There is nothing simple about the distribution and logistics industry. While the purpose of logistics is to get items from Point A to Point B, there will always be challenges related to decreasing the margin of error, improving delivery speed, and protecting products from loss and theft. When it comes to ways to overcome obstacles in shipping, warehouses are increasingly relying on RFID technology. 

It's peak season, and you're trying desperately to keep inventory moving in and out of your warehouse to satisfy your clients. But one of the additional challenges you face is a warehouse device shortage, which is stifling your efforts.

World events and technological innovations have ushered in a new era for the food supply chain sector. How consumers look at, purchase, and consume food has changed drastically over the past several years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasing desire for complete transparency.

Here is how consumer behavior has shifted in such a short period, the ways that online shopping growth will affect the food supply chain, and what companies can do to provide greater transparency moving forward. 

Given that prices are continuing to increase alongside customer expectations, lowering warehouse operating costs has become a growing priority for most distribution centers and any business that finds itself "storing stuff." There's much more associated with the cost of warehousing than just space. Warehouse costs involve obvious factors like rent and utilities, but also other elements such as productivity, accuracy, and safety. 

Of course, most businesses have thought about warehouse automation. But, there are many misconceptions around automating that tend to make it seem scary and expensive. The truth is that it's completely achievable and affordable. Here's what you need to know about the true cost of warehouse automation and what it can do for your business.

We’ve all justifiably spent a lot of time over the last year focusing on the issues our industry is facing in keeping supply chains intact and running smoothly in the face of unprecedented demand and disruptions stemming from the pandemic. Amid all the shortages, delays and price changes, and like an exclamation point on a very memorable year, we also had a global shortage of containers due to the blockage of the Suez canal.

There is probably a higher level of public awareness about how the logistics industry works and its technology than ever before. Who hasn’t had at least a passing interest in how a nation plans to get over 300 million doses of a vaccine distributed in a manner of a few months?

How do you measure success in your warehouse? Every business has their own “dashboard” of KPIs (at least we ASSUME they do by now). Your KPIs could be as granular – and basic - as “Picks Per Hour”, “Receiving Wait Time”, “Packages Shipped” or “Fulfillment Rate”. Or they could be at a more macro level to measure “Inventory Turnover”, “Average Order Value” (or “Average Items per Order”) and “Forecast Accuracy” (along with basic tracking forecast elements).

The extreme climate event that kept Texas in the news for over a week put the spotlight on a lot of challenges that are growing due to climate change and extreme weather events. Putting aside the issue of Texas’ 80-year process of distancing their energy economy from the rest of the country, the tragic lack of preparation that appears to almost be intentional not only crippled the entire state, resulted in unnecessary deaths that were entirely preventable.

This year Zebra Technologies is introducing a new concept to drive decision-making in your planning and investment strategies for new devices and equipment in distribution centers and other warehouses. Referred to as the “Warehouse Maturity Model”, it provides a structured roadmap for modernization for your facilities.

While the term “social distancing” is the common parlance we all use and hear every day during the pandemic, the CDC also uses “physical distancing” with the same definition – “keeping a safe space – currently defined as at least 6 feet – between individuals from different households.” Given our focus is always on the workplace, we’ve been using “physical distancing” and will continue to do so. But how do you enforce it at the workplace? If there has been one thing that the recent spikes and the difficulty of the last seven months have proved is that the discipline required to eliminate workplace disruptions has been difficult to maintain on a voluntary basis.