Month: July 2020

The growing demand for alternative power solutions continues to drive evolution. This sparks opportunities to find new solutions and gains in product design. The new Yale ERP25-30VLL Series counterbalance forklift truck is engineered around an integrated lithium-ion battery, enabling space in the operator cabin to be optimised.

The Yale ERP25-30VLL Series offers all the benefits of lithium-ion power in a counterbalance truck: its fully-integrated battery requires zero maintenance, while opportunity charging enables the truck to complete a dual-shift operation without having to remove and replace its battery, unlike a conventional lead-acid based solution.

As the truck has been designed around the power source, the additional gains made in the operator compartment puts the ERP25-30VLL at the forefront of innovation in the materials handling industry.

Focus on ergonomics
The integrated lithium-ion battery sits low within the ERP25-30VLL truck. As a result, the truck enjoys ergonomic features that benefit the operator, which in turn enables high productivity.

The large open compartment maximises comfort and convenience, such as additional foot space and leg room. A low seat and floor plate in the ERP25-30VLL allows easy access to and from the truck, while creating additional head clearance. The extra space allows the truck to be fitted with comfortable seat options, such as air suspension, while the truck’s low centre of gravity brings enhanced drive quality and truck handling in corners.

Flexibility of operations
Customers with medium to heavy duty applications can benefit from the charging flexibility of the ERP25-30VLL. Its lithium-ion power is a good choice for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, where clean operations are essential, as no emissions are given off in the charging process.

The ERP25-30VLL can also be used in temperature controlled environments, such as cold-stores, down to -20°C ambient temperature. As the lithium-ion battery is directly connected to the telemetry system, it can adjust its performance based on its operating environment. The in-built heater keeps the battery’s temperature above 0°C while charging.

Ivor Wilkinson, Solutions Manager at Yale said: “Our new fully-integrated lithium-ion truck showcases the innovative vision of Yale to develop the future of motive power. The ERP25-30VLL offers all the benefits of lithium-ion power: high efficiency, charging flexibility, zero maintenance. It embraces technology that enhances our customers’ productivity while keeping operations costs low. We believe it is a powerful addition to our product range.”

While supply chain organizations deal with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, they still pursue gender equality goals. According to Gartner, Inc.’s 2020 Women in Supply Chain Survey among 177 supply chain professionals, 17% of chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) are now women – a 6% increase compared to 2019 and the highest rate since the first edition of the survey in 2016.

“The increase in women executive leaders over the past year is a positive sign, however the survey showed that women don’t consistently make it through the pipeline,” said Dana Stiffler, vice president analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain Practice. “Lack of progress is not something the industry can afford at the moment. Supply chain’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery is crucial, with lives and livelihoods at stake. This is a pivotal time for many women in midlevel and senior management positions.”

Compared to 2019, there are proportionally fewer women at the vice president and director levels (see Figure 1). In 2020, 63% of respondents do have active goals, objectives or initiatives to recruit women and build pipelines, but Ms. Stiffler said it takes years for this activity to strengthen pipelines. This dynamic also contributes to representation of women in the total supply chain workforce remaining unchanged at 39% year over year.

Consumer Goods & Retail Organizations Lead the Way

At 25%, consumer goods and retail supply chain organizations’ representation of women at vice president level is nearly twice that of industrial organizations (13%). One reason for this development is that 55% of industrial organizations prefer a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) degree for senior hires, compared to 39% of consumer organizations. As women are less likely to have a STEM background than men, they are also less likely to be hired for senior supply chain roles in industrial organizations.

“Another notable difference between industrial and consumer/retail supply chain organizations is goal setting. Consumer and retail organizations were more than twice as likely to have formal targets and specific goals in management scorecards for gender diversity,” Ms. Stiffler added.

Pipeline Planning is Key

Until recently, gender-focused inclusion and diversity initiatives focused mostly on employee resource groups and women’s leadership development programs. While organizations still value those initiatives, they have found that improved pipeline planning and management is a key factor for attracting and retaining diverse talent in leadership positions.

“Not a single respondent cited employee resource groups as a top action for progressing women to senior leadership roles in supply chain. Leadership development programs or improved work-life balance also didn’t make the list. However, 21% claim that integrated pipeline planning is their best approach. This reinforces what we have found over the years: The right place to focus for diverse senior leadership is the pipeline and the decisions that support it,” Ms. Stiffler concluded.

Methodology

Between January and February Gartner’s 2020 Women in Supply Chain Survey gathered data from 177 respondents, primarily in North America. AWESOME partnered with Gartner to develop the survey and recruit participants. Qualified participants worked in organizations that have an internal supply chain organization or in organizations where supply chain is a separate business unit, specialty or practice area, or those who are vendors of supply chain services and solutions. Organizations also had to have a minimum of $100 million in annual revenue.

Am I far enough away or too close? Even if employees know how essential it is to keep a safe distance from each other in times of COVID-19, one’s instincts can be deceptive. To remedy this, Linde Material Handling is presenting the Secure Distance Vest and the flexibly usable Distance Beeper to provide auditory, visual and haptic warnings if employees come too close to each other – thus allowing the ability to freely work with maximum protection against infection.

Whether during assembly on the production line, order picking in the warehouse or communal coffee breaks: In industrial plants and distribution centers, coming into close proximity with colleagues is often unavoidable. Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, however, such everyday situations present veritable safety risks. This applies to employees and also to companies, who in the worst case could be forced to shut down their business operations if an infection occurs.

How can the new distancing rules be effectively implemented without disrupting work processes? Intralogistics specialist Linde Material Handling provides a smart answer to this question in the form of the Secure Distance Vest. The name says it all – this wearable safety device, which is certified according to the EN ISO 20471 safety standard, continuously monitors compliance with regard to the individually configurable minimum distance required between employees. If they get too close to each other, the vests emit alerts in the form of flashes, warning tones and vibrations.

To do this, they use extremely reliable and accurate ultra-broadband technology, which works even through walls, shelving and gates. A further advantage is that no additional technical infrastructure is required; as soon as employees have put on their intelligent clothing, they can fully concentrate on their work without having to constantly assess whether they are maintaining the prescribed distance. If a case of infection occurs in the company nevertheless, the – optionally available – additional “Tracking & Tracing” function makes it possible to find out who has been in the vicinity of the person who tested positive. In this way, companies can avoid having to quarantine the entire workforce. All data is deleted after four weeks at the latest.

The Secure Distance Vest was developed based on the well-established Linde Safety Guard assistance system, which warns of collisions between industrial trucks and pedestrians in intralogistics environments. The second solution Linde has adapted to meet the new requirements resulting from the coronavirus pandemic also originates from this product family. Dubbed Distance Beepers, these small, portable units are attached to clothing, belts or by means of wristbands, for example, and offer companies the same range of functions as the Secure Distance Vest: maximum safety with minimum implementation effort.

Remarkable: The investment in these smart safety solutions from Linde Material Handling will continue to pay off even once the pandemic is over. The vests and beepers can be easily converted to the classic functions offered by the Linde Safety Guard and will then warn of collisions with forklifts. Conversely, this also applies to “Safety Guard” systems that are already in use by customers: These can be reprogrammed in line with the new distance warning used for infection protection.

“Times like these require unconventional thinking,” says Andreas Krinninger, CEO of Linde Material Handling: “With our Secure Distance Vest and the Distance Beeper, we have adapted a sophisticated system to new circumstances and offer companies a simple option for preventing infection chains and thus maintaining their operational capability. Both solutions are already successfully being used at several of our own locations – and we are also receiving very positive initial feedback from test customers. Moreover, the fact that the tools can continue to be used for occupational safety purposes once the pandemic is over makes the investment extremely sustainable.”

Since the beginning of the year, German-based transport cooperative LogCoop GmbH says it has noticed a stronger solidarity among its active members. “Especially the offer of professional and personal exchange of information is being increasingly used by freight forwarders,” says the company. “This shows that many logistics service providers, especially in times of crisis, are realising that they are stronger together.” LogCoop has taken this dynamic effect into account by increasing the frequency of events. However, the logistics cooperation and the warehouse network are not only platforms for knowledge transfer, but also offer members specific support in facing various challenges in the logistics business.

“It is right and important that we, as a logistics cooperation and warehouse network, have always actively promoted an exchange between our members. This is proven by the behaviour of the forwarders during the current crisis,” says Marc Possekel, managing director of LogCoop GmbH. “Networking amongst those involved with the logistics industry has always been the most important component of LogCoop. By exchanging professional and personal information, contacts for possible project partnerships are created.”

In view of the tense situation in the freight ports caused by the coronavirus, more cooperation has developed between LogCoop members. As a result of container congestion in the ports, some logistics service pro-viders have had to deal with storage bottlenecks after clearance of the freight. Several LogCoop members have had to deal with significant overcapacities, but did not have enough free space in their warehouses. Thanks to the support of other logistics service providers from within the community, they are still able to fulfil their customers’ orders as agreed. In addition to interim or long-term storage, the partners can take over transport and value-added services as required by the clients.

The companies have come together at networking events, of which almost 40 are on the LogCoop annual calendar for 2020. These include regional and national meetings, working groups on topics such as e-fulfilment, sea/air freight and special transport, general cargo or fresh produce logistics, as well as workshops and specialist lectures on topics such as marketing, warehouse logistics, labour law or automation.

Recently, many of the events have been held digitally. “The offer is well received. Since the beginning of this year, we have noticed that the mem-bers are becoming more and more proactive and are coming closer together,” reports Possekel. For example, the Cologne group now meets every two weeks instead of every quarter, and the national meeting for Spain even takes place weekly. Possekel explains: “We can now see quite clearly that our members are real movers and shakers. The community gives them the support they need right now. This helps them to look ahead and to embark on new journeys together.”

The coronavirus crisis has also put the logistics sector under huge pressure. While some companies have seen a drastic drop in orders, others have seen enquiries exceed their capacities. Possekel: “We offer optimal platforms for the exchange of capacities and know-how.” With over 200 members within LogCoop and almost 80 logistics service providers in the warehouse network, there is a wealth of expertise and resources that the partners can make available to each other. “We have an open ear for every member and try to find a solution to every problem,” says the managing director.