Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.69
February 06, 2020
…director at supply chain strategy and logistics consulting firm St. Onge Co., says, at least conceptually, comprehensive location data is not at all new. “Now we have the technology,” Hill says. “I love the idea of being able to identify something’s location down to the centimeter. That’s wonderful. But, people assume you can just do it. ‘Why not put a tag on everything, then we can press one button and get an instant update?’ That sounds nice, but what’s the value proposition?” Cost is always a factor, but not everyone knows what they’re buying. People now take bar code and,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.69
August 27, 2020
…according to Norm Saenz, managing director at consulting firm St. Onge, who notes that the Top 20 companies remained largely in the same order and many showed gains. Following two years of double-digit growth, the list’s combined revenues grew 7.3% in 2019 to more than $23 billion. Norm Saenz, managing director at consulting firm St. Onge: “This is what we were seeing over the last year, as many companies looked to automation to deal with surging e-commerce volumes, increasing SKUs and a shortage in the labor force. Although many projects will continue through the crisis, others were and might remain…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.59
June 10, 2020
…Jensen, managing partner of the design and consulting firm St. Onge. “If you’d asked me that question in February, I would’ve given you a very different answer than now,” Jensen says. “We don’t know whether we’ll still be experience labor challenges and high turnover with a high unemployment rate.” Still, we know what too many workers are saying now, as they grab at their aching bodies. Robert Downey Jr. comparisons aside, industrial workers aren’t Tony Stark billionaires, but people with a potentially stark reality when it comes to short-term and long-term injury. “Iron Man comparisons may be a small part…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.56
February 04, 2020
…says Bryan Jensen, chairman and executive vice president of St. Onge Co. “The question is: How do you deal with it? Variability will not go away, and, yet, you need to figure out how to balance equipment investment and staffing.” “The best solution is to cover peaks with investment not people,” says Jensen. But he’s not talking about installing two more high-speed sorters. The ROI would be prohibitive for most year-round volumes. Instead, the solution, says Jensen, is to bring in put walls or even create a two-pass sortation system that becomes a one-pass system when volumes warrant. While those…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.49
March 07, 2019
…out there,” says Donald Derewecki, a senior consultant with St. Onge Company, a supply chain engineering and consulting firm that assists our research team in this annual study. “Overall, there’s continued optimism projected in 2019.” Both Derewecki and Norm Saenz, a managing director with St. Onge, see findings such as increased interest in 3PLs as mirroring what they see in their client base—companies under pressure to keep up with order volumes, e-commerce fulfilment complexities, and market constraints such as the rising cost of warehouse space and an extremely tight labor market. “Companies have been trying their hardest to improve on…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.46
October 04, 2018
…Saenz, managing director at the supply chain consulting firm St. Onge Co., says he’s seeing fewer paper- and clipboard-based tracking systems and says that even radio frequency (RF) barcode scanning is being replaced by more advanced systems. And while most shippers rely on the latter—or, are still stuck in their paper-based ways—Saenz does see a time in the future when barcodes become “old technology” and systems incorporate the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices to track inventory across the supply chain. “We’re seeing a push for real-time information and inventory visibility, both of which are being pushed by the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.34
April 07, 2020
…newer technologies like robotics. Norm Saenz, managing director with St. Onge, a supply chain engineering and consulting company that works in partnership with Logistics Management on the study results, believes that the survey shows many positives, but also reflects the reality that many organizations need to layer in some traditional equipment, systems and processes before rushing into technologies like mobile robots, drones or artificial intelligence (AI) applications. “The future is bright, with the availability of some great technologies for organizations, but the application must fit the particular needs, budget and operational readiness of a business for investments to be successful,”…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.34
March 01, 2018
…says Norm Saenz, managing director at supply chain consultancy St. Onge Co. “Even the larger shippers are trying to get better in areas like automation, robotics, virtual reality, voice and radio frequency identification, in an effort to get to the ‘next level’ with their warehousing.” The good news is that software and equipment vendors aren’t resting on their laurels, nor are they standing by and allowing companies’ warehousing strategies to fall into the dark ages. From autonomous mobile robots to complete supply chain solutions to advanced inventory tracking systems, the options continue to proliferate and drive logistics professionals to develop…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.33
March 01, 2018
…and put walls,” says Norm Saenz, managing director with St. Onge Company, a supply chain engineering and consulting firm. “While there are clear indications for growth in the survey, I believe companies are being tactical about investments. They want investments that will bring them quick improvements, while some are thinking about outsourcing.” Indeed, when it comes to new purchases, areas with rising interest not only included equipment such as AS/RS, lift trucks, bins/totes, and conveyors—a broad category that rose from a 29% response last year to 34% this year—but also outside services such as third-party logistics providers (3PLs). Interest in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.31
April 06, 2018
…(WMS). Norm Saenz, managing director at supply chain consultancy St. Onge Company, says that the analysts at his firm are seeing a “surprising” number of new, dock-centric robotics developments, including several new prototypes that have surfaced over the last few years. “At first, we saw a few installations here and there,” he says, “but now we’re seeing some definite development taking place, with robots being used to move ‘fluid’ loads or those that include loose cases transported via tractor trailer or container.” Saenz points to robots that can be telescoped into a trailer to grab a case and then turn…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.30
May 15, 2019
…shortage. Bryan Jensen, chairman and executive vice president at St. Onge Co., says he’s also seeing healthy levels of interest in warehouse automation right now, with the tight labor market as a key driver. “If you’re in a distribution operation that is level-loaded and doesn’t have large seasonal, inter-week, inter-month or inter-quarter peaks, automation can be very effective in justifying itself through labor reduction,” says Jenson. “The more expensive labor gets relative to automation’s prices not going up, the more effective that automation is at reducing labor and paying for itself.” The rules shift somewhat for operations that have to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.28
March 07, 2022
…landscape,” said Norm Saenz, managing director and partner at St. Onge, a supply chain engineering and consulting company and Peerless' research partner for this project. “I think leaders in operations see the writing on the wall. They realize that there needs to be more automation in their facilities to support throughput requirements and offset the lack of enough workforce to carry out processes manually, so we’re seeing more automation.” This year’s survey, conducted in December 2021 by Peerless Research Group, drew responses from managers and executives involved in materials handling system decisions in multiple verticals. Compared with last year, the…
