports
Bulking up at Canadian Tire
One of Canada’s largest retail brands took bulk handling to new levels of automation and efficiency at its new Ontario DC.

Robots at GEODIS
The global 3PL turned to mobile collaborative robots to rev up its e-commerce fulfillment operations. One measurable result: a 2x improvement in productivity.

How the Defense Logistics Agency does disaster relief
When natural disasters strike, the Defense Logistics Agency brings its distribution and logistics expertise to support relief efforts.

Adore Me Services: Small space, big automation
Adore Me Services packs a lot of automation power into a relatively small space to deliver the right customer experience.

What’s next for Turn 14 Distribution
A Pennsylvania-based distributor of performance auto parts moved from conventional to automated processes and expanded its network from one to three DCs. The result: improved accuracy, throughput and industry-leading customer service.

Nassau Provisions: Pastrami, with technology on the side
After 30 years of paper-based distribution, Nassau Provisions implemented a WMS to distribute specialty and kosher foods from its 80,000-square-foot distribution center.

Indiana University Health builds a supply chain (and a distribution center)
To drive efficiency, Indiana University Health created its own procurement, logistics and distribution network. The centerpiece is a highly automated 300,000-square-foot distribution center.

Toll puts automation to work down under
When Toll designed a state-of-the-art e-fulfillment distribution center, it combined goods-to-person piece picking with AGVs to optimize pallet movement. The result is a safer and more productive facility.

Network design and robots at Rakuten Super Logistics
E-commerce fulfillment leader RSL is remaking its network and DC design to meet the future.

GE Appliances pulls the digital thread
GE Appliances may not have taken all of the touches out of its distribution processes, but it has reduced them to a bare minimum, increased the velocity of product moving through its facilities and sped up training time. The key: A digital transformation with next-generation technologies like IoT, AI and VR.

Coop’s automation journey
Norway’s largest cooperative is operating one of the most highly automated grocery distribution centers in the world. Coop’s journey to automation provides a roadmap for other organizations moving from conventional to automation.