Tag Archives: supply chain

Feature The next generation of artificial intelligence—called agentic AI—is being hailed as the technology that will finally fulfill the promise of autonomous supply chains that are smarter, faster, more agile, more efficient and more reliable than ever before. What are the real opportunities and roadblocks, and when can we expect agentic AI to make a real impact? We talk to ...

MHI Solutions Community BY CHRISTIAN DOW, EVP OF INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP, MHI Maybe your manufacturing plant or warehouse was an early adopter of automation, but that original material handling equipment is now showing signs of age. Or maybe your automated systems were built for the business‑to‑business selling model, before the shift to business‑to‑consumer e‑commerce. Or maybe robust order growth and SKU ...

Feature   Ingenious technologies honored with the 13th Annual MHI Innovation Awards across four categories during ProMat 2025. BY GREG BAER, VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES, MHI Among the thousands of supply chain and material handling technologies and products showcased throughout McCormick Place during ProMat 2025, four received MHI Innovation Awards. These solutions stood out amid 234 entries to MHI’s 13th ...

Feature   BY FIONA SOLTES Solo performances and smaller ensembles can highlight any orchestra’s performance. But when the entire group plays seamlessly together, the magic of the symphony can be experienced in dynamic, powerful—and sometimes even awe‑inspiring—ways. In today’s supply chain community, there’s much talk of “orchestration” and “harmonization” in warehouses and distribution centers, alongside notes of scalability and interconnectivity. ...

Economic Market Analysis   BY JASON SCHENKER, PRESIDENT OF PRESTIGE ECONOMICS®, CHAIRMAN OF THE FUTURIST INSTITUTE® Material handling businesses entered 2025 with strong tailwinds. However, risks have risen significantly in recent months, and the entire industry is being swept into an economic storm driven by escalating tariff risks. While tariffs are usually inflationary, tariff risks are recessionary and deflationary, because ...

Safer Handling   BY TOM GRESHAM Among the most prominent ways that sophisticated technology has helped make warehouses safer for workers is the emergence of Automated Storage/Retrieval Systems (ASRS). An ASRS is a combination of equipment and controls that handle, store and retrieve materials under a defined degree of automation. Systems vary from relatively simple, manually controlled order‑picking machines operating ...

Feature   BY MARY LOU JAY   Wearable technologies for warehouse and distribution center operations have been around for more than a decade, but it’s only in the last five years, as the tech has matured, that their adoption has become more widespread and real‑world efficiencies are being seen. Wearables for picking and/or putting come in a variety of configurations. ...

Feature   Collaborative robots branching out from manufacturing applications   BY NICK FORTUNA   Today, you’re more likely to find collaborative robots (cobots) in manufacturing plants, but across industries, companies are increasingly turning to cobots as a solution for their warehouse and distribution center operations. Facing a stubborn labor shortage, safety issues, the need to boost throughput and SKU proliferation, ...

Solutions Spotlight   BY KATIE KUEHNER‑HEBERT For members of MHI’s Hoist Manufacturers Institute (HMI), emphasizing safe work practices involving the use of hoists is always top‑of‑mind. “From providing materials such as fact sheets and tip cards to OSHA and continuing to strengthen our relationship with this body, to examining dos and don’ts of hoist use at the user level, HMI ...

Product Spotlight   BY SANDY SMITH The loading dock is often overlooked, despite its key function between the trailer and the warehouse. MHI’s Loading Dock Equipment Manufacturers (LODEM) group is helping to improve the industry from within while making others aware of this important link in the overall material handling ecosystem. Helping others understand this role is vital with the ...