Economic Market Analysis BY JASON SCHENKER, PRESTIGE ECONOMICS The economic and financial market landscape has shifted sharply in the past year. In the fall of 2021, there were many reasons for economic optimism in 2022, even with anticipated high inflation and Fed rate hikes. Looking ahead to 2023, the outlook is less positive. The year 2022 has been generally good ...

MHI Solutions Community BY CHRISTIAN DOW, MHI EXECUTIVE VP OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP If you’re managing a manufacturing plant, warehouse or distribution center, then you’ve likely heard of VUCA. But even if you haven’t, in today’s business climate, you’ve surely experienced it. VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, an acronym that fairly sums up the challenges facing ...

WERC Matters BY MICHAEL MIKITKA, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MHI’S KNOWLEDGE VALUE CENTER AND WERC As the only organization focused on providing resources to help distribution practitioners and suppliers do their jobs better, the Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC)—a division of MHI—has some of the most unique offerings in our field. Through WERC, members find both education and support ...

MHI News MHI member The Raymond Corporation, a Toyota Industries Company, held a 100th anniversary celebration on June 14 at its headquarters in Greene, NY. This event kicked off a yearlong celebration of Raymond’s 100-year history of innovation. The celebration showcased Raymond’s history of innovation and highlighted its current and future innovations as it looks to its next 100-years of ...

DEI Feature BY CHRISTIAN DOW, MHI EXECUTIVE VP OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP The recently released Supply Chain Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Survey from Gartner noted that supply chain organizations in publicly held companies employ more people of color than their privately held counterparts. Specifically, people of color comprise 35% of the overall supply chain workforce at publicly held companies, ...

MHI News The Board of Directors of the Material Handling Education Foundation, Inc. (MHEFI) recently announced its 2022-2023 Scholarship Winners. A total of $177,100 in scholarships was issued. MHEFI’s mission is to provide financial support for educational programs to engage and retain talent for the material handling, logistics and supply chain industry. For 46 years, MHEFI’s programs have supported over ...

What Grocery Distribution Centers Are Currently Doing to Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries Higher Education BY STEVEN LAVENDER AND CAROLYN SOMMERICH, THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY TRONG NGUYEN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Musculoskeletal injury rates in grocery and related products continue to be approximately twice the overall industry average. Most of these injuries in grocery distribution centers (DCs) are experienced by the “selectors” who are the people ...

Where Are They Now? Catching up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient BAILEY WHITMAN BONJOUR, OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY In high school, Bailey Whitman Bonjour was such a talented math student that she studied calculus, trigonometry and advanced algebra at the local junior college. Math wasn’t her favorite subject, but cutting class wasn’t an option since her mom was the professor. It ...

Food and Beverage Industry Turns to Technology Amid Challenging Market Dynamics Industry Focus   BY NICK FORTUNA ABDUL RAZAK LATIF/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM   It’s been said that Ginger Rogers was more talented than Fred Astaire because she did everything her dance partner did but backwards and in high heels. In a sense, food and beverage (F&B) manufacturers and distributors can make a ...

Safer Handling: ProGMA BY TOM GRESHAM People need to feel safe to be productive, and in industrial environments a crucial component of keeping workers safe is keeping them adequately separated from certain equipment. Fixed protective guarding products, such as safety fences, netting, guardrails and bollards, are the key tools used to ensure manufacturing and distribution facilities are as safe as ...