At their European distribution centre in Belgium, Skechers uses a fleet of 169 UniCarriers trucks to manage their materials handling in their 118,000m2 warehouse and ship out thousands of customer orders every day.
However, despite Skechers automating many internal process and the fleet's large size, a helping hand is still sometimes needed during busy periods - and this is probably the case in your operation as well.
Creating an effective materials handling operation is hard, and it's even harder if you have to deal with different supplier for your forklift trucks, fleet management solution, service and rental. Even with smaller fleets, juggling different suppliers can be tricky, and it means you have less time to deal with the most important thing — your operation.
That's why choosing a supplier that can offer all of these services at the same time is a good choice. Regardless of your materials handling issue, you have one point of contact at one company — not a network of suppliers who have to get involved.
Picking, packing and dispatching 3,500 customer orders every day in a 118,000m2 distribution centre is a constant challenge. However, Skechers makes it happen at their facility near Liège, Belgium, with a fleet of UniCarriers trucks to help.
However, the operation hasn't always run at such an intense level. Skechers began working with UniCarriers in 2002 when the European sales and distribution network was being set up, when they ordered six forklifts.
Since the advent of containerisation and the forklift truck, the pallet has become vital for the storage and transport of goods around the world. Palletising goods make a lot of sense - pallets are a consistent size, meaning businesses can be sure they will fit in their racking, and ensuring that all kinds of forklifts will be able to pick them up.
Pallets are also lightweight and strong in comparison to other storage and handling solutions. Pallets are everywhere, but what happens if the goods you handle are much, much bigger than the standard Europallet?
Since they were first introduced as a material handling tool, forklifts have become ever more effective at lifting and transporting pallets. Standardisation has occurred across the world of logistics, meaning (with several major exceptions) that many goods are formed into unit loads and placed on pallets of a uniform size, allowing a wide range of goods to be transported and stored more easily.
But what happens the goods you handle don't fit neatly on a pallet? Items that are particularly large or long won't fit on a standard pallet, and they can be harder to handle with a standard forklift. One company that works with goods like this is Mac Messe- und Austellungscenter Service GmbH, a German designer and manufacturer of trade fair stands.
When your product can mean life or death for your customers, a solid forklift fleet and reliable logistics operation is an absolute must. Johnson Controls, a manfacturer of fire safety products, is one of these companies. The international firm not only makes fire detection and alarm systems, but also fire supressions solutions as well. These are important products, and the company needs to get them to the customer as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Densely-packed, high-bay warehouses are excellent at using floor space efficiently. However, they’re not necessarily easy to work in – lifting 1000kg+ weights to heights of well over 10 metres is a challenge, and places high demands on both drivers and forklifts.
But it is possible – and some companies haven’t just made this system work, they’ve seen major benefits.
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