Equipment Report: Half Pallets Streamline Direct-to-Store Delivery
Half pallets are gaining traction as a purpose‑built solution for direct‑to‑store deliveries, allowing distributors to navigate narrow aisles and front‑door loading more efficiently than full‑size pallets. Their reduced footprint and lighter weight improve driver ergonomics, enable mixed‑SKU loads, and support reusable closed‑loop systems that cut last‑mile costs. Retailers benefit from increased shelf‑facing density and cleaner merchandising displays, while warehouses can nest twice as many pallets in the same space. Equipment such as Yale’s Route Runner and Rehrig’s Duo Lift further amplifies these gains by pairing with the smaller pallets.
Digital Twins Come of Age in the Warehouse
Digital twins have matured from static CAD models to AI‑driven, real‑time replicas that mirror every aisle, robot and inventory item in modern warehouses. By ingesting sensor data, WMS feeds and machine‑vision scans, these twins provide continuous ground‑truth visibility, enabling dynamic...
Productivity Solution: Moen Boosts Throughput with Automated Storage
Moen, a leading North American faucet brand, overhauled its West Coast distribution by consolidating operations into a new Las Vegas hub built with FORTNA. The facility employs an AutoStore high‑density robotic storage system and integrated warehouse execution software to streamline receiving,...
Exploring the Many Dimensions of Today’s Warehouse
Today's warehouses are evolving beyond pure automation, emphasizing employee experience, digital twins, and targeted robotics. A new Modern issue highlights that 74% of warehouse firms face talent shortages, prompting operators to improve lighting, ergonomics, and temperature control to retain staff....
Ancra Cargo Earns OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star Certification for Safety Excellence
Ancra Cargo’s Hebron, Kentucky plant earned the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star certification, recognizing its superior safety and health management system. The award highlights injury and illness rates that sit well below industry averages and...
AIM Global to Develop Item Identifier Lookup Service
AIM Global, the ISO International Registration Authority for ISO/IEC 15459, is creating an online IAC‑CIN Lookup Service to replace the current paper‑based Issuing Agency Register. The service will provide a searchable, open, federated database of globally unique identifiers for physical...
Veritiv and Packsize Expand Partnership to Advance Automated, Right-Sized Corrugated Packaging Solutions
Veritiv has broadened its strategic partnership with Packsize to accelerate automated, right‑sized corrugated packaging solutions. The collaboration blends Packsize’s on‑demand box‑making technology with Veritiv’s distribution network, promising faster turnaround for niche orders and reduced material waste. Customers will benefit from...
Hyster Honors 2025 Dealers of Distinction
Hyster announced its 2025 Dealer of Distinction winners, highlighting twelve lift‑truck dealers that excel in performance, leadership, and customer satisfaction. The award recognizes dealers that meet rigorous, annually updated business practice standards across sales, service, finance and training. Recipients span...
UgoWork Appoints David Mucciacciaro as Chief Executive Officer
UgoWork announced David Mucciacciaro as its new chief executive officer, effective March 2, 2026, while co‑founder Philippe Beauchamp shifts to the chief technology officer role. Mucciacciaro brings senior commercial experience from automotive, clean‑tech, and material‑handling sectors to accelerate the company’s...
Pack Expo International Returns in October, Largest Installment Its History
Pack Expo International 2026 returns Oct. 18‑21 in Chicago, marking the event’s largest edition ever. The show will span 1.3 million net square feet, host more than 2,600 exhibitors and attract roughly 48,000 professionals across 40 vertical markets. Organisers highlight a...
From Strategy to Speed, Modex 2026 Keynotes Set the Pace
Modex 2026, the premier manufacturing and supply‑chain conference, featured a high‑profile keynote lineup that blended corporate strategy with cutting‑edge technology. Home Depot CFO Richard McPhail discussed nearshoring and digitization as critical levers for supply‑chain resilience. Exponential strategist Salim Ismail illustrated...
Packaging Corner: The Digital Wolf Whistle for Returnable Containers
Digital Matter’s CEO Loic Barancourt outlines a hybrid IoT tracking system that combines cellular and Bluetooth tags to monitor returnable containers. By tagging only a fraction of assets, companies can slash loss rates from roughly 20% to under 1% and...
Lift Truck Tips: Attachments Make Odd Jobs Faster and Safer
Lift‑truck attachments, especially paper‑roll clamps, are transforming material handling by reducing damage and speeding up transport. Bolzoni emphasizes custom‑engineered solutions that match each roll’s dimensions, allowing operators to move products faster with fewer workers. The company highlights safety gains from...
System Report: VLMs Unlock Efficiencies for All World Machinery
All World Machinery Supply, a Roscoe, Illinois distributor of 15,000 machine‑part SKUs, tackled a storage crunch and labor bottlenecks by installing four Kardex vertical lift modules (VLMs) and an in‑house conveyor system. The VLMs cut the warehouse footprint by 75%...
Special Report: 2026 Productivity Achievement Awards
Modern's 2026 Productivity Achievement Awards recognized top performers in warehousing/distribution, innovation, and e‑fulfillment. Performance Health won Warehousing/Distribution for a streamlined distribution center, reduced packaging waste, and improved KPI tracking. Staples earned the Innovation award for its integrated robotics platform, autonomous...
Productivity Solution: Andrews Streamlines Beverage Delivery
Andrews Distributing partnered with Big Joe Forklifts to deploy the LPT40 DSD, a pallet truck that integrates a scale for delivery‑by‑weight verification. The system replaces manual case counting, cutting stop times by up to 43% and easing navigation in tight store...
Brightpick Partners with NAPA on Robotic Fulfillment Deployments at DCs
Brightpick announced a strategic partnership with NAPA to roll out AI‑powered robotic fulfillment across the retailer’s distribution centers. After a successful 2025 pilot, the 2026 agreement will see more than 100 Brightpick goods‑to‑person robots deployed at an initial site, with...
Modex 2026: MHI Innovation Award Finalists Announced
MHI announced the finalists for its 2026 Innovation Awards, selecting twelve solutions from 220 submissions. The entries span four categories—Best New Innovation, Best Robotics Innovation, Best IT Innovation, and Best Sustainability Innovation—each judged by eight industry practitioners. Finalists will present...
German Grocery Retailer REWE Deploys Cimcorp Solution for New Automated Fulfillment Center
German retailer REWE has opened an automated fulfillment center in Oranienburg, deploying Cimcorp’s robotic handling and Warehouse Control System to manage fresh produce distribution. The facility serves over 370 supermarkets and 580 shops in the Berlin region, processing roughly 29,000...
Attabotics Technology Revives as Part of LaFayette Systems
Attabotics, the robotic cube‑storage specialist, is restarting operations after its September 2025 acquisition by LaFayette Systems. The privately held LaFayette group will provide a stable financial base and engineering expertise, allowing Attabotics to retain its Calgary engineering, business, and manufacturing...
