TriFactor in the News

Welcome to the TriFactor Newsroom, where the latest white papers, case studies and press releases are posted.  This dynamic source has been designed to provide distribution industry leaders with the latest material handling news from TriFactor.  We've also provided the means for you to sign up to receive email or RSS feed updates concerning TriFactor in the News.

Media contact information: Stefanie Poe, 863-577-2233, spoe@trifactor.com

May 1, 2012 - TriFactor, LLC, (www.trifactor.com) Jacksonville, FL, a provider of integrated material handling systems, has earned the Most Valuable Partner award from MHEDA (Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association).  The Most Valuable Partner (MVP) award is a new honor exclusively for MHEDA Distributor Members in good standing.

As the MHEDA MVP webpage states, “Distributor member companies who have attained MVP status are demonstrating a commitment to business excellence, professionalism and good stewardship.”  TriFactor is proud to be considered a Most Valuable Partner.

An application process was completed in order to judge material handling integrators on their commitment to business excellence.  The association’s members competed in areas of business that would prove their quality commitment to their customers, suppliers, and employees.  Eligibility for the prestigious award included letters of recommendation submitted by both a customer and a supplier about the MHEDA member’s quality of service and expertise.  Five areas of excellence were judged in order to find the best material handling distributors in the nation: Industry Relations, Customer Relations, Peer-to-Peer Networking, Education, and Best Practices.  TriFactor proved strong in all categories of distinction.

The five areas of excellence further defined by the MHEDA application process:

• Industry Relations - Working for the good of the industry.
• Customer Relations - Demonstrating ethical and superior business practices.
• Peer-to-Peer Networking - Providing innovative solutions by learning from the best in the industry.
• Education – Well-trained employees are an investment in your customers' success.
• Best Practices - Experience is often the best teacher and your customers deserve to work with a company that is willing to hold themselves up to the best in the business.

As a MHEDA MVP, TriFactor is committed to proving their worth to customers and suppliers nationwide.  For more information, visit www.trifactor.com or call 800-282-8468.

TriFactor Recognized as a Leader in the Material Handling Industry

January 25, 2012 - TriFactor Distribution Solutions of Jacksonville, FL, has named Michael Hogue as a new System Sales Engineer.  Hogue has joined TriFactor's Jacksonville team to support industry-leading distribution partners in their material handling needs.

The new System Sales Engineer will help TriFactor accommodate growth as the demand for automated material handling systems continues to increase. Hogue will serve as a liaison between local finished goods distributors seeking operational improvements and the TriFactor engineering team. Hogue’s knowledge and experience in the material handling industry includes conveyor based systems, sortation, picking software, Warehouse Control Systems, Warehouse Management Systems, and many other automated solutions. In making the announcement, J.J. Phelan, the company's Chief Operating Officer, said "Michael is an industry veteran, welcoming him to the TriFactor team and our Jacksonville customers is a seamless fit. I expect his knowledge and experience to be valuable assets to our clients. As TriFactor continues to expand, Michael is sure to be a key contributor.”

Michael has earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and has over thirty years of experience in material handling design and implementation.

December 13, 2011 - As 2011 is quickly disappearing from our calendars and plans are being made for 2012, the Special Edition of the TriFactor ROI Focus newsletter has been released. The information and distribution tips included have been composed over the past year by TriFactor's team of engineers, specifically for industry leading companies. The Special Edition is a composite of our 2011 newsletters, jam-packed with material handling information to help make your facility run a little smoother.

White Papers: Building Your Distribution Center with Vision and a Solid Foundation; The Rules for Automated Material Handling Project Justification Have Changed; Fat Paybacks on Lean Logistics; The 5 Most Common Mistakes to Avoid When Planning a DC  

President's Messages: Are Your Customers Happy?; Are You Ready to Increase Market Share?; See the Forest through the Trees

Frequently Asked Questions: Storage Systems; How's Business?; Why use a Systems Integrator?

Featured Products: Carton Flow & Pallet Flow; TriFactor C3™ WCS; Sorters

Community Involvement: Helping the Elderly with VISTE; ProMat 2011 with ALAN

Tip Off Columns: 5 Ways to Make Your Customer Happy; 5 Ways to Eliminate Waste in Your Distribution Center; 5 Things Your Busy Season Can Teach You 

September 16, 2011 - TriFactor's white paper "DC Planning: Sorting through some lessons learned" was featured on DC Velocity's website.  Typically, a product's final stop prior to reaching the customer is a distribution center; providing the opportunity to successfully deliver as promised or...not. This white paper provides a guide to avoiding costly mistakes when planning a distribution center for decision makers at companies large and small. Today's economic climate demands maximum efficiency in every facet of a distribution center leaving no room for negligence.

September 7, 2011 - TriFactor, LLC, (www.TriFactor.com) Jacksonville, FL, a provider of integrated material handling systems, has named James Jeunelot as a new Senior Project Engineer.  Jeunelot has joined TriFactor's Jacksonville engineering team to develop integrated solutions for warehouses and distribution centers nationwide.

The new Senior Project Engineer will help TriFactor accommodate growth as the demand for automated material handling systems continues to increase.  Jeunelot will perform the complex engineering work required to conceptualize, design, estimate, final engineer, install, and turnover automated conveyor systems and storage solutions.  In making the announcement, J.J. Phelan, the company's Chief Operating Officer, said "With the knowledge and experience James brings to the team, I’m confident in his ability to provide engineered solutions that will create lean and efficient operations for our customers.  We’re happy to have James on our team as TriFactor continues to grow."

Jeunelot and his family are new residents of Jacksonville, FL.  James graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Industrial Technology and has over fifteen years of experience in material handling design and implementation.

August 19, 2011 - What keeps hot drinks hot, cold drinks cold and has survived the recession with flying colors?  If you answered Tervis Tumbler, you’re correct.  Despite the economic complications most companies have faced in the past few years, the insulated drinkware giant Tervis has experienced unprecedented growth.

To accommodate the growth in the number of tumblers produced and the growth in the number of outbound cases shipped, Tervis commissioned TriFactor Systems to conduct an engineering analysis of the shipping functions from each manufacturing cell to a consolidated shipping area.  This vital analysis provided a well thought out, jointly developed concept, budgetary estimates for capital planning, and a detailed project schedule for implementation.  As a result, Tervis used this information to calculate the return on investment, which proved satisfactory, and have now contracted with TriFactor to provide and install the material handling equipment and software systems. 

TriFactor offers one-of-a-kind engineered solutions for manufacturing and distribution facilities.  The project will give Tervis the manufacturing and distribution capacity needed for their current and future demand requirements.  The plan boasts a lean facility using state of the art equipment to increase throughput and decrease wasted labor and materials.

July 28, 2011 - TriFactor (www.trifactor.com), based in Lakeland, Florida is growing thanks to the rising demand for conveyor systems design.  Among the new jobs available: Senior Project Engineer, Product Sales Engineer and Systems Sales Engineer.  A full listing is available at http://www.trifactor.com/About-TriFactor/Careers/Positions-Available

At TriFactor's Jacksonville, Florida office there is an opening for a Senior Project Engineer.  The person fulfilling this position will perform complex engineering work required to conceptualize, design, estimate, final engineer, install and turnover automated conveyor systems and storage solutions.  The mechanical engineer will provide complete and accurate quotes and proposals based on their complex system designs.  It is important that the engineer successfully coordinate and communicate with all levels of the project team to achieve the best results for each customer.

The Product Sales Engineer and Systems Sales Engineer positions are a part of TriFactor’s Central Florida sales force.  Product Sales Engineers and Systems Sales Engineers service the same accounts, but at different levels selling diverse types of material handling products and services. 

A Systems Sales Engineer is responsible for providing automated material handling solutions to customers.  These solutions are typically several hundred thousand dollars to multi-million dollar investments and take a long time to come to closure.  The candidate best suited for this position must have patience, great personal relationship skills, be able to speak to personnel at the highest levels of customer organizations, and be able to coordinate many parties' interests so that they are well represented and their problems are addressed. 

The Product Sales Engineer is more of a transactional sales associate that provides mostly static material handling solutions to customers.  This is typically in the form of pallet racking, shelving, mezzanines, gravity (non-powered) conveyor, carts, etc.  Therefore, the sales cycle is much shorter and the dollar investment significantly lower compared to the System Sales Engineer's transactions.  Additionally, the Product Sales Engineer is responsible for the fulfillment of the project that is sold, whereas the Systems Sales Engineer's sold projects utilize TriFactor's Mechanical and Electrical Engineers for fulfillment responsibility. 

If any of these positions appeal to you, please review the job descriptions located on the Positions Available page of our website.  If you meet the minimum requirements and are interested in an available position, please submit your resume and any other pertinent information about your qualifications to hr@trifactor.com.

April 19, 2011 - TriFactor's new Industrial and Packaging Supplies division, TriSupplies is now open.  This new product line will allow us to better serve our customers as your one stop shop for packaging, shipping, and industrial supplies for your distribution facility. As part of the introductory sale offer, all 3M - 371 Carton Sealing Tape ships free!

Order today for fast, FREE delivery!  To request a catalog, please visit http://trisupplies.net/TriSupplies-Catalog-Request  Order online at http://trisupplies.net/ or over the phone 1-888-247-2415. 

All 3M model 371 Carton Sealing Tape products are in stock now and available for immediate FREE delivery.  This includes 1.9 Mil thickness with 22 pounds per inch width tensile strength polypropylene tape, available in clear or tan, 2" or 3" and rolls from 55 yards to 2,000 yards.   

Our mission remains to benefit our customers with solutions that: reduce their distribution costs; expand their distribution capacity; and improve their distribution quality.  

April 15, 2011 - The American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) put visitors to work in their booth at last month’s ProMat 2011.  Patrons at the Chicago event were invited to pick and pack a box of non-perishable foods to be donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a member of the Feeding America food bank network.  The booth boasted almost 10,000 pounds of food that was organized on carton flow rack.  Participants packed the boxes on a gravity conveyor line.  The food, booth rental, booth design, on-location assembly, and material handling equipment were all donated by various individuals and organizations.  TriFactor assisted ALAN in the design and installation of the organization’s booth.  To learn more about the relief efforts that ALAN provides, visit www.alanaid.org

March 10, 2011 - A seminar focusing on building a strategy and a long term plan for your company’s distribution operation is being sponsored by TriFactor, LLC, a leading provider of integrated material handling systems.

With experience in material handling engineering and project management, TriFactor Chief Operating Officer JJ Phelan, P.E. will be presenting the seminar at two locations; Wednesday, April 13 at the TriFactor Learning Center, Lakeland, FL, and Thursday, April 14 at the Radisson Hotel, Jacksonville, FL.  The program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Expanding companies experiencing growing pains and looking to increase efficiency in their operations are encouraged to attend.  The theme of the seminar is to establish the customer-oriented business Vision and then create a long term plan in order to achieve the Vision.  With this theme, Phelan will guide guests through the steps to planning a solid distribution environment by streamlining manual operations and then positioning their businesses to grow using material handling automation.  Small to medium businesses with anticipated growth will benefit from Phelan’s interactive presentation. 

There is no fee for the seminar but reservations are requested. To reserve a spot please call 1-800-282-8468, or visit www.trifactor.com/Seminar-Information-and-Sign-Up  The presenter prepared a white paper to guide the planning process.  Read an excerpt from “Building Your Distribution Center with Vision and a Solid Foundation” below.

“For Distribution Center managers, creating the Vision, or at least a rough understanding of the Vision, should not be a daunting task.  It first starts with understanding the market that is served and the sales channel used to serve that market.    That’s right, the Vision must be customer focused and not internally focused.  For example, a customer focused Vision in the health care supply industry using a Direct to Consumer sales channel might include 100% Order Accuracy or Zero-Defect Shipments.  On the other hand, a non-customer focused Vision might include 100% Inventory Accuracy, unless of course an improperly accounted inventory negatively affects the customer more than it does the inventory manager (I doubt it). Again, the Vision must be in line with the demands of the market.”

To view the full white paper, please visit http://www.trifactor.com/Material-Handling-White-Papers/Building-with-Vision

December 14, 2010 –As part of TriFactor’s commitment to community service, the Lakeland, Florida-based material handling systems integrator has donated conveyor to the local non-profit Volunteers in Service to the Elderly (VISTE) organization.  Among VISTE’s services, the organization collects, stores, packages, and delivers groceries and other commodities to elderly citizens in Polk County who qualify for the program.  The clients receiving assistance from VISTE must meet income requirements, be over the age of 70, and live in Lakeland, Bartow, Fort Meade, or Mulberry.

For the elderly qualifying for government assistance, the government supplements are not nearly enough to provide nourishment for the one month increments allotted.  VISTE’s facility is designed to combine government goods and donations from shoppers at local grocery stores.  The groceries and other household items are packaged so that an elderly person could feasibly live off of the supplies for an entire month. 

VISTE is an entirely volunteer ran operation.  “Our mission is to keep the elderly safe and independent in their own homes.  The conveyor will help us in our mission by making the packing process easier on our adult volunteers,” shared Alice O’Reilly, Executive Director of VISTE.  The donated conveyor will eliminate most, if not all, bending and lifting, thus creating a safer, more ergonomic environment for the volunteers packing the care bundles.  The conveyor will also help to make the operation more efficient in transporting goods from packing to the delivery area.

JJ Phelan, TriFactor’s Chief Operating Officer, said, “Being involved in our community is important to the team here at TriFactor.  VISTE is a growing non-profit whose mission we’re happy to help.”  VISTE, a United Way entity, currently helps about 1,500 clients a month through the grocery program and other assistance programs including transportation and in-home care.  If you would like to donate, please contact VISTE online www.viste.org or by phone 863-284-0828.

December 8, 2010 - One of the many results that the Great Recession has provided most distributors around the country is the requirement to ‘do more with less.’  Since businesses are asking more of their employees, then they are also demanding much more from their Supply Chain.  So while the business environment demands change, many companies are being very careful with how they commit their valuable cash reserves to improve their Supply Chain and stay ahead of the ever changing business environment. 

Combining the challenging economic climate with the changing face of the American consumer, and then adding the growing E-commerce, or direct-to-consumer sales channel to the existing wholesale or retail store fulfillment channels, distributors are not short on challenges to tackle.   Many companies are asking their distribution networks to absorb additional markets and continue exceeding customer satisfaction without adding real estate.  The concept of Multi-Channel Distribution under one roof is not new, but the demands to meet the customer service levels while experiencing growth is straining even the best of networks.

What is Multi-Channel Distribution?

While Multiple Channel Distribution often refers to a company’s sales and marketing strategy, we will explore the aspects of Multi-Channel Distribution within the four walls of the warehouse – one critical link in your Supply Chain.  To continue growing in today’s challenging economic climate, many companies are looking at new ways to reach their customers or develop new market segments.  They look to distribute their products using multiple channels involving: traditional store fronts, mail, phone and electronic mediums (often labeled E-commerce).  One of the challenges of developing a multiple channel sales and marketing network is aligning both the external and internal elements of the Supply Chain with the customer service expectations.  Traditionally, the warehouse or distribution center operations have been the most overlooked and least understood link in the Supply Chain. 

The internet provides the average consumer with more product information than ever before, making the marketplace more competitive.  Price is no longer the major consumer influencer; product availability, order accuracy, and delivery time have become equal in the eyes of the consumer. 

To view the full white paper by Brad Radcliffe, please visit http://www.trifactor.com/Material-Handling-White-Papers/Multi-Channel-Fulfillment

November 9, 2010 – The process of designing and implementing a complex material handling system can be an overwhelming task for any individual given this responsibility.  Naturally, companies typically assign the person that has the closest skill set needed to manage the project to shepherd the process.  Unfortunately, in most cases, this person already has other tasks he/she is expected to accomplish as part of their normal every day job.  

The decisions this person makes will in many ways shape the future of the company. Operational costs will impact the company’s bottom line since these costs will largely be driven by the number of employees required to run the operations and the physical size of the distribution center.  Sales and customer satisfaction will be influenced by the efficiency of the system that is installed, which needs to function in order to meet or exceed customers’ expectations.   The combination of lower operating costs, which positions companies to be more competitive, and increased customer satisfaction will result in the future success and long term growth.

Below you will find the benefits and steps associated with the Design-Build process and why you should consider this solution process if given the responsibility to manage your company’s complex material handling system project.   The construction industry has led the way in pioneering the concept of Design-Build, a collaborative and partnership approach contract method.  The typical project length, capital investment and intensive collaboration necessary in both the construction and material handling industries lend themselves to the use of similar processes. 

The first step in the process is to select the project team.  While it is easy to select your team members from the resources within your organization, often the challenge is finding the right team members from external resources.  Spending the necessary time and focus on finding the right partner will pay huge dividends in the end.  Remember, your challenge is to design and implement a complex material handling system, and the process associated with doing that is not the same as the one you would use to purchase a single piece of equipment.

To view the full white paper by John T. Phelan, Jr., P.E., please visit http://www.trifactor.com/Material-Handling-White-Papers/Three-Factors-of-the-Design-Build-Process

October 19, 2010 – A seminar focusing on choosing, designing, and implementing distribution center storage solutions is being sponsored by TriFactor, LLC, (www.trifactor.com) a leading provider of integrated material handling systems.

With experience in material handling engineering and project management, TriFactor Product Sales Engineer Wynn Watson will be presenting the seminar at two locations; Wednesday, November 17 at the Radisson Hotel, Jacksonville, FL, and Thursday, November 18 at the TriFactor Learning Center, Lakeland, FL.  The program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  

Companies looking to streamline their current storage method are encouraged to attend.  Watson will provide a detailed summary of evaluating storage requirements, determining the best storage methods and tools, and finding the best solution for your facility.  Watson will be leading the audience through an interactive project example in AutoCAD.  Projects large and small will be discussed in relation to saving construction costs with a more concise storage footprint; regaining use of valuable labor hours thanks to a well-planned and organized storage space; and safety considerations for current or future storage solutions.   

There is no fee for the seminar but reservations are requested. To reserve a spot please call 1-800-282-8468, or visit www.trifactor.com/Seminar-Information-and-Sign-Up  The presenter prepared a white paper to guide the storage solution process.  Read an excerpt from “Warehouse Storage Solutions & Design Considerations; What You Need to Know” below.

“Operational and physical changes often go hand in hand or at least significantly impact one another.  Generally speaking, in a warehouse or distribution environment, physical facility changes boil down to different types of storage media for product handling, manipulation or picking.  The most common types of storage come from four categories: Bulk Storage, Pallet Rack, Shelving, and Carton Flow.  With the focus on different types of manual storage systems, below you will find how each type is used, some pitfalls to avoid, and ways to keep the equipment like new.”

To view the full white paper, please visit http://www.trifactor.com/Material-Handling-White-Papers/Warehouse-Storage-Solutions 

October 15, 2010 – TriFactor is looking for a Product Sales Engineer and a Systems Sales Engineer to join their Central Florida sales force.  At TriFactor, Sales Engineers are divided into specific teams.  The Central Florida sales team consists of Product Sales Engineers and Systems Sales Engineers that service the same accounts in Central Florida but at different levels selling different types of material handling products and services. 

In general, a Systems Sales Engineer is responsible for providing the automated material handling solutions to customers.  These solutions are typically several hundred thousand dollars to multi-million dollar investments and take a long time to come to closure.  The candidate best suited for this position must have patience, great personal relationship skills, be able to speak to personnel at the highest levels of customer organizations, and be able to coordinate many parties' interests so that they are well represented and their problems are addressed. 

The Product Sales Engineer is more of a transactional sales associate that provides mostly static material handling solutions to customers.  This is typically in the form of pallet racking, shelving, mezzanines, gravity (non-powered) conveyor, carts, etc.  Therefore, the sales cycle is much shorter and the dollar investment significantly lower than compared to the System Sales Engineer's transactions.  Additionally, the Product Sales Engineer is responsible for the fulfillment of the project that is sold, whereas the Systems Sales Engineer's sold projects utilize TriFactor's Mechanical and Electrical Engineers for fulfillment responsibility. 

If either of these positions interests you, please review the job descriptions located on the Positions Available page of our website at http://www.trifactor.com/About-TriFactor/Careers/Positions-Available   If you meet the minimum requirements and are interested in either position, please  submit your resume and any other pertinent information about your qualifications to hr@trifactor.com.

CONTACT:  TriFactor, LLC, +1-800-282-8468, hr@trifactor.com

October 5, 2010 - A seminar focusing on choosing, designing, and implementing distribution center storage solutions is being sponsored by TriFactor, LLC, (www.trifactor.com) a leading provider of integrated material handling systems.

With experience in material handling engineering and project management, TriFactor Product Sales Engineer Wynn Watson will be presenting the seminar.

The seminar will be held at two locations; Wednesday, November 17 at the Radisson Hotel, 4700 Salisbury Road in Jacksonville, FL, and Thursday, November 18 at the TriFactor Learning Center, 2401 Drane Field Road in Lakeland.  The program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. A continental breakfast precedes the seminar, beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Companies looking to streamline their current storage method are encouraged to attend.  Watson will provide a detailed summary of evaluating storage requirements, determining the best storage methods and tools, and finding the best solution for your facility.  Watson will be leading the audience through an interactive project example in AutoCAD.  Projects large and small will be discussed in relation to saving construction costs with a more concise storage footprint; regaining use of valuable labor hours thanks to a well-planned and organized storage space; and safety considerations for current or future storage solutions.

To review questions from participants and Watson's answers read the Storage Solutions FAQs.

April 10, 2010 — A seminar focusing on designing and implementing a pick module was hosted by TriFactor, LLC, (www.trifactor.com) a leading provider of integrated material handling systems.  Subjects covered include classifying order picking needs, advanced picking methods, pick module technology, and more.

Richard Gillespie, Senior Project Engineer at TriFactor, who has 14 years experience in designing and implementing automated material handling systems for warehouses and distribution centers, presented the seminar to an audience of distribution industry professionals.

The participants provided some excellent questions and feedback throughout the session. 

What happens when you design your pick module for growth and then you wind up with a
pick module size that is too big for the current operation or has too many pick faces than
the amount of SKUs that you initially want stored in the pick module?

See what Richard Gillespie had to say about this common situation in pick module design.

April 7, 2010 - When considering the steps to make your facility leaner, reflect on what aggressive business leader Peter Drucker once said, "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."  The elimination of waste has been the mantra for manufacturers implementing a lean program in their operations.  Ensuring the highest quality processes resulting in minimal defects or errors is the cornerstone of Six Sigma philosophy.  Books have been written, classes taught and certification programs administered tailored to the quest of streamlining production.   For those of us that live solely in a distribution environment, we must look to the principles of lean or Six Sigma and find areas where they can be applied so that the mission of accurate, on-time and cost competitive distribution of goods can be achieved.

Implementing an automated crossdocking process in the distribution center would be a low hanging fruit when evaluating potential continuing improvement processes.  By definition, crossdocking is the direct flow of goods from receiving to shipping thereby bypassing any of the storage, replenishment, picking or sorting activities while maintaining the value-added function of order consolidation. 

In order to put an automated crossdocking system into operation, there are some critical requirements that must be met.  Vendors supplying products to your DC must provide advanced shipping notices (ASN) along with appropriate unit labeling, either bar code or RFID.  When shipments hit the receiving dock, they can be placed onto a conveyor, scanned, and the products will be validated against the ASN with appropriate routing instructions married to each unit.  As a result of having an ASN, the Warehouse Management System (WMS) already knows what to expect in the shipment and all of its contents and therefore will have already determined the destination of each unit as it is scanned and received into inventory.  

To view the full white paper by John T. Phelan, Jr., P.E. of TriFactor, LLC, please visit the see the TriFactor Learning Center's If You Want to Run a Lean Distribution Center, consider an Automated Crossdocking Process.

White Paper: “Top Five Signs that Indicate Material Handling Automation Should be Considered” by TriFactor, of Lakeland, Florida

March 16, 2010 - So you aren’t Walmart or Dell and have at your disposal some of the world’s most advanced supply chain infrastructures with multiple highly automated distribution centers and an inventory and order tracking system that can identify where every single widget you store and sell is located in real time.  In fact, you are the exact opposite.  You have a single warehouse or maybe a couple warehouses and although you are doing the exact same processes and systems that allowed your business to grow in the past, you seem to end your days scratching your head saying to yourself ‘why was today so difficult?’

One of the great benefits of being a material handling systems integrator is that our company gets to go inside so many other businesses, learn about their operations, listen to their struggles and ultimately recommend and implement new methods to operate.   Although every distribution center is unique, even when they are distribution centers for the same company, the bottom line is that no matter what business or industry they are in, they all pretty much accomplish the same mission: deliver goods quickly, accurately and at the lowest cost possible.  Because no matter how much distribution center managers hate to admit it, their business adds zero value to the product.  In fact, they can only take away value by not fulfilling the mission effectively. 

So if you have found that you have been fortunate enough to grow your business using traditional manual processes but you are at a point where it just seems like it is harder than it used to be, here are five signs that would indicate you should consider taking that next step in your business growth by implementing some automation in your operations:

Number 1, Your Cost Per Unit Shipped is Going Up.  If any indicator could actually slap you in the face, it would be this one.  Additionally, this one is extremely easy to determine and can be done so as long as there is some type of fluctuation in shipments, whether up or down. 

To view the full white paper by John T. Phelan, Jr., P.E. of TriFactor, LLC (www.trifactor.com), please visit http://www.trifactor.com/Material-Handling-White-Papers/Top-Five-Signs-that-Indicate-Material-Handling-Automation-Should-be-Considered  

January 11, 2010 - A seminar focusing on choosing, designing, and implementing an order picking module is being sponsored by TriFactor, LLC, (www.trifactor.com) a leading provider of integrated material handling systems.

The seminar presenter is Richard Gillespie, Senior Project Engineer at TriFactor, who has 14 years experience in designing and implementing automated material handling systems for warehouses and distribution centers.

To review the discussion from the seminar, read the Pick Module FAQs.

September 10, 2009 - A seminar focusing on the seven critical factors in successful warehouse and distribution center planning is being sponsored by TriFactor, LLC, a leading provider of integrated material handling systems.

The seminar presenter is Craig Bertorello, Vice President of Operations at TriFactor, who has 16 years experience in designing and implementing material handling systems.

Blog: http://trifactordistributionsolutions.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TriFactorLLC

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/896574

Facebook: TriFactor, LLC