Workforce

BY JOANNA LEON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CICMHE Last year, the College‑Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) was buzzing with activity aimed at strengthening the bond between academia and the material handling industry. A standout event was the Material Handling Teachers Institute (MHTI), held at North Carolina State University in Raleigh last July and led by Lauren David, PhD, North Carolina ...

Feature Collaborative robots (cobots) and autonomous vehicles are increasingly finding a home in warehouses and distribution centers (DCs). The success of those deployments, however, is not assured. Industry experts shared six best practices that can help achieve an effective implementation. BY SARA PEARSON SPECTER ISTOCK.COM/ONURDONGEL Well entrenched in manufacturing processes, collaborative robots (cobots) and mobile autonomous vehicles (MAVs) have increasingly ...

WERC Matters WERC’s new Team Memberships offer enhanced value for organizations seeking educational and benchmarking resources for warehousing professionals. BY JOANNA LEON, DIRECTOR, WERC MEMBERSHIP & CHAPTERS AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, COLLEGE‑INDUSTRY COUNCIL FOR MATERIAL HANDLING EDUCATION (CICMHE) ISTOCK.COM/MONKEYBUSINESSIMAGES If you’re in warehousing and logistics, you know the importance of people, especially in today’s fast‑paced global supply chain. Helping individuals and ...

BY CHRISTY DULA, CHIEF EXPERIENCE & DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, MHI When it comes to nearly all corporate initiatives, support from the upper levels is crucial to generate the momentum that drives successful achievement of a goal. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts likewise require the backing of top leaders. But, as it turns out, these efforts also require the support of ...

Glimpse into the future of the supply chain by watching the next season of “Jobs of Tomorrow” (JOT). MHI has now made all 12 episodes of this docuseries available to stream for free on MHIview and Tubi. As part of MHI’s commitment to education, this series offers the perspectives of supply chain leaders and academics about the future of the ...

The people who work at MHI and its WERC division are the gears that keep the association moving. They ensure MHI continues to be a valuable association and resource for people involved in the industry and do so with wit, competence and a smile on their face. The goal of this column in MHI Solutions magazine is to give readers ...

BY LINDSEY ROONEY, MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, MHI Warehouses have long served as test labs for automation. In 1962, MHI member Demag installed the first automated storage and retrieval system at a book club warehouse in Germany. From there, innovation led to the complex Warehouse Management Systems that rule facilities today. As we careen into the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, warehouse ...

Feature More than ever, companies in material handling and supply chain are prioritizing improvements in worker safety and the overall worker experience. Investing in an arsenal of cutting-edge technology is a major strategy they are employing to keep workers safe, reduce the physical and mental toll of their jobs, transform training and empower workers by giving them a stronger voice ...

Feature Organizations can gain more value from these collaborations when they understand the capabilities and limitations of the technology and of the people who work with it. BY MARY LOU JAY It’s been a milestone year for artificial intelligence (AI), with generative AI technology like ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Bing Chat capturing the public’s attention and generating a great deal ...

Feature Expanding the recruitment pool, upskilling and promoting the industry BY SHERYL S. JACKSON No industry is immune to today’s workforce challenges of recruiting and retaining qualified talent to fill positions today and in the future, so supply chain members are not alone. In the 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report, 57% of companies surveyed identified hiring and retaining workers and ...