Who says yes to automated materials handling solutions?

Who says yes to automated materials handling in your company?

This is not an idle question. In fact, it was on the minds of a number of automated materials handling systems providers at MHIA’s fall meetings in Phoenix last week. For those of you not familiar with the acronym, MHIA stands for Material Handling Industry of America, the association that represents our industry and sponsors ProMat and the biannual North American materials handling show in Cleveland.

Not that long ago, warehousing and distribution were after thoughts at many companies. Everyone knew you had to do it, but few people in the executive suite actually wanted to know how it’s done. Materials handling? Wasn’t that lift trucks and moving boxes?

Today, as we all know, warehousing, distribution and materials handling are strategic. Urban Outfitters, Burlington Coat Factory, Chrysler, American Eagle, and Gardner Denver are just five companies I’ve written about in the last few years that undertook major distribution and materials handling projects to improver their competitive position in the marketplace. Look for my upcoming article on Detroit Diesel in the October issue.

In all six cases, we’re not talking a conveyor here or a lift truck there. We’re talking about major strategic shifts in the way those companies think about their distribution operations and the materials handling systems that support them. Those shifts were backed up with multi-million dollar investments.

Which brings us to the question of the day: With so much money on the table, who says yes today to the implementation of a transformational automated materials handling system?

I sat on an automation panel with distribution guys at L.L. Bean and Quality Bicycle Products last week in Phoenix. In response to that question, both said that ultimately their projects go to executive suite.

The same question came up during one of the industry group meetings I sat in on at during the meetings. The group was wondering how to spend its advertising dollars to promote automation: Should they spend it with materials handling books like Modern and our competitors? Or, as one participant suggested, should they advertise with CFO magazine.

“I’ve never seen a CFO on a selection team,” one executive argued. “They’re not the guys who say yes to a system.”

“But they are the ones who can say no,” countered another.

Which comes back to the original question. In your organization, who is involved in selecting an automated materials handling system, and ultimately, who says yes to the project? Let us know by responding below, or e-mailing me at Robert.Trebilcock@verizon.net.