2022: Tracking the evolution of fulfillment

While I’ve always enjoyed putting together issues that put the focus on a particular piece of equipment or solution like our lift truck and packaging issues, the strength of a leading B2B media entity like Modern is when we show our breadth of market coverage—and we kick off 2022 doing just that.

And while the stories this month delve into a few unique niches of materials handling, it’s fascinating to see that the current operations environment is the common denominator. Sky-rocking e-commerce volumes, customer demands, lack of overall freight capacity and the desperate need for labor can all be found as a primary driver in each report.

Executive editor Bob Trebilcock takes us inside an example of another small, fast-growing company making a strong push into automation to keep pace with growth, meet changing customer demands, and stay ahead of the competition. This month, the focus is on Pitman Creek, one of the largest distributors of freshwater fishing tackle in North America—a proverbial big fish in a small pond.

As Trebilcock documents, the growth Pitman Creek experienced over an eight-year period—almost 600%—is extraordinary, while the automation solution, including conveyor and sortation, has yielded a 400% improvement in receiving operations to putaway and a 250% improvement in outgoing production.

“Traditionally, small, fast-growing companies are more reactive rather than proactive,” says Trebilcock. “But I think we’re starting to see that change, as the environment has pushed many small companies that are leaders in their fields to turn to more automation to keep up with customer expectations.”

Another area clearly evolving in this period of rapid growth is inventory management. As senior editor Roberto Michel explores this month (page 28), the days of relying solely on your WMS as the hub of your inventory control are coming to an end as more operations employ multiple zones of automation where monitoring product flow is now essential.

“The complexity of inventory flows and inventory visibility in a modern fulfillment center is a far cry from manual DCs,” says Michel. “In most cases, the WMS will remain the system of record for most inventory data, but warehouse execution system [WES] functionality is increasingly being deployed for smart order release, with real-time monitoring of inventory levels as part of that.”

And as we’re scanning and tracking inventory on multiple levels, we’re now capturing data at every key decision-making point. Edge computing will be speeding up our overall IT capabilities by bringing the network closer to the data to reduce latency and increase real-time analysis—enabling the application of new sensors (IoT) and systems that will make the real-time supply chain a reality.

Edge technology does come with challenges—and ADC hardware is positioned to overcome some of those. Editor at large Gary Forger takes us to the edge, offering a comprehensive snapshot of what’s possible in this next frontier and the role ADC will play in making real-time and instantaneous decision making a reality.