When the time to purchase new forklifts comes, the focus is always on costs. This makes sense — no-one in business would want to spend money unnecessarily, and if a machine can do the job, then the lower the cost, the better.
An operation like loading and unloading goods can be made much more efficient in various ways, like by using loading bays, or stand-on pallet trucks instead of pedestrian versions. Order picking, a repetive and expensive logistics process, offers even more possibilities for optimisation. But for the third main part of materials handling - the intake and retrieval of entire unit loads within the warehouse - what can you do increase efficiency and productivity?
So, it's finally here - on 1st January, IFRS 16 Leases came into effect in Europe and beyond. However, in the materials handling industry, where forklift leasing is common, there's still some uncertainty about what the new regulations mean, and how financial reporting will change.
For the last few months, the papers have been filled with stories about the storage issues that companies across the country are facing. A shortage of storage space is becoming more and more of an issue for all kinds of businesses, as companies begin to stockpile goods due to fears of Brexit-related disruption. Warehousing and capacity is therefore a major challenge.
Everyone could easily lift a package weighing a few kilograms, but what if you had to pick that same package hundreds of times a day, over the course of weeks and months, possibly from hard-to-reach places? You’d probably start feeling the strain quite quickly, and you’d end up hoping you had some equipment or solution to make the job easier.
When planning a new warehouse, or thinking about making changes to an existing one, it's possible to use some basic figures about the operation to make an analysis of how effective the solution will be.
It’s always a useful exercise to take some time to review the past year and all its events.
Last year has seen a great deal of new articles on the UK Materials Handling Blog. To mark the end of 2018, here's a list of the five most-read blog posts.
The forklift’s steering wheel is a component that is often taken for granted, but it’s usually the most-used. Navigating a busy warehouse requires a lot of manoeuvring, and the driver has to make constant adjustments in order to drive safely.
IFRS 16 Leases is approaching fast, and if you lease forklift trucks in your business, the way you report your finances will have to change after the deadline on 1 January 2019.
If you’re looking to get a new forklift truck which will provide you with years of reliable service, rather than just a short-term hire forklift to help you deal with periods of high demand, your first thought may be to purchase one outright.
