The Best of 'Best Practices'
Take a look back with Modern at some of the best advice we’ve published in the last year to improve warehousing and distribution operations. News you can use. That’s the way we like to think of best practices. They are the tried and true, the result of trial and error, and the collected advice of consultants, systems integrators, equipment providers and end users who have seen—and done—it all.

After two years of publishing the best practices newsletter, we thought we’d look back at some of the best pieces of advice we’ve provided over the past 50 columns or so. Let us know what we’ve missed—what best practices are working in your operation—by sending an e-mail to Robert.Trebilcock@verizon.net.

best practices articles of the month

• Attacking the picking problem
  Implementing best order-picking processes can be boiled down to how a facility optimizes three elements: set up, travel time and the picking process itself.
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• Selecting a systems integrator
  Picking the right consultant or systems integrator can be as important to the success of your next project as the design and equipment you install in your facility.
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• What would your mom say about your warehouse?
  A 15-minute walk-through of a facility can tell more about operations than an hour in the conference room.
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other recommended items

• FMC is now JBT
  John Bean Technologies Corp. is the name, but the materials handling business stays the same ... for now.
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• MHIA funds OSU ergonomic research
  The Material Handling Industry of America announces its first-ever direct funding of materials handling and logistics research.
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• JDA set to acquire i2 Technologies
  Deal would increase company's manufacturing presence, but analysts say it may face integration obstacles.
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• Transbotics to be acquired by aerospace company
  The AGV company announced it had signed a letter of intent to sell most of its assets to Nova-Tech Engineering for an undisclosed amount.
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blogs

• Evolution by acquisition
  Takeaways by Tom Andel , Editor-In-Chief, Modern Materials Handling
  A rash of M&A announcements begs the question: why is materials handling so hot all of a sudden?
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• Summertime, and the livin' is easy
  Company Briefings by Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large, Modern Materials Handling
  nyone who writes a column on a regular basis runs out of steam (or ideas) now and then. For me, this is now, not then. The weather here is beautiful, and it seems like everyone I’m interested in talking to about automated materials handling, the supply chain, software or RFID – my favorite subjects – is on vacation.
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• The price of ignorance
  On Your Worst Behavior by Frank, Modern's resident expert on imperfection
  If the stuff that happens to me on a regular basis happened to a flesh-and-blood person, it wouldn’t be funny. In fact, few people could survive what I’ve been through in my career as a cartoon character. I'm stepping away from my role as comic relief to act as an intermediary.
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